1 Night 2 Days: Episode 407

by girlfriday

EPISODE 407. Broadcast on October 7, 2012.

girlfriday: We catch up with Tae-woong on his fishing trip, or fishing punishment is I guess more accurate.

javabeans: Even so, I bet he would rather tasks like this in place of games. Effort, he can do. Hand-eye coordination or word-game skills, not so much. Of course, this isn’t to say he’s enjoying this; I think it’s the lack of company (from cast members) that’s the real punishment.

girlfriday: Yeah poor guy looks lonely. He perks up when they finally reach the fish, but excitement quickly turns to fatigue when he has to spend an hour just pulling up the net. An hour?

javabeans: They really sent him out to work. Usually I feel like the producers just find small tasks for the members—enough to feel it, but not enough to actually stand in for the real professionals. Here, I feel like they pushed him on a fishing boat and were like, “See you in a few hours!”

girlfriday: Seriously.

javabeans: There aren’t even any side gags or complications like they usually try to insert. Just fishing. Back at basecamp the others hear that Tae-woong’s still working and they’re like, “Man, that was kinda harsh for that [small, quick] game. It didn’t even take 30 seconds!”

girlfriday: They’re sitting around waiting for dinner, and Tae-hyun notes that Jong-min’s armed with a pillow, so Jong-min gestures at Shi-kyung to c’mere for some more pillow-truth-talk. And then he jokingly grabs the hard brick pillow. Now you’re just asking for a beating.

javabeans: Talk turns to the dinner menu, and they wonder what makes today’s special stew different from normal seafood stew. Shi-kyung ends up calling his mother and warns her right off the bat that she’s on camera, and she answers with a perky, “Rea~lly~?” So cute. Su-geun takes over the phone and makes it sound like he’s passing it around to the other members, so Shi-kyung’s mother ends up saying hello like four times to Su-geun.

girlfriday: I love that Shi-kyung doesn’t even smile. He’s like, “Mom that was all Su-geun hyung. ANYWAY, what do I put in the crab stew?”

javabeans: Then Su-geun takes the phone back and asks, “At home, if you don’t give Shi-kyung food does he get all mad at you?” HAHA.

girlfriday: Pffft. Can you imagine if he were King Shi-kyung at home too?

javabeans: Shi-kyung takes command of the cooking proceedings, and I guess he’s going to be our resident chef now that Seung-gi (heh) and timer are gone.

girlfriday: That’s probably better for the boys who have to eat the food, but slightly less entertaining for us, because Shi-kyung actually knows what he’s doing.

javabeans: Yeah, I almost wish he were a terrible cook, just to make the confidence hilarious. Though then we’d have to deal with cranky, hungry Shi-kyung. Wait, that’s entertaining too. Joo-won is put in charge of washing rice, and he comments on a beauty tip about washing your face with the rice water, then tells himself, “No, you’ve gotta show a more manly side now.” He says in baby boy voice.

girlfriday: Hee. Okay, you do that.

javabeans: Ha, and then he adds, “I wish the camera filmed when I caught that bug earlier.” Suuuuure, sure. Bug. Joo-won. Caught. Those words totally make sense together. Then he walks away singsonging, “I’m a ma~aaaan.”

girlfriday: HA. You just can’t write that stuff. It’s the kind of thing you want to put on a reel and then show him when he comes out of army or something.

javabeans: I put you in charge of that. Though frankly, I’m pretty sure 1N2D will be on top of it. As the boys wait for the soup to cook, they start chatting the kind of conversation that cracks me up, since, uh, it’s exactly the kind of detour that’s familiar to us.

girlfriday: I was just gonna say, they sound like us.

javabeans: They start picking at the veggies because they’re hungry, and Su-geun wonders who was the first guy to eat this and deem this edible (which I have totally wondered, all the time). Then they talk of the old kings and how there must have been so many food tasters who died, and Su-geun adds, “Then they could use that [killer food] to make poison for executions!”

girlfriday: It sounds perfectly logical to me. Which probably means it isn’t true.

javabeans: Totally. They wonder what that poison is made of, and Tae-hyun quips that it’s mixed with that punishment tea they have to drink for games.

girlfriday: Su-geun plays around with a stray pot lid, and decides they should spin it for forehead flicks. This guy can turn anything into a game.

javabeans: Finally the soup is ready for a taste, and King Sung—who is Dae Sung Geum for this bit—hands a ladleful out, which gets passed alllllll the way around to Seung-woo (perks of being mat-hyung!). Jong-min then messes with him by holding out the ladle and then pulling it away.

girlfriday: I don’t trust the awesomeness until Tae-hyun tastes and says it’s good (because he would say it was bad if it were), but everyone gives a thumbs up.

javabeans: I’m so hungry now. I want to eat that whole pot. Even though I’m allergic.

girlfriday: That would be a steep price to pay. Aw, how cute, Joo-won puts Tae-woong’s shoes at the table to mark his place, and then Tae-hyun puts a bowl of rice there. I hope he gets to eat on that boat.

javabeans: I feel like Tae-woong’s facing a case of: SO MUCH FOOD (literally tons of fish), yet none of it edible. He gets the job of tossing back the mackerels that got mixed in with the catch, and actually cackles over a momentary God complex. (As in, “You will live! Muahaha!”) That’s so cute. I love that in his absence, you have Seung-woo and Tae-hyun filling the lame joke quotient at the dinner table.

girlfriday: There’s so much food over at basecamp that Shi-kyung passes some around to the crew. The editing makes it look like one taste of the magical soup and each of them falls in love with Shi-kyung on the spot.

javabeans: It might not be the editing. It could be true! I dare you to resist.

girlfriday: A man that tall who can sing and cook? I don’t even need to taste. Love.

javabeans: Okay, now I am actually concerned: Are they going to starve Tae-woong? He’s just working, and working, and working. At least he looks cheerful while doing it, but he’s been up since dawn. No dinner at all?

girlfriday: And does he really need to unload the fish too? And sell it? And clean out the tank?!

javabeans: This is hardcore. He’s not even back by the time they’re doing sleepytime bokbulbok. They start the game and give Tae-woong the prompt in the car so he can think it over in transit.

girlfriday: Bird PD says they actually had a meeting on staff to try and think of games that Tae-woong, Seung-woo, and Tae-hyun would win… and came up with nothing. Dude. Not instilling a lot of confidence here.

javabeans: What, you couldn’t whip up an acting challenge?

girlfriday: So then he gives the three of them the opportunity to propose the games themselves, in an effort to skew things in their favor. He sends them outside where they’ve prepared Thinking Chairs. Mostly they grumble that their pride is hurt. Aw.

javabeans: Then Tae-woong finally arrives to join them, and Seung-woo sees how exhausted he looks and quips that he looks like he needs some tofu—the kind you give to prisoners when they’re released from incarceration. Tae-woong staggers back and is all, “Don’t get near. I’m… dirty. I’ve become a fish.” Aw. I really don’t understand why the punishment had to be that bad. Or they could’ve at least put two guys on it, so they could talk.

girlfriday: After a long silence, Tae-woong suggests a game: Who’s better looking. Haha. Seung-woo suggests acting, and Tae-woong is quick to be like, “We’re not really that good at that…”

javabeans: Seung-woo’s like, “Still, we’re better than those guys inside.” Until Tae-hyun reminds them that they’ve got Joo-won, who cried fastest. Their suggestions are hilarious. “Have old faces!” “Have slow blood circulation!” “Have biggest dark eye bags!” HA.

girlfriday: If I were them, I’d spend my time thinking of what the other team was BAD at, and play that. Jong-min and his tongue-tied-ness, or Shi-kyung and his temper, or something.

javabeans: That’s probably why they’re on this side, because they don’t think like that. Tae-woong says they’re just not made that way personality wise.

girlfriday: They rejoin the group, and Tae-woong regales them with his stories at sea. He seems upbeat, until they ask if he’s eaten (No) and he hears they ate crab stew without him. Awww he looks heartbroken.

javabeans: Seriously, he’s back now and they’re STILL not feeding him? Okay, I know this is a show and he’s not starving, like, in a literal sense. But beyond mean, I think it’s just weird. Strangely conceived.

girlfriday: I know, can’t we take a break for him to eat? And shower? I would want a shower.

javabeans: Instead, they move on to the game suggestions, and Tae-woong has thought of a game he can win: “Putting my honor and conscience on the line, I can run at top speed and still come in last place.”

girlfriday: Pwahaha. How is that a game? So then after all that, Bird PD says they’re just going to play the games they planned anyway. What? Then what was all that Thinking Chair hullabaloo about? I don’t get you today, Bird.

javabeans: Maybe I’m gonna have to chalk it up to: It was Chuseok, they were mentally not 100%.

girlfriday: The indoor games they planned are fun anyway, as it turns out.

javabeans: Admittedly the “head wrestling” is entertaining, in a cracked sort of way. When they said head wrestling I was basically, WTF? Turns out it’s more like… head-pushing-over-the-line.

girlfriday: Any game where the prop list consists of: duct tape and ice pack seems like hilarity and danger in equal parts.

javabeans: Tae-hyun pulls out a win against Jong-min. Then it’s Joo-won versus Seung-woo, and the guys warn that Seung-woo’s lost sensation in his head (because he’s old?). Haha. They go at it, and both of their faces look totally wracked with pain, till Seung-woo calls a time-out to complain: Joo-won’s head is pointy. “It feels like he’s stabbing me!”

girlfriday: At first I thought he was talking about his hair, like he over-moussed it or something, but he’s making it sound like Joo-won’s a unicorn.

javabeans: It must be true though, because the other guys feel his scalp and their eyes widen. They resume, and Joo-won says he feels all confident now. Turns out the pointy head is too much, and Seung-woo loses.

girlfriday: That is the strangest of advantages I’ve ever seen. But pointy head for the win. It’s even funnier when Shi-kyung and Su-geun go head-to-head (hur) because of their size difference.

javabeans: And then David beats Goliath. Shi-kyung holds his ground pretty solidly, but Su-geun starts jackhammering his head against Shi-kyung’s, which, OW. He uses that attack to push forward and across the line. Totally wily of him.

girlfriday: Seriously, that’s why he always wins at things — he’s crafty.

javabeans: Are we heading to a Joo-won and Tae-woong final? Pointy head versus hard head? Omo, I think Tae-woong has finally found his game. He beats Joo-won in about a second. This leads to a whole round of, “Go on, hit my head! Hit it! It doesn’t hurt!”

girlfriday: I love it. Such a great moment for the hyung to win. Lol, the next game is butt wrestling.

javabeans: Oh man, this is hysterical. It’s slightly different than the head version because you’re not merely pushing with brute force. This one, you stand back to back and have to push your opponent off-balance, but you can move your butt in any direction. You’re trying to push to win, but also evade to knock them off-balance. This also results in the funniest body positions ever.

girlfriday: Best. Game. Ever. There’s butt-mashing, butt-dancing, butt-swinging, and the loser even gets to fall into Shi-kyung’s waiting arms.

javabeans: Tae-hyun beats Su-geun, then it’s Seung-woo’s turn, and… I’m crying. Omg, I can’t breathe.

girlfriday: Okay, now we’ve found Seung-woo’s game. How can he be so into this? It’s so funny.

javabeans: The best thing is, he’s being all serious about the rules of the game, but everyone is dying because he looks insane.

girlfriday: He’s like… gyrating… and wearing this goofy grin… and his hands are behind his head while he’s doing these pelvic thrusts… I just can’t even describe it in words.

javabeans: It’s even weirder (and therefore better) when he decides hands behind the head is weird… so he’ll do it with arms crossed. Yes, that is SO less weird. He’s like butt-gyrating genie. Kim Seung-woo is ruined for thrillers for me forEVER. From now on he only gets to play embarrassing dads.

girlfriday: No kidding. Somebody get him a sitcom or something.

javabeans: Then it’s semifinals with Shi-kyung and Tae-hyun, and they happen to launch a “simultaneous attack” that sends them both out at the same time. Shi-kyung’s butt takes a hit and he falls to the ground holding his tailbone, and the caption reads: “Sung Shi-kyung down!” Why is this so funny?

girlfriday: They start to count down, but he gets back up and sticks his fists in the air. So cute. He’s back in the game! He wins that round, and advances to the finals with Seung-woo. Tae-hyun (who’s been dying this whole time) tells everyone that he’s got the best seat in the house, so everyone joins him… to be eye-level with Seung-woo’s pelvic thrusts?

javabeans: They are pretty amazing. He’s bursting with all this confidence, too, which adds this extra layer of hilarity. Obviously he knows it’s silly, but he’s doing it as seriously as you can pelvic-thrust-for-game-bragging-rights.

girlfriday: And his attack-butt is no joke, because it just goes WAY up there, like it’s on a sling or something.

javabeans: Turns out Shi-kyung wins the butt-wrestling round, though, and it’s on to the next game. Basically you have to sit down, knees bent in front, hands linked under your knees. Then in this vaguely crab-like position, you attack the others with your feet to knock them off balance. This turns into a final between Tae-hyun and Seung-woo, who has this really oddly stable center of gravity and it’s just hilarious.

girlfriday: HAHA, and then Seung-woo starts attacking Tae-hyun foot-to-face, and soon he’s patting him on the head with his foot while joking, “You’re doing a good job, kiddo!” I half-think that Tae-hyun loses because he’s laughing so damn hard at Seung-woo’s hilarious antics.

javabeans: Totally. He’s laughing so much he basically forgets to attack, and just sits there enduring. Seung-woo wins, naturally, and with a final round the sleeping arrangement is secured: Inside is Tae-woong, Shi-kyung, Seung-woo, and Joo-won. Outside is Tae-hyun, Jong-min, and Su-geun. Bird PD explains that tomorrow’s morning mission will be some sort of search (like a scavenger hunt) to win the ability to go home. Aw, and then through the big window, Joo-won and Tae-hyun blow each other goodnight kisses.

girlfriday: Omg, it’s a cuteness explosion tonight. Then Shi-kyung climbs into bed with Joo-won, wondering how many girls would be jealous of him ‘cause they’re gonna cuddle tonight. Shi-kyung: “He’s mine!”

javabeans: I love that Shi-kyung looks at sleeping Joo-won like he’s this puppy, marveling, “He’s so cute!” He pats Joo-won and says, “He’s just like a baby.” Tae-woong joins in on the cuddle session from the other side… and then Shi-kyung shoves Tae-woong’s hand away: “Hyung, go away. Go raise dogs.” HA.

girlfriday: Aw. Bromance war over the puppy? Is there anything cuter?

javabeans: Outside, the boys have another one of those meandering conversations, wondering about what things would be like if they could turn into ghosts when they die. Have they been watching Arang?

girlfriday: It’s hilarious out here too. Su-geun says (totally sincerely) that he believes that the moment he dies, a baby somewhere will be born right at that instant. Jong-min retorts in this hilarious tone that’s instantly deflating: “That will NEVER happen!” And Su-geun actually gets pissed.

javabeans: I love that Su-geun, the eternal host, actually seems miffed that Jong-min’s not taking his nonsensical talk seriously. He makes one more attempt to revive his earnest train of thought, but Jong-min’s on a nonsense tear (it’s totally weird and random and has Tae-hyun cracking up) and it’s just over from there.

girlfriday: It’s so great because it’s sort of Shi-kyung vs. Jong-min in a different configuration. Su-geun for once is trying to have a deep serious conversation, and Jong-min refuses to let him have it, answering everything with this retort that keeps derailing the thing. But it’s hysterical. They go to bed, and then the morning mission consists of running out and picking a car to get into, which turns out to be a difficult task for the sleep-deprived.

javabeans: First off, sleepy Jong-min forgets the deal they made last night to have Su-geun drive. Then while Joo-won is standing at an open car door, Shi-kyung comes by and literally knocks him aside. Ha, guess the puppy love comes AFTER breakfast.

girlfriday: But then he realizes that he did that just to climb into Jong-min’s car, and so he climbs back OUT. Hee. But then maybe he feels guilty about leaving him alone, because he grabs Tae-hyun and goes back.

javabeans: So the teams shake out thusly: Tae-woong, Joo-won, Seung-woo, and Su-geun in one car. It’s Tae-hyun, Shi-kyung, and Jong-min in the other car.

girlfriday: The game is a team race for treasure. They play games at different stops to get clues, and the first team to find treasure gets to go home, while the other team has to stay till sunset. Whoa.

javabeans: They’re all about big disparities in punishments today.

girlfriday: Team Tae-woong goes straight for the trivia quiz, while unsurprisingly, Shi-kyung directs his team to breakfast first. The problem is, the game they have to win to get breakfast is the perfect pitch game, aka Jong-min’s kryptonite.

javabeans: It’s a long phrase, too, at eight syllables. Teammates Shi-kyung and Tae-hyun have no problem getting through on their first tries. Jong-min, alas, is not so lucky.

girlfriday: Shi-kyung is already starting to get pissy, but then Tae-hyun gets a genius idea. He grabs Jong-min’s ear, and just YANKS the hell out of it every time he’s supposed to go up in pitch.

javabeans: It’s an amazingly simple but effective trick. Why have they not hit upon it before?

girlfriday: I don’t know, but it works like a charm. And it’s hilarious. The other team isn’t doing so well with the quiz questions, on top of which, they’re starving. So maybe Team Shi-kyung had the right idea after all.

javabeans: Joo-won is totally their weak link, while Tae-woong is particularly strong. It’s like opposite day.

girlfriday: Joo-won looks like he might cry if they ask him one more question.

javabeans: He really is terrible at trivia and information quizzes. The other team’s breakfast is actually a part of the task, since they don’t get a hint till they clean their plates. Somehow I do not think this is much of a problem. Watching Shi-kyung eat makes me super hungry, yet also a little full because of the sheer quantity he just inhales. It’s a bizarre dual effect.

girlfriday: He definitely eats in that way that moms love — heartily, without bias, and as if the act of eating actually provides him happiness.

javabeans: The other team has to answer eight questions in a row this round, and I’m nervous because Joo-won gets both answers right. That’s, like, so out of the norm that it’s just asking for someone else to mess up.

girlfriday: I just love how insanely nervous he is, like it’s the most unpleasant thing in the world to be asked a trivia question.

javabeans: He actually whimpers, “I’m scared.” Then after he clears his question the pressure mounts on the rest. Tae-woong’s is an addition problem, which thankfully he gets right. I’m pretty sure he’s prepared to cheat in feeding Seung-woo the answer to the last question, but thankfully Seung-woo knows it. Caption reads: “September 22, the day of Tae-woong’s reputation was restored.”

girlfriday: Ha. Then they run to the next station, where they have to play the strawberry game. Oh noes. We just restored Tae-woong’s reputation! Thankfully, when they get there, the PD says only three of them have to play (to keep it even with the other team), so Tae-woong volunteers to sit this one out.

javabeans: Oh phew. Especially since this is a souped-up version of the game where they have to play with words up to seven syllables long.

girlfriday: This version is actually really hard. I’m getting tripped up just trying to say a seven-syllable word four times straight. The two teams actually meet here, so they end up taking turns. The weak links here are Seung-woo and Tae-hyun, who are a little fuzzy on the strawberry rules.

javabeans: My problem would be remembering which words had how many syllables. It’s not like you say seven and I immediately know words that long. Seung-woo’s team actually manages very well on their second try and off they go with the next hint.

girlfriday: The other team plays and almost makes it to the end… but Jong-min trips up on the six-syllable word. I love the way that Shi-kyung just hugs Tae-hyun in exasperation, like what’re we gonna do with this kid?

javabeans: There might be a bit of hold me back, just hold me back in there too.

girlfriday: It’s the flailing arms bit that’s endearing. Su-geun’s team pops in the CD they got as their hint — Seo Taiji’s “Come Back Home.” They wonder what it means, and then realize, “Does it mean come back to base camp?”

javabeans: Tae-hyun’s team tackles the trivia quiz quickly: Shi-kyung answers right away (Who said the phrase about eye for an eye) before she’s even done with the prompt. Jong-min even exclaims, “You call that a question?!” Yoo PD: “Did you know it?” Jong-min, sheepish: “….no.”

girlfriday: Tae-woong’s team realizes that the other hint is a schedule of the tide. Man, did they bury the treasure so that it’d be underwater later in the day?

javabeans: They get to basecamp and spot the cameras, following them to the beach. There, half-submerged in water, is a treasure chest. Opening it, they pull out the faux gold bar with “Permission to go home” written on it. Best of all is the decision to leave the chest there and fake out the other team. Seung-woo reads their message with his hilarious deep voice, “You thought this would be the go-home card, didn’t you? Mehrong! Go on and shoot till sunset!”

girlfriday: And then they hide out, just to watch the other team have their big victory moment. It’s especially funny because they have to get all muddy to get to the treasure, and ruuuun across the beach all smiles, thinking they’ve won.

javabeans: They rejoice for about three seconds before reading the back of the message, and then they deflate like balloons. I enjoy how the others are cackling, going, “This feeling is why we do variety.”

girlfriday: Shi-kyung spends a good long time just sitting on the treasure chest in the middle of the beach, fuming in silence.

javabeans: It’s 10am when the winners are let go, which means that there are eight more hours to go before this team can leave. There don’t seem to be activities on the schedule for them, though, so they sit around fiddling with their phones. On the upside, at least there’s no scheduled punishment either.

girlfriday: They sit around for a while, and then Yoo PD starts giving them trivia questions for fun.

javabeans: I love that Bird PD calls them uneducated for missing a bunch of questions, and I’m thinking almost immediately he regrets it because Shi-kyung drags him out to go head to head. Ha. Jong-min chants, Korea U versus Yonsei! I know Shi-kyung went to Korea, so wow, did Bird PD go to Yonsei?

girlfriday: Pffft, I love that the second Bird PD gets into the game and shoots his hand up in the air all Ooh, me! Me!, everyone busts a gut and he crumples in embarrassment.

javabeans: I think Shi-kyung beat him to the punch in answering, and Bird PD quits the game after the first round. Ha. You can dish it out, but you can’t take it… which I guess is the mark of the true sadist?

girlfriday: And the mark of a good PD, at least for this show? The boys then go on a tour of the area, and visit a famous field where they shot JSA and Chuno, before making their way back to the ocean by sunset.

javabeans: After a day of just seeing the local sights and killing time, they shoot the sunset and then it’s time (finally) to call it a day. Phew, and not a moment too soon. It feels like this trip has stretched on for ages! For the boys, I mean, not that it was slow. ‘Cause I could watch butt-wrestling for hours.

girlfriday: Yeah this was a great episode. And at least the ‘79 friends got some bonding time out of the punishment. Baby steps to bromance?

 
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