Running Man: Episode 267

by gummimochi

This week’s episode will test teamwork, trust, and telepathy among our cast members as their busy lives are put on pause for the next 24 hours. Stuck together in a collective space, they’ll need to come up with ways to pass the time. For a group of people who are known to betray, suspect, and blame one another at every turn, they’ll be forced to put their differences aside and find a way to escape… together.

EPISODE 267. Broadcast on October 4, 2015.

We open at a studio in Paju, where our cast grumbles at being told to change into one of two colors which will determine their team breakdown. Ji-hyo is the odd one out, but then the PD tells them get changed again. Annoyed, Jong-kook says he isn’t.

This time, Jae-suk is among the ones to change colors claiming that he hates Jong-kook more than this other color. But no, they’re told to get changed again and Haha realizes that the staff wants them all to be dressed in the same color.

After bickering about being mismatched again, they decide to settle it through a game of rock, paper, scissors… but can’t even decide on who should represent each color. Beige wins out over the military green, and now they’re allowed to head on inside.

It’s 11:30 AM when they enter the space filled with toys and books and a hammock. Jong-kook says it’d be so nice to add a gym here. LOL. A siren sounds just then, alerting them to a screen informing them of the 24-Hour Unanimous Race. Only after they complete three missions together will they be allowed to leave. Haha: “How did you guys know that we don’t agree on stuff!”

The main problem is Jong-kook and Jae-suk who are notorious for their constant bickering, but either they’re going to have to put their differences aside or they’ll be stuck here for a full day.

They figure it can’t be that hard since they’ve been together for over a half-decade, but we’ve seen them betray and blame each other countless times over those years as well.

Their first mission is to all pick the same color (out of two) from a box, and will only have three shots at it. Haha asks what the staff will do on the off-chance the cast blow past all three missions and they don’t have enough footage to work with.

With over an hour left in this episode, I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that the crew had no worries. Gary suggests that the production crew put on their own nametag rippin’ game with each other. Hehe.

They all pull out their first ball… and it’s all different colors. So much for getting it on their first try. Ever the cunning one, Haha tries mouthing a color without letting go of his own. And then the PD tells them to switch boxes.

Their second attempt is a dud too… and so is the third. And if you thought they wouldn’t be punished, then you thought wrong because a group of masked superheroes come rushing inside with water guns.

Gary is the only one still relatively dry at the end of it (because he hid behind the arcade machine), and now they’re all soaked. Their next mission won’t start for another hour, and Suk-jin advises Jong-kook to steal one of the water guns next time.

The best part is that the cast can recognize the water gun crew, and vow to get them back, especially the PD leading the pack. And aww, Gary helps dry Ji-hyo off with a towel.

Barely twenty minutes have passed since they’ve been trapped in here, so Ji-hyo decides to color. Gary snuggles up next to her before doing a puzzle. He gets upset when Jae-suk steps all over the pieces while playing badminton, then eventually it’s time for their next mission.

A kind of telepathy game, all seven of them must make the same gesture. Again they only have three chances. The PD calls out “hearts” and they all make a heart gesture over their heads—except Jae-suk, who uses his thumb and index finger. He genuinely looks shocked by his own reflex.

At the “selca” prompt, they all make similar gestures, but this time it’s Haha who uses his left hand. Jong-kook gets annoyed, but then Kwang-soo points to the silhouettes just outside the door, waiting for them to screw up.

Their final prompt is “Running Man” and all of them look like in mid-run but in opposite directions. Everyone runs towards the crew, and this time, the masked Incredibles come at them with toy hammers and get in one last hit against Suk-jin before running out again.

I love how Gary tried to protect his now ruined puzzle, and Jae-suk asks Jong-kook how a brawny guy like him try and hide in the corner. But Jong-kook takes more issue with his teensy two-fingered heart, so Jae-suk vows to send him a picture every morning of him doing just that.

That game took only ten minutes, so they have to wait until the next hour hits for their following game. While the Monday Couple turn back to the puzzle, the others set up their own badminton court.

With a punishment of forehead hitting on the line, the pairs play to be the first to get to fifteen points. We check in a little later when the score is 13:12 in favor of Jae-suk and Haha.

Jae-suk gets the last two points, and Suk-jin gets in position to receive his forehead slap. And when Jae-suk delivers it, the mat hyung falls backwards. Heh. Haha wets his hand before going in to slap Kwang-soo… and you can hear the audible slap.

Eager to get a little revenge, Suk-jin suggests that they see who can kick a hackysack the most. Neither Jae-suk nor Haha agree to do a rematch spurred by emotions, and would rather keep filming interesting with other games. Kwang-soo punches them on the side, swearing and yelling at his hyungs that it’ll be fun.

The cast sit down to eat after losing yet another game, and Jong-kook remarks that because none of them have their phones, they’re spending actual quality time together. Jae-suk says he’s terrible at sit-and-do nothing style of filming, and the others worry that they won’t be able to leave within the day.

They’re still hung up on the heart and selca gestures, and Suk-jin mutters that it’s all the Infinity Challenge guys’ fault. At least stopping to eat is effective in eating up some time before their next game.

The cast is presented a chance to shave an hour off of their entrapment: get through two full rounds of the Pop-Up Pirate game. Kwang-soo volunteers to go first… and then the pirate pops up into the air. HAHAHA.

Soon it’s time for their next game, where everyone will throw their bowling balls simultaneously and try to knock out all the pins. There’s a bowling alley already waiting for them outside, as well as the group of masked Incredibles.

All of them release their balls on cue… and they get the strike. Now that they’ve scooped up their first win, they’re feeling pretty good. Turns out they don’t have to wait long for their next game to start: drop a coin into a bowl in a water tank.

It’s a simple but difficult task, and trying to throw the coin into the water only causes it to change direction in the water. Ji-hyo wonders if it’s a matter of luck, so when she tries, her coin falls gracefully into the bowl.

Jae-suk figures out a method that produces a high probability of the coin falling in (by dropping it in near the edge of the tank). They all have five attempts each, and Kwang-soo’s request of whether they can drop five coins in simultaneously gets shut down.

When it’s time, Gary succeeds on his first try. Kwang-soo keeps getting close but after three failed attempts, he’d told to take a break. Jae-suk: “How about you take a break for two weeks?”

Jae-suk’s strategy works against him when it’s his turn, prompting Suk-jin to remark, “What good is practice if you can’t do it when it’s the real thing?” Third time’s the charm, though.

Hahaha, Suk-jin’s coin falls on top of the underwater camera. He gets ushered aside, and brought back in a few tense minutes later. This time he succeeds, leaving the burden on Kwang-soo and Ji-hyo’s shoulders.

Ji-hyo succeeds on her first try, and wow look at Kwang-soo’s face turn bright red with the unbelievable pressure he’s under now. Man I so want him to succeed on the first try… and he does. Aww, what a win for the usually perpetual bad luck charm.

With sixteen hours left on the clock, the cast construct a makeshift court so that they can play jokgu. The Easy Brothers are burning to exact a little revenge and the guys split off into teams of three (Jae-suk, Jong-kook, and Haha vs. the Easy Brothers and Gary).

After a practice round, the guys start and the first point goes to Big Nose Hyung’s team. On the next serve, Suk-jin calls out for the ball, only to kick it into the net. Just as Gary asks if Suk-jin is going to go for the entertainment angle with this game, Suk-jin kicks it…

… and it lands right on top of the puzzle. Oh no! Thanks to the fumbles from the Easy Brothers, they’re losing 5:1. After Kwang-soo and Gary slip and fall like bowling pins, it’s match point in favor of Jae-suk’s team.

Suk-jin receives the ball, which he accidentally kicks up to his own face. LOL, whoops. But since the judge (Ji-hyo) says nothing, they keep playing and Jae-suk’s team gets the point.

It’s time for some forehead slap punishment, and Jae-suk goes right in for Kwang-soo’s forehead. Gary tries to appeal to Haha, who responds with a loud slap. But we’re interested in the main event: Jong-kook vs. Suk-jin.

Before Jong-kook can slap him though, Suk-jin is saved by the buzzer alerting them of their next game. Or so he thinks because he gets sat down again. To everyone’s disappointment, Jong-kook doesn’t him him very hard, but Suk-jin says it still hurts.

The group is led outside for their next mission where they must all choose the same wig. Even though they’ve agreed to go with the shortest and funniest looking one, there are still five to choose from. And all but Suk-jin and Ji-hyo choose the same one.

The masked Incredibles appear chanting that one of them step up, and that one is Suk-jin. A sports medicine physician comes to “treat” Suk-jin through acupressure, but the latter can only yelp in pain and pushes him off.

Kwang-soo switches places with Suk-jin… and then our giraffe starts writhing in pain. Jae-suk does too, and when Jong-kook gets on the ground, the others hold him down.

Back inside, Haha offers to bet to add an hour for some refreshments. Told that they can just go out and buy some later, Jae-suk reminds him of the slipup, only to be reminded of his own.

Everyone would just like to go home, and when the buzzer sounds again, they’re given the green light to go out for an hour with their phones. Which is when Haha gets scolded for trying to strike a deal with the staff in the first place.

Everyone is wary about being sent outside and with their phones, at that. They can’t shake off the feeling that something is off, and Haha thinks that if they figure it out and succeed, they might be able to go home.

Once they sit down, Kwang-soo wonders if he should buy some food at a convenience store. That kind of talk only arouses suspicion, and Kwang-soo deflects by pointing the arrow at Jae-suk. He says he feels uncomfortable, and when Jae-suk tells the other two to go elsewhere, Jong-kook asks if they’re going to have a secret meeting or something.

Once they’re back in the car, Jae-suk stops the car at a sudden realization: if they’re following this unanimous theme, they’d win by unanimously agreeing to either all separate or stay together.

At that time, the Monday Couple and Haha get back to the studio. Haha asks for some chocolate, and when the PD offers to trade for an hour, he jokingly whispers, “Sure.” When Kwang-soo calls, Haha tells him to hurry back.

Jae-suk tries yelling that they don’t have to get back, but Haha argues that the entire crew is waiting. They go ’round and ’round the same argument until they hang up on the other group, who has less than two minutes left.

In the end, they’re all gathered inside three minutes past the deadline. Cue the masked Incredibles who tie up their hairs. It turns out Jae-suk’s deduction was correct, and then he gets blamed for taking the wheel at such a crucial moment and taking the wrong turn.

It makes Haha think that Jae-suk might’ve done that on purpose, so when the next mission arrives a minute later, Jae-suk is nominated as their representative. He wears headphones while the others decide on how many jumps Jae-suk can do.

Since Jae-suk is usually quick on the uptake if he’s given a number, but if he doesn’t catch on (or pretends not to), that’ll give them more reason to suspect him. They ultimately decide on seven jumps.

Reminded that they can all go home if Jae-suk completes this mission, they toss out some hints. Unfortunately for them, the more they say, the more confusing it gets: “We’re a family!” “We’re all for one!” “We’ve been together for five years!”

Determined to clear his name, Jae-suk starts jumping. One, two, three, four, five… six, seven… and he stops. Yay!

The others let out joyful screams and rush at Jae-suk to hug him. Moved, Gary says ending the episode like this is far better than just having left earlier. They all send Jae-suk mini heart hand gestures and prod Jong-kook to do the same.

The clock stops with 13 hours and 43 minutes left, having completed today’s games even before the halfway mark. Despite all their bickering from week to week, there’s no doubt that when push comes to shove, these guys love one another… and we love them.

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