Running Man: Episode 322

by gummimochi

Nothing like running around outside to fill up your lungs with fresh air. There’s a healthy dose of competition and nostalgia in this week’s race, where some games will bring back fond memories and others will create new ones. But this day of fun and games won’t be complete without some sort of deception, and all eyes will be on the lookout for the saboteur.

EPISODE 322. Broadcast on October 23, 2016.

On a brisk day like today, the Running School prepares for its autumn Athletics Day. Our team leaders are none other than Jae-suk and comedienne and MC Park Mi-sun, who are both happy to hear that all their teammates are of the opposite sex.

What they aren’t too happy about is that they are also spies for their fellow man and woman. Jae-suk: “No, I don’t want that. I’m happy with this.” Mi-sun: “I have to covertly help the women? I’m not close to any of them. I hate all girls who are prettier than me!”

She admits that her all-male lineup isn’t that great either, but then the team leaders are told that they can choose a fellow spy within their teams. However, that secret agent is able to betray them once prior to the final mission.

Mi-sun wonders aloud who she can trust among the five men. Jae-suk answers that question for her: “No one.” We catch up with those guys ten minutes later at the official opening, where the boys point out the dragonfly that’s been lounging on Gary’s hat for several minutes.

They welcome Mi-sun with open arms, and Haha still remembers how he and Mi-sun once paid for dinner. Then Jae-suk marches with his teammates: rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae, Davichi’s Kang Min-kyung, Girl’s Day Yura, actress Ye Ji-won, and last but not least, Ji-hyo.

Jae-suk has to keep the fanboys at bay from Yeon-jae while Gary still remembers Min-kyung’s trademark whooping cry from the 2010 drama Smile, Mom.

When Jae-suk says that his schoolmate Ye-ji keeps calling him “oppa”, Jong-kook tells him not to give his former acting partner a hard time—why their characters shared a kiss on the drama The Producers. Haha: “That was his first kiss in seven years!”

Time to hear the objective of today’s Athletics Day competition: whichever team acquires the most points, wins. However, there are spies in their midst, and the team who track down the moles in their teams will get a point bonus.

Mi-sun and Jae-suk pretend to be shocked while Suk-jin asks the crew outright to make him into a spy. The group wonders if it could be the timid-looking Yeon-jae, but then the team leaders step forward to officially kick off the games.

Our first game is Running Arcade, and the guys are quick to tease Mi-sun about how they probably had torches and arrows when she participated in Athletic Day as a child. She explains how these festivities used to be open to all ages, and people would gather around throwing beanbags to crack open a gourd that would signify lunchtime.

Most of the guys remember the cheering squads, but they need to move on. Here, the teams will play four separate games where the winners are allowed to peel back a portion of their hidden photo.

In the first round, the team will introduce themselves and pass along a ticking time bomb for one minute. If they complete the line and yell “Stop!” within three seconds before it blows, they’ll win.

The Blue Team takes their time during their first attempt, and everyone jumps when the ball bursts in Mi-sun’s hands. She takes it out on Jong-kook, but the guys insist that they were counting along.

As for the Pink Team, they start off slow, but then rush through the last couple of intros. Ji-hyo yells, “Stop!” and the ball bursts because she called it too early.

For their next pass, the teams need to compliment the other team leader. Jong-kook: “You’re asking me to say something nice about [Jae-suk]?!”

So when it’s Jong-kook’s turn, he inserts a backhanded compliment: “He’s clever but disgustingly arrogant.” That trend continues with Kwang-soo: “Jae-suk is ugly, but he’s nice!” Gary calls out “Stop!” as soon as the ball is passed to him.

The Blue Team must’ve done something right because the ball doesn’t burst, and now it’s the Pink Team’s turn to compliment Mi-sun, who jokes, “You’ve got a lot to say, right?”

Jae-suk uses up 20 seconds himself before handing it over to Min-kyung. The ball is passed down the line, but by the time it reaches Ji-hyo, it explodes.

Jae-suk starts chanting to boost his team morale, and soon the teams engaging in a singing match about who will win. But it’s the Blue Team who peels back a portion of the photo to reveal the mystery celebrity’s eyes. They guess that it’s Kim Hee-sun, but that’s wrong.

So it’s on to Round 2 in a twist off of the Telephone Game, where everyone will wear headphones and try to accurately pass along as many words as possible down the line.

The Pink Team goes first, and their first word is an easy one: americano. The next one “soy pickled peppers” is tougher, and Min-kyung relays that as “pepper puppy.” Thankfully Jae-suk gets them back on track, but then Ji-hyo hollers, “Pepper gangster!” HA.

However, Yura relays the correct phrase, and the team picks up another point. Things look good for the next word, but the Blue Team start to suspect when Ji-hyo yells something completely different.

When it’s the Blue Team’s turn, Jong-kook makes sure to enunciate. But his efforts are for naught because Suk-jin twists the word. Mi-sun catches the original word, but then Haha says something different.

It goes without saying that they don’t get the first point, but they appear to have better luck with “implicit bitterness” until Haha again relays something different. In the end, they end up with zero points and everyone points the finger of blame at someone else. When Jae-suk tries to calm them down, Jong-kook and Haha scream at him to stay out of it.

The Pink Team opts to unveil the eyes first too, and Mi-sun guesses aloud: “Sohn Chang-min.” But the Pink Team goes with Jackie Chan… and it’s correct. Turns out the Blue Team’s photos was of Jeon Do-yeon, but it’s the Pink Team who ultimately wins the first game.

Lunchtime is another mission: the teams will search for ten boxes each and must use those ingredients to make their kimbap. Suk-jin steals a box right under the Pink Team’s noses, but then discovers his team’s first ingredient: gummy worms.

Both Haha and Kwang-soo each find a box, though they both fear that something horrible is inside. Both choices are awful: wasabi and salted fermented shrimp. Gary adds upon that list with his raw garlic.

The ladies have better luck with ingredients like ham, eggs, and chicken feet. While the Blue Team rolls their gummy worm kimbap, Gary wonders if they’re to give this food to the other team. Haha is surprised for a second before commenting: “You’re making it obvious that you’re a spy.”

The Pink Team make a special wasabi-skate-strawberry-jam-pepper kimbap for the other team. As it happens, the Blue Team is preparing a similar roll.

The teams gather together on a blanket to chat about how the weather makes people yearn to be in a relationship. Yeon-jae says she’s looking forward to dating now that the Summer Olympics are over, and adds that she’d like someone of similar height.

And that’s when Suk-jin remarks that Kwang-soo, who has been laser-focused on her words, exceeds her height requirement. Haha asks who she’d choose among the guys here based on looks, and Yeon-jae repeats, astonished, “Here?”

Jae-suk eliminates all of them, and Gary gets upset for being cast out twice. Yeon-jae is asked again who she would choose, so she chooses Kwang-soo. Needless to say, he beams.

As expected, Jae-suk announces that each team will eat each other’s worst kimbap. Poor Yura has to eat the Blue Team’s roll and laughs at the skate-chocolate-strawberry-jam combination.

Kwang-soo is given the leftover rice ball, and the skate is the first to overwhelm his taste buds followed by the garlic. Now that that’s over, the teams feast on the yummy kimbap they’ve made.

Afterward, the Pink Team can’t think of anyone who could be a spy. But the Easy Brothers suspect Jae-suk, who in turn suspects Suk-jin.

Their next game is Couple Wristbands with the Crew, where the teams will jump to grab a pouch, match the description to a crew member, then try to tear off the links of every other couple on the other team. Whoever cannot find their crew member within five minutes is automatically eliminated.

Mi-sun worries that the handicap for the guys (placing the pouches higher) will work against someone like Haha or Gary. Jae-suk claims Yeon-jae is flexible enough to tie her shoe standing up, so she lifts her leg onto his shoulder to prove it. Jae-suk pushes Suk-jin away when he tries to do the same, and the mat hyung tumbles to the ground.

Kwang-soo is the only one to easily grab a pouch when the game begins. Gary asks for his help, so he hoists him up, grabbing him right under his armpit.

Jae-suk needs to find a celebrity look-alike while Yura needs to track down the maknae PD. Jong-kook is off to find a staff member who looks single, and Kwang-soo is off to find the maknae writer.

Ji-hyo is in search of someone who weighs over 100 kg, so she asks VJ Kwon-ryul. One by one, they return with their discoveries, but Jong-kook has something to say about Ji-won’s choice of “handsome.” He masks half of his face, claiming to be Won Bin. LOL.

Yeon-jae is still on the search for someone with double eyelids. Jae-suk wanders around with her, but it becomes apparent that he’s just been killing time and pretending to help his teammates.

Kwang-soo is eliminated before Jong-kook can come to his rescue. But soon Jong-kook and his partner is eliminated too, and Kwang-soo tells the maknae writer to start coming with them to the gym.

Min-kyung feels betrayed when her chosen staffer fails to keep her hanging on his arm for five seconds like before. She giggles a minute later when they’re alone, telling him to keep it a secret. Aha, she must be the other spy, as she asks another crew member to act like he’s too weak.

The flashback confirms it, as Min-kyung is told that she is a spy for the Blue Team. She’s given the opportunity to betray her fellow spy once, but if they don’t win, the punishment will be doubled. Reviewing the tape reveals that she’s been dropping tiny hints all day.

Back on the field, Gary is eliminated after taking Ji-hyo out. Haha breaks Ye-jin, who has had three consecutive kills.

Meanwhile, Jae-suk is rejected for his latest celebrity doppelganger of choice. Min-kyung is linked to a crew member to avoid suspicion, and Suk-jin is eliminated during a moment of distraction. Min-kyung’s partner takes down the rest, and the Pink Team wins it.

The score is now 200:0 in favor of the Pink Team, and Jae-suk says whoever the spy is, they’re doing an awful job. Min-kyung walks up to Jae-suk, tears off his nametag, and applies it… which we learn is the way to signify that they’ve betrayed the other secret agent.

The last game before the final vote, Athletics Day Flower Relay, is worth 200 points. The Blue Team can tie up the score now, though Mi-sun thinks every one of her teammates could be a spy because they’re so bad. She directly asks each one of her teammates, and Suk-jin replies in English: “No, I’m not.” Ha.

First, the teams will play a warm-up game that will decide whether they’ll be passing a regular baton or a giant one. When Jae-suk hits Haha with the giant baton, Suk-jin tries to avenge him, only to be hit himself. Here, whichever team kicks their shoe closest to the line, wins.

Yura gets pretty close, whereas Jong-kook and Suk-jin surpass the line. Everyone else’s voices get in Kwang-soo’s head, but a blind kick gets him closest to the line. Jae-suk suffers three-way kick before his turn, and though his teammates try to protect him, Kwang-soo still hits him with a giant baton.

It all comes down to Yeon-jae, but she comes up short. Jae-suk pretends to be upset while Min-kyung wonders if betraying her fellow spy was for naught. Anyhow, the Pink Team will use the giant baton while the Blue Team gets the regular baton.

What lies ahead is a seven station long relay race that starts with hurdles and ends with cracking open a gourd. Suk-jin and Jae-suk are the teams’ starters, and a few yards away, Yura and Mi-sun worry about pushing their faces through plastic wrap.

Both Suk-jin and Jae-suk keep knocking over their hurdles, though the repetitive action has the guys suspect that Jae-suk is a spy. They eventually get through all of them and help their next teammates get out of their bubbles.

Kwang-soo can barely walk straight after spinning in place ten times. Min-kyung struggles a bit too, but they both hand off their batons around the same time. The Blue Team pulls ahead by the fifth station, though Mi-sun and Yura both struggle against the plastic wrap.

Yura gets through her frame first, at which point Yeon-jae rolls… and catches the ball with her feet. Mi-sun’s screams are still too weak, but she buys a bit more time for Yeon-jae to successfully catch the ball.

Kwang-soo helps things along by inducing some pain, and Jong-kook catches his ball on the first try. Everyone is attacking their gourds now, and Min-kyung points out a weak point. Mi-sun keeps hitting her own teammates, and by the ten-minute mark, it’s the Blue Team who wins out.

The score is now tied 200:200, and the vote remains. Min-kyung whispers to the other ladies that she’s an ex-spy. She comes clean about her reasoning, but something feels off to Jae-suk, who outright asks if the ladies think he’s the spy.

They send him to the voting booth first, and Jae-suk writes down Ji-hyo. Yura votes for Jae-suk while Ji-hyo votes for Min-kyung. Once the votes are in, the teams are told that the team who has guessed correctly will receive 100 points.

And it’s the Blue Team to win it with 300 points versus the Pink Team’s 200 points. Turns out Min-kyung received three votes herself, and not only is she upset that her teammates didn’t believe her, but Jae-suk feels betrayed that his fellow spy switched sides.

Now for the Blue Team, who just minutes earlier, still remember how Mi-sun was throwing balls at them. Most of them are happy when Mi-sun’s true identity is revealed, but they’re thrown for a loop upon learning that Haha was her accomplice.

Haha says there was no need for him to betray his fellow spy or try to purposefully mess up since his other teammates were so terrible. So our victor are the Blue Team and Jae-suk who all receive school supplies, though Jae-suk is the only one to be presented with a gold prize in front of everyone.

Once night falls, everyone digs in for a meat-centric dinner paid for by the one who betrayed the betrayer: Min-kyung.

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