Running Man: Episode 202

by girlfriday

EPISODE 202. Broadcast on June 29, 2014.

javabeans: We’re taking over Running Man recapping duties this week! Don’t worry, gummimochi is safe and sound in the closet where we left her tied up, but we’ll let her out just as soon as we’re done. I actually don’t think I’ve watched a Running Man episode since the last time you and I covered one, but I’m expecting that the format hasn’t changed much.

girlfriday: Ha. Yeah, you’ll be amazed at how little the format changes. I watch every week, but promptly forget what happens and then enjoy it again next week, even though it’s the same. This show is good for people with goldfish memories.

javabeans: That’s what you want in a hit reality show, I suppose. You just want the show to entertain you week after week without making your brain strain to follow along. I just hope the guest cast is good.

girlfriday: I’m a little worried, because right off the bat there’s like a gazillion guests being introduced, with very little association to each other.

javabeans: Oh wait, Ji Sung. Oh this must be for that movie he’s doing with Joo Ji-hoon, yes? I’ve seen about a bazillion interviews and articles about them in the past couple of weeks.

girlfriday: And Kwang-soo, which explains why they’re guesting. I just don’t know why all the other random people are too.

javabeans: Okay, so those three boys are co-stars in Good Friends, a crime thriller movie that’s releasing in a couple of weeks, and they make up the Movie Actors Team.

girlfriday: So it looks like they’ve recruited anyone else they can find in order to create other teams, just to make sense of Kwang-soo’s team, yeah?

javabeans: That must be it. This is the thing about Running Man: Sometimes they have the most motley group of guests and you’re hard-pressed to figure out a connection. But I at least give the writers credit because you can totally see where they put in the effort to at least try to cobble narrative sense out of it. They don’t have to—they could just feature random guests every week, but they usually manage to find some kind of theme, however loose. I mean, I don’t even watch this show but I can see how they put in the effort for that.

girlfriday: Yeah there’s a concerted effort behind these kinds of episodes to rationalize the guest roster through some sort of story, whereas when you have an episode where Park Ji-sung comes, you just get to not think and play soccer. Anyway, so Gary’s got two members of A-pink on his Idol Team, Ji-hyo has (randomly) comedian Heo Kyung-hwan and Baek Sung-hyun on her Flower Pretty-Face Team.

javabeans: There’s also the Sports Team, with “billiards goddess” Cha Yoo-ram joining Jong-gook and Suk-jin. You can see how Jong-gook fits the athlete theme, but Suk-jin’s sports contribution is “ddakji king.” You know, that game you play with folded paper.

girlfriday: Oh, that was pretty freaking hilarious when Suk-jin of all people won that title.

javabeans: There are more teams? Okay, then there’s our Global Team with Sam Okyere from Ghana who was on that Island Village Teachers reality show, taekwondo player Fabian from France, and… Haha? Haha.

girlfriday: At least Jae-suk gets to be the MC for the day, which is always fun.

javabeans: I miss when Jae-suk is just pure MC!

girlfriday: Me too!

javabeans: He’s so good at it. I get that he’s great as a variety personality, but he’s, like, the best MC in all of Korea.

girlfriday: I’m already more excited for all the MC commentary than any of the teams. This makes the random cast inconsequential, since he’ll make it funny. Already from the start, he’s carrying a mini bullhorn and leading the group onto a train platform like a tour guide.

javabeans: Sam gives the explanation that his last name rhymes with the Korean numerals 5-7-2, which leads to a numeral-based joke round where Haha assigns Heo Kyung-hwan the number 160 (for his height, which Kyung-hwan immediately protests since he’s 170), and when Ji Sung is asked what number he wants, Jong-kook pipes up, “Be zero [young]. You know, for Lee Bo-young.” Why is Jong-kook always the one to turn something romantic?

girlfriday: Because he’s so girl-crazy!

javabeans: I feel like he’s the guy in love with romance. He may not necessarily want to settle down or anything, but he wants to do everything the classic romantic way, Valentine’s with flowers, 100-day dates at Namsan Tower, the works.

girlfriday: Yes, like he’s the guy who actually believes in the ballads he sings, without irony. Once the group settles onto the train, the PD tells them that today’s final game will be a quiz battle, and the prize will be huge.

javabeans: Haha immediately protests that he’s at a disadvantage because his teammates aren’t Korean, and Jae-suk retorts that they’ll know more than Haha. But it’s not a straight-up quiz, of course, but a series of missions related to their quizzes.

girlfriday: They’re told that in each game they’ll win MC Chance Cards that’ll prove useful in the final battle. Jae-suk then makes each team create their own cheer, like they’re at summer camp or something.

javabeans: Ack, I have such secondhand embarrassment for pretty much everybody. The Gary Pink team gets away with repurposing a song, but everyone else kind of makes me cringe. Especially the actors.

girlfriday: Yeah it’s especially embarrassing to watch Ji Sung and Joo Ji-hoon try to sing a team song and not die of mortification.

javabeans: They get mocked, “Boring! Try again!” Then they get a second chance and it’s equally corny.

girlfriday: As they near Kyeongju, Jae-suk tells them that they’ll play a game, and the one losing team will have to remain on the train all the way to Busan, while everyone else gets off. That actually seems like a worse punishment than being forced off the train early, since you have to waste time doubling back.

javabeans: That’s harsh! Jae-suk takes a moment to rib Joo Ji-hoon for spending much of the train ride staring out of the window like something out of a sad music video, and Ji-hoon says he’s just unfamiliar with everything here. Asked who he’s the least familiar with, he sorta looks at Gary, who happens to have sat down right next to him and struck up a buddy-buddy tone.

girlfriday: Hahaha. And then when the train rolls into the station, Gary’s swapped seats with one of the idols.

javabeans: The first game is the noonchi game, where everybody has to stand up and shout a number (in order), but you have to do it without more than one person claiming the same number.

girlfriday: Hee, Jae-suk explicitly says to go after he says “Start,” and then of course he says “Go” instead and catches Haha in his trap.

javabeans: So Haha is first to get out, and then cutely, his buddies on the Global Team argue for mercy, saying that Haha is a foreigner whose Korean isn’t so good yet and therefore didn’t understand.

girlfriday: They go a few rounds, and then there’s this really funny moment when Kwang-soo nearly knocks out his own teammate when he slooooowly tries to sit up as Ji-hoon calls out “One!”

javabeans: And then a few very long seconds later, Suk-jin jumps up and screams, “Onnnnnnnne!” And you get a confused freeze-frame on everyone’s faces because it makes no sense.

girlfriday: It’s especially great because Suk-jin seems SO PROUD of himself.

javabeans: Finally one whole team gets knocked out, and it’s the Sports Team with Jong-kook, Suk-jin, and Cha Yoo-ram the billiards player. Everyone (else) rejoices madly, since they’re not going to Busan.

girlfriday: HEE, Jae-suk’s laugh as he says goodbye to Jong-kook is awesome.

javabeans: You mean because it’s so petty and taunting? To be extra needly, he even plays this tune that’s programmed into the bullhorn and does a little dance. (Caption: “This is the sound of a grasshopper taunting a tiger with a dance.”) Hold on, I need to rewatch that.

girlfriday: Right? I want to record that laugh and make it a ringtone. The rest of the group waves as the train leaves the station with the Sports Team still on it, and then Jae-suk lets them argue amongst themselves over which mission card to choose like it’s a very important decision, and then tells them belatedly that they’re all the same.

javabeans: The cards tell them to find the flag at a house that isn’t specified—they can find clues to the destination in three separate locations. Scavenger hunt it is. The teams split up to go about clue-hunting, and in the car ride Kwang-soo asks his teammates if they’re good at quizzes. He guesses Ji-hoon will be good because he’s always reading, but Ji-hoon says it’s all novels. Then Ji Sung adds that he’s not good at reacting, and Kwang-soo just sits there and siiiiighs.

girlfriday: And over in Gary’s car, he asks the girls who their ideal type is, and they swoon over Jae-suk oppa. Gary gets jealous and tries to argue that a guy who’s just too nice all the time isn’t so appealing, but they have a comeback for everything and he sighs that there’s no winning Yoo Jae-suk.

javabeans: Fabian and Sam O call Jae-suk and ply him with flattery, and basically plead with him for hints because Haha is such a black hole for their team, and they go through this whole lie rigamarole to angle for clues. Jae-suk refuses, naturally.

girlfriday: Kwang-soo’s team and Haha’s team arrive at the same location and start scouring the grounds for a clue.

javabeans: Gary’s team is the first to spot an actual clue, which takes them on a balloon ride into the air. Is Gary afraid of heights? The girls jump right into the contraption but he’s like, “Uh… do I have to?”

girlfriday: Everyone on this cast except for Song Ji-hyo is deathly afraid of heights. It’s pretty funny because she’s always bungee jumping and going, “Wheee!” and the boys are all, What’s wrong with you??

javabeans: Once the balloon is aloft, they hear a ringtone with an old song playing. They can’t identify it, but there’s another clue planted giving them the name of Baek Ho. I love how Ji Sung and Joo Ji-hoon stop to look up possible clues about their location, and Kwang-soo just yells at them to get moving because Running Man isn’t that deep and the clue is totally going to be around here somewhere.

girlfriday: Sure enough, it’s as simple as running around the place, until Joo Ji-hoon spots a piece of paper tied to an arrow in the bamboo field.

javabeans: Ji-hoon exults and laughs, “Oh, so this wasn’t a game that uses our brains.”

girlfriday: Still, he figures out the clue right away, and they run back to the entrance.

javabeans: Kwang-soo has tagged along with Sam and Fabian, who start talking in English to get rid of him. But the tables turn when it becomes clear that it’s Kwang-soo’s team who found the clue, and Sam and Fabian start tagging along, hee.

girlfriday: Meanwhile, Jong-kook’s team finally arrives in Busan and hurries to go buy tickets back to Kyeongju. Suk-jin insists they stop to take a group selca to prove they came all the way to Busan today.

javabeans: Ji-hoon is proving himself to be the educated one of this cast, huh? He got the old adage first, and in the balloon, he names the song and artist right away.

girlfriday: It’s even funnier because even after he explains the clues, Kwang-soo still doesn’t understand them.

javabeans: Turns out that most teams only need two of the three clues to guess the final destination. So then it becomes a race to be the first to arrive and find the flag.

girlfriday: Jae-suk is there waiting, and Ji-hyo’s team is the first to arrive. It’s not so simple as that, of course, and he tells them to find the hidden R flag and tie it to the post to claim the win. Problem is, it’s a massive hanok village, and they’re given no other clues.

javabeans: I love the contrast between the first two teams. Ji-hyo’s team arrives and when they hear about the flag hunt, they sort of droop, all, There’s more?! Then Haha’s team arrives thinking they’ve won it all, but the instant Jae-suk says they have to find a flag, all three Global boys spin on their heels and dart off like something out of a cartoon. Ha, Fabian is turning out to be quite the pun-master, tricking everyone with his Korean.

girlfriday: Hilariously, Jong-kook’s team arrives in third place. If you consider that they got to sit on a train while others ran around clue-hunting, maybe they got the better end of this deal. Jong-kook is super pissy though, and Jae-suk enjoys needling him some more just because he can. I really enjoy how much it confuses Joo Ji-hoon that Running Man is super lo-fi, because he keeps asking things like, “So, really there’s no other clue, and we’re just supposed to search until we find it?”

javabeans: Everyone pesters Jae-suk to give them a clue or give up the flag he’s hiding, and he tells them that he has no idea where it is because the producers hid it. But suddenly Haha gets a brainwave and goes marching straight up to Jae-suk and rips the handkerchief out of his pocket—the handkerchief he’s been wearing all day—and what do you know, the thing actually has an R on it. Jae-suk looks super flabbergasted.

girlfriday: That cracks me up. He didn’t know he had it on him the whole time!

javabeans: After Jae-suk warns Haha to beware of getting the flag stolen by another member, it’s Jae-suk who swoops in to snatch it away. HA. As they’re wrestling, Ji Sung comes jogging up, and Jae-suk fans the flames: “Get it! That’s your flag!”

girlfriday: HA, and then he announces over the bullhorn, “Everyone, everyone! Haha has the flag!”

javabeans: Omg that’s hilarious. Then Jong-kook comes by, and Jae-suk eggs him on too. Why do I feel like Haha stuffed it down his underpants?

girlfriday: For sure.

javabeans: Ji Sung: “I think he put that handkerchief where it shouldn’t have gone.” Jong-kook: “It’s okay, I can get it out.”

girlfriday: Dirty! Soon a whole crowd has gathered, and the boys grab Haha by the arms while Ji-hyo digs through his pockets. It’ll be a miracle if he makes it out of this with his underpants on.

javabeans: It turns into this whole thing when everyone arrives in the courtyard and basically starts patting Haha down. His teammates rush in to help, and in the process it becomes unclear which set of underpants is now housing the flag. Fabian and Sam start speaking English, then switch to French… and then wouldn’t you know, Joo Ji-hoon starts speaking French?!

girlfriday: Fabian: “Do you know what he said? He told me to get lost!” Finally Jae-suk intervenes and says he’ll re-hide the flag to stop it from turning into a brawl (which he totally instigated, lol).

javabeans: Haha finds it pretty quickly, which has sort of a nice touch to it, since he found the first one too.

girlfriday: They win two chance cards and one to give away, which Gary Pink wins by aegyo, naturally. Then everyone arrives at the next location, where three air-cannon microphones are waiting. Jae-suk explains that they’ll find charades clues hidden around the area, which they’ll bring up to the mics and perform so that he can guess the answers.

javabeans: Ha, see I trust Jae-suk to be good at guessing charades clues, but I don’t exactly trust Jae-suk to do that objectively for everyone here. Not with his imp hat on today.

girlfriday: Which is what makes this game awesome.

javabeans: Haha’s team is first and does a decent job, but Jae-suk doesn’t get it. Then it’s Gary Pink’s turn and when Jae-suk doesn’t get that either, they accuse, “C’mon, YOU KNOW!!” Jae-suk totally just snickers at them.

girlfriday: When growling and making monster noises doesn’t work for The Host, Kwang-soo growls, “In the Han River!”

javabeans: And yet Jae-suk just looks at them, all innocent blank eyes. Dude, he’s just being obvious now. When someone’s being a monster and you don’t say “monster,” you’re just rubbing their noses in it.

girlfriday: Jong-kook and Kwang-soo start interfering in each other’s attempts by jumping in with the answer before Jae-suk can get to it, effectively knocking each other out.

javabeans: The second the guess is made, Jae-suk says innocently, “Oh I was going to guess that! Of course I knew! Was it my fault they said it first?” Is this even a game? I mean, for anybody other than Jae-suk who likes making them stew?

girlfriday: But then when he sees Ji-hyo’s team putting in a concerted effort to act out their clue, suddenly he’s guessing super long adages like it’s nothing. This from the guy who couldn’t guess “monster”?

javabeans: Was this his way of eking more “variety” out of everyone? Now they’re all lifting each other and making embarrassing faces and doing elaborate sequences.

girlfriday: Yeah it’s just a given that he’s going to do this for a few rounds until people try harder. He used to give these quizzes on Family Outing where he literally made up multiple choice answers to ensure that no matter what you guessed, you’d be wrong until he felt like giving you the right answer.

javabeans: Oh man, Kwang-soo is making me laugh-cry. His team is doing Wolf Boy and they’re making growly dog noises, and suddenly Kwang-soo bolts up and salutes, because Song Joong-ki is in the army right now. LOL.

girlfriday: Ha, that’s so funny, and utterly confusing for someone who doesn’t know the clue to begin with. Kwang-soo’s team wins the game, and then it’s finally time for the big quiz battle. Jae-suk explains that they’ll take turns being the attacker, where all you have to do is choose one other team who wrote down the wrong answer. If that person is wrong, the attacker wins, and if the answer is right, the attacker is out. It’s a survival game, and the team with the last person standing (and not doused with punishment water) wins.

javabeans: The game gets going, with standard Jeopardy-like questions in categories like language, art, science, etc. But then it turns out everyone was given a cheat sheet before the game and 30 minutes to study, with the questions AND answers provided! How is this even a quiz battle? It’s just a quick-memory cram exercise.

girlfriday: Oh, that’s lame. What is even the point of asking quiz questions then? Basically this is just poker, where you’re reading everyone’s faces and trying to guess who’s acting like they know the answer when they don’t.

javabeans: Jae-suk glances at everyone’s answers and makes comments to further confuse the proceedings. That’s a pretty massive water bomb the loser gets.

girlfriday: I don’t know if I’m more surprised at the water bomb or the fact that Ji-hyo got a quiz question right.

javabeans: Wow, Ji Sung has a great poker face. Not that I’m surprised given his acting, but I totally thought Ji-hyo was going to get the water bomb, only to have Ji Sung admit at the last second that he didn’t know. And then we speed forward a bit until after half the members are eliminated.

girlfriday: Haha uses a chance card to become the attacker, and Jae-suk tries to egg him on to use another chance card to help narrow it down. But he insists he can already see wrong answers in front of him, and tells Kwang-soo, Kyung-hwan, and Gary to play rock-paper-scissors not to be chosen, hee. Kwang-soo barely survives, and Kyung-hwan is out. In the next round, Kwang-soo swears up and down that he memorized all the answers, but only the answers. Everyone’s like, “But if you didn’t study the questions, what are the answers to?”

javabeans: This game takes a long time to get through, although it’s the little interactions and reaction shots that make it entertaining to watch. Maybe not as interesting to describe, however.

girlfriday: Yeah the game itself isn’t very exciting, but it’s all the teasing and mocking that’s fun, mostly about who’s stupidest and how the odds are always stacked against Kwang-soo.

javabeans: Kwang-soo always looks like he can’t contain his nerves, and he’s already gotten a bunch of questions wrong. But then there’s a twist when he starts faking people out and everyone is amazed—he knew the answer but pretended to be bumbling, and got his opponents knocked out. So then people apologize for underestimating him and he puffs up with this deep, authoritative voice, “I was disappointed in you for thinking so little of me. I thought I should finally show my true self.” He totally Keyser Soze’d them.

girlfriday: I wonder if the actor team is strongest in this game because they’re used to memorizing scripts the day of shooting. Though Jong-kook’s team is technically leading because Cha Yoo-ram has yet to get an answer wrong.

javabeans: Kwang-soo gets down to two opponents, and uses a Chance card to give him a hint. Lucky for him, the Chance reveals that both opponents are wrong, so he’s sitting pretty with the win.

girlfriday: It cracks me up that he needlessly spends two Chance cards to get to that point though, because he isn’t smart enough to realize that using the second one negates the first. In any case he lucks out, and finally starts eliminating members of Jong-kook’s team.

javabeans: Now we’re down to the Actor Team (with only Ji-hoon still active) versus the Sports Team (with Jong-kook and Ji-suk), and they go head-to-head in a sudden death round.

girlfriday: Ji-hoon beats Jong-kook, so then it’s down to Ji-hoon vs. Suk-jin for the final question.

javabeans: He wins, and pretty readily at that. Wow, so basically my takeaway is that Ji-hoon is way more bookish than I thought.

girlfriday: As if we needed another reason to think that he’s hot.

javabeans: Ha, see I’ve never found him hot, but now that I know he’s a brain, he’s looking a lot more appealing. See, people? Knowing stuff is sexy.

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