Running Man: Episode 151

by gummimochi

Don’t let that angelic smile fool you—that man is a lethal assassin-for-hire who will stop at nothing to find his target. With over a hundred cameras to help him out, you might think that victory is guaranteed. But nothing is a sure thing in varietyland.

What I can tell you, however, is that you’ll get a heart-stopping, gripping hour of a hunt that won’t let you catch your breath until the very end. If that includes a sweaty, shirt-shedding man roaming the halls, then so be it.

EPISODE 151. Broadcast on June 23, 2013.

We’re introduced to our first guest right off the bat: actor Jung Woo-sung (Padam Padam, Athena), who’s looking mighty smexy in that suit. He’s at the SBS building where 108 surveillance cams act as his eyes.

And if the introductory preview is any indication, we’re in for an exciting and thrilling game of cat-and-mouse. At least, that’s what I hope. *fingers crossed*

Our cast gathers together elsewhere, soaking in the balmy weather. Also, did everyone color-coordinate today or is it just coincidence? And hey, Haha is sportin’ a new blond ‘do!

They wait with anticipation as a stretch limo pulls in with today’s guests: 2PM’s Lee Junho and returning guest, actress Han Hyo-joo, who are here to promote the upcoming movie The Watchers. Oh yay! I loved Hyo-joo in her last appearance.

They greet her with her trademark “Beautiful!” catchphrase, except for Haha, who immediately rushes towards her. But she won’t be fooled this time, and now she’s the one who trips him up with her leg.

My, how time flies; has it already been over six months since Hyo-joo’s visit? I love that she’s prepared to take on whatever the show has in store, beautiful actress image be damned.

Haha is quick to tease her about it, saying that she’ll have to be roughin’ it in the summer this time. Ignoring him, she cries: “Ah~it’s hot!” HA, it’s both weather-appropriate and punny!

Jo PD introduces today’s survival race where the cast will vote someone off after each mission station. Only the first three people to succeed will be safe from elimination, and the unlucky person will be unable to move on.

When Jae-suk asks if the rules also apply to their guests, the others jump on him about it and propose to vote him off first.

In the limo, Jae-suk asks the ladies how they would feel if their boyfriend drove up with a fancy limo and a song dedicated to them. Both of them literally cringe at the cheesiness.

They arrive at the first location where the cast will need to pass a series of mini-games and Hyo-joo runs ahead of the pack to the first station. Here, they’ll need to throw a bottlecap so that it lands between a narrow space. Hyo-joo gets pretty close and yells: “It’s hard!”

Haha makes fun of Jae-suk’s hide-behind-the-wall technique, only to try it himself when it actually works. Kwang-soo leans forward to get closer on his next turn, and belatedly realizes that Haha has a hold on his underwear, giving everyone a free viewing of his bum. Aw.

It’s a simple game where overthinking it will just work against you. Soon it comes down between Kwang-soo and Jong-kook, and the latter complains that he can already feel Kwang-soo’s unlucky aura.

They go turn for turn, but it’s Jong-kook who succeeds first, and poor Kwang-soo gets dragged away. Aw, he really does have awful luck.

The remaining cast is sent out with various missions to search the marketplace. Some of the randomly specific tasks crack me up, like to find a foreigner or an ajumma wearing a visor.

Suk-jin tracks down a couple on a date at the ddukbokki stand, where Hyo-joo waits for her food. It’s cute how she compliments them with her “Beautiful!” catchphrase.

Meanwhile, Jae-suk doesn’t have much luck finding someone with a camera. His attempt to whisk away the ddukbokki couple for himself doesn’t work and gets flagged down by ajumma fans. He even tries to bring VJ Kwon-ryul back to complete his mission, but suffice it to say that he gets left behind.

Again, Hyo-joo leads to the pack to the next station. It’s a trivia quiz game and Haha jokes about how smart Hyo-joo is in order to put pressure on her. They gripe over how easy her question is (“Where does Peter Pan live?”), but she gets it wrong: “Wonderland!”

They voice their complaints once more when Junho correctly answers a relatively easy English question, and are left unsatisfied when Myuk PD replies that the idol picked well.

Haha looks pretty confident in the face of another English question. You know, until he actually hears it. (“What does ‘DIY’ stand for?”) He responds with the thick-headed answer: “Difficult! I am Young!” Hahaha.

We skip ahead to a bit later where three people have already passed. It’s Jong-kook’s turn, and Suk-jin reminds him that the remaining boys will be eliminated if he gets it right. It’s an Ernest Hemingway question and none of the three get the correct answer on their first try.

Round and round they go (with Gary hilariously half-slurring his answers, ha) naming all the countries they know. Then after Myuk PD gives them a hint, Jong-kook gets it right, and both Haha and Gary are left behind.

As Jong-kook run ahead of everyone else towards the last station, I can’t help but think that the man needs to rest. I admire his (and the cast’s) tenaciousness, but it pains me as a viewer to watch you have a hard time with a recovering leg (and I presume his back as well).

Ha, the eliminated are already here to watch the cast members solve a 2×2 Rubik’s cube. They get tips from the eliminated peanut gallery and both Suk-jin and Jong-kook finish right after each other.

That leaves the guests to duel it out, and Junho is so concentrated on his cube that he unknowingly solves it… and keeps twisting. When they point it out to him, he whimpers: “Aw, you should’ve told me….”

Unfortunately, it’s Hyo-joo who gets wrangled into the pool of being possibly eliminated. The voting process begins, and it never fails to crack me up how the castmates will claim to stick together and then vote against them anyway.

By the time we get to Jong-kook, the votes are split between Haha and Kwang-soo… and he chooses Haha, who is promptly dragged away.

We check back in with Woo-sung, who receives his mission: Eliminate the cast in the order determined by the voted-off members. The 108 cameras hidden throughout the building will help him track where the castmates are.

However, the cast will be running around to find them and obstruct his view. Only when all the cameras are turned off can Woo-sung be eliminated.

Meanwhile, Kwang-soo is sent off by unanimous vote (aw). When he joins Haha in the van, they’re given a Death Note notebook to write down their desired order of elimination.

They’re still in the dark when they arrive at the SBS building. Then they casually open the door, get a glimpse at the man whose back is turned to them… and hilariously back away outside. Haha: “Is that… Jung Woo-sung?”

They warily walk back in and Woo-sung whirls around to greet them. They freak out.

Aw, it’s so adorable to see them turn into a pair of fanboys in Woo-sung’s presence. Though I haven’t seen the 1997 Beat movie myself, I do know the film’s success launched the actor’s career.

The boys ask if he’s okay from all the bullets (in reference to his role from The Good, the Bad, and the Weird), and Woo-sung busts out his quick wit: “I got them all removed. I’m a changed man now.” Ha.

It’s apparent that Woo-sung is nervous about doing a good job and making a good first variety show impression. His earnestness is adorable as he outlines the mission for the boys, whose eyes glaze in admiration at the mention that they’re a team.

HA—their shirts have an awesome photo of Woo-sung on them. That’s both hilarious and fantastic. All three of them break out in dance (So Cute) and Haha and Kwang-soo jokingly bicker over who gets to be Woo-sung’s fanclub prez. Hahaha.

When Kwang-soo figures that Woo-sung will act according to their bidding today, the sunbae corrects him from his chair—no, he’s doing them a favor by eliminating their castmates. He quickly puts them in their places, informing them of how sensitive he can get.

So Haha and Kwang-soo mull over the elimination order which basically boils down to “Let’s eliminate the hyungs who torture us the most last to make them suffer.”

They place Jae-suk at the end of the list. As for who gets eliminated first, they simultaneously call out: “Suk-jin!” Ha, these two crack me up.

With nearly three years of nametag rippin’ under their belt, the boys give Woo-sung a few pointers on how to easily eliminate someone. Woo-sung’s a quick study.

The cast is briefed on the current situation when they arrive at the SBS building. They all gape at the daunting task of searching for over a hundred cameras and over the haunting idea that they have no idea who will be eliminated first by the mysterious hunter.

The countdown to the start of the mission begins and while the cast rallies together, Haha proposes that they celebrate at Woo-sung’s house if they win. Woo-sung: “You like visiting other people’s houses, don’t you?” Newlywed and soon-to-be father Haha nods.

As soon as the whistle blows, Woo-sung and Kwang-soo head out as Haha keeps a watchful eye out for Suk-jin, their first target. The cast is off to a good start when they discover two cameras right away. Only 106 more to go!

Keeping track of all the cameras is a difficult and confusing task for Haha. Not only that, the cast is quick to discover the hidden cameras within a few minutes (bringing the count to 100) and Suk-jin is nowhere in view.

That is, until he’s spotted on the 22nd floor and Woo-sung races up there once he gets word. There’s no time to figure out a strategy in the elevator, and before we know it, we’re already down to 88.

At least Woo-sung spots Suk-jin as soon as he gets off, and Suk-jin darts at the sight of him. But Woo-sung is lightning fast as he gives chase down the row of cubicles and eliminates Suk-jin in a blink of an eye.

The cast grows increasingly nervous as they search the building since they don’t know who the next target is. They wonder what the order might be, and Gary guesses: “Is it by age?” Jae-suk: “Then I’d be next…”

We know that Ji-hyo is next on the list, and Woo-sung takes to the stairs. The frightening sound of the bell echoes up the stairwell and Hyo-joo whimpers in fear.

Meanwhile, the Ace is spotted on the sixth floor and she makes sure to check her surroundings as she turns off the cameras. Time is of the essence but Kwang-soo’s presence is more of a burden than help, and Woo-sung sends him away to run down the stairwell on his own.

Then at Haha’s impatience that they have to nab Ji-hyo soon, Woo-sung hangs up on him. Haha: “What kind of assassin is he?” A hitman who turns the corner to eliminate an utterly shocked Ji-hyo from the game.

Elsewhere, the cast is a bundle of nerves, unaware that Gary is the next target. Hyo-joo claims that she heard Kwang-soo’s voice along with the bells earlier.

Gary tells her that they can’t trust anyone. Then she instinctively jumps when he suddenly pretends to hide to lighten the mood.

Woo-sung gives Jae-suk a fright when he comes tearing down the hall. He corners Jae-suk and starts lying about how he was instructed to employ a spy to help him, and that’s Jae-suk. It’s utter rubbish of course, but I’m getting the sense that you’ll do just fine in varietyland.

He goes into great detail with Jae-suk, who’s flabbergasted by Woo-sung’s sincere delivery. Woah, and Woo-sung is already sweating from all the running. However when they part way, Jae-suk correctly deduces that Woo-sung’s explanation makes no sense.

In fact, if Woo-sung let him go free, that means it’s not his turn to be eliminated yet. So he freely carries on his original mission to turn off the cameras.

Now forty cameras are out of commission which brings the count to 68. As soon as Haha spots Gary onscreen, two more cameras are turned off.

Thanks to Kwang-soo’s tip-off, Woo-sung heads down to the first floor. In the elevator, he says: “I’m usually an impatient person, but this is most impatient I’ve ever felt!”

When Kwang-soo arrives first to stall for time, Hyo-joo asks him about his t-shirt. Um, he’s now part of Woo-sung’s fanclub? Once Woo-sung is gets off the elevator, all it takes is a few seconds for Woo-sung to swiftly eliminate Gary.

He immediately heads off in search for Hyo-joo (Caption: But Junho’s next on the list…) as Kwang-soo trails behind. He manages to catch her, but when he gives a similar spiel he previously gave Jae-suk with those same sincere eyes, Kwang-soo comments: “You think she’s going to fall for that?”

Woo-sung gives Jae-suk the second surprised fright of the night when he silently emerges from the elevator. By now Jae-suk doesn’t believe a word Woo-sung says about the whole “You’re my spy and so is Hyo-joo” scenario, but he pretends to plays along.

Jae-suk listens closely as Woo-sung continues in his sincere and gentle voice about the next targets (Junho and Jong-kook, respectively). He remarks: “Aren’t you a bit too serious for a variety show?” Woo-sung: “Sorry.” Ha.

But before Woo-sung sends Jae-suk off, he tells him: “Oh, and stop turning off all the cameras.” Jae-suk tries to lie that he’s only turned off a couple, but Woo-sung knows better, and he retorts: “My eyes are surveillance cameras!” Hahaha.

Woo-sung pays a visit to jail to properly greet the eliminated members. Then he feeds them lies about the reasons why Haha and Kwang-soo placed them on top of the list. Like how Ji-hyo ignores them and Gary takes no interest in them.

I love that he’s so casual in his delivery that he could possibly say anything, and the cast might be momentarily fooled into believing him. It effectively plants a seed of doubt, and when he leaves, the jailed members fume over the words.

Meanwhile, our next target, Junho, has been pretty sharp at discovering the hidden cameras. Once he’s spotted, Haha immediately relays the info to a sweaty Woo-sung, who can barely catch his breath.

Are you… going to continue to search for them shirtless? Mmm. But alas, he keeps his jacket on and tells Haha that he can keep the shirt. Haha looks ecstatic.

With 30 cameras remaining, Woo-sung races down to the ninth floor to find Junho. He gives chase until Junho hits a dead-end and eliminates him.

Jong-kook is next on the list and Woo-sung does his best to remain unseen, though the dangling bell gives away his presence. Jong-kook is the only one who is still in the dark about who their hunter is, and he can barely register Woo-sung’s name before he appears.

Woo-sung gives chase but loses him. All we can hear as Jong-kook runs away is: “Hyung, I’m a fan!”

But Kwang-soo is on Jong-kook’s tail and keeps Woo-sung updated on their target’s whereabouts. After Jong-kook is eliminated, Jae-suk muses to himself about how Haha and Kwang-soo wants to do him in.

There are just eleven cameras remaining when Jae-suk overhears Haha’s voice in the vicinity. So Jae-suk walks right into the surveillance room and scolds Haha with the Death Note notebook.

A tiny ear-pinch is enough for Haha to give away Kwang-soo’s position. He ushers his hyung out of the room and reveals that Jae-suk is indeed last on the list.

But Jae-suk has noticed some cameras on the roof via the monitors, and he heads up to turn them off. And then there were nine.

There’s not much Haha can do as he watches the tiny squares turn black. Six… then five… four left now. He lists off where the remaining cameras are now, completely unaware that Jae-suk has overheard him from just outside the door.

With that knowledge, he turns off one more while Hyo-joo does the same on a different floor. Two cameras left…

Then Jae-suk looks directly into the camera before he turns another one off. Now only the lone camera on the 21st floor remains…

Woo-sung is thoroughly annoyed now, and when he runs into Jae-suk once more, he issues the warning: “Don’t get yourself caught.”

Jae-suk sets off in search for the final camera and guesses that he’s on the right track when he spots Haha on the 21st floor. As he looks around, Haha tries to get through to Woo-sung, who isn’t picking up. But Jae-suk discovers the very last camera anyway.

Now it’s an even playing field, and as Jae-suk confirms the final order with the staff, Woo-sung shows up on the 21st floor. A warning sound tips them off and they run down the stairs to keep Hyo-joo safe.

Thus, Woo-sung is unable to do a thing when he runs into Jae-suk, who tries to lead him far away from Hyo-joo’s hiding place. So Woo-sung makes a run for it.

They lock Haha in a room (who asks to be left with at least a VJ, ha) before they strategize what to do next. Jae-suk proposes he’ll take Woo-sung on while she remains hidden until the opportune time.

So they implement that plan when they find Woo-sung on the thirteenth floor. Jae-suk tries to keep Woo-sung talking as Hyo-joo gets into position.

But Woo-sung takes another opportunity to make a run for it, slamming through the doors to the stairwell. To this, Jae-suk is like, He could have just pushed on the bar instead!

After a failed attempt to sneak up on Woo-sung, he spots Hyo-joo hiding around the corner. The two manage to hold him down, but it’s Woo-sung who gains the upper hand, sending them both to the ground.

But both of them reach for Woo-sung’s nametag… and tear it off before collapsing onto the ground again, exhausted.

When everyone gathers together again, Jae-suk remarks about his winning streak whenever the final mission takes place in the SBS building. He stands side-by-side by Woo-sung and well, there’s a difference there all right.

Yay! The preview tells us that we’ll see Woo-sung again next week. I consider *that* a win.

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