Running Man: Episode 132

by gummimochi

In this episode, it’s Actors versus Singers and Spy versus Spy. The boss requires the Running Man cast members to deliver seven missing cases to him. Those same seven cases go back and forth between the teams multiple times, which can make it a headache just to guess who has which case at what time. But no one is quite as clueless as our lovable Dumb and Dumber, who are left out of the loop altogether.

EPISODE 132. Broadcast on February 10, 2013.

On a cold rainy day at the SBS helipad, Jo PD waits as a mysterious man approaches. It’s actor Hwang Jung-min (Peninsula). But wait, someone else comes to crash this uber secret meeting. Gary: “Am I not supposed to be here?”

Turns out his arrival isn’t so random after all because Jung-min tells Gary that he needs his help… as a spy. And in another part of Seoul, Kookie meets with his accomplice: Ji-hyo.

There are two teams in today’s mission (Actors vs. Singers) and the ex-Monday Couple will infiltrate the enemy as spies. I’m confident that the Ace will do just fine. As for Gary, well, “I’ve never gone more than five minutes [without getting caught]!”

Jung-min seems so fun and charismatic. He’s relaxed about the mission at hand (whereas Ji-hyo gets a lecture about The Plan to Win). He and Gary vow to show the others what betrayal truly looks like: “Life is about betrayal!”

About an hour later, we meet up with the rest of our cast at the Han River, bracing themselves against the bitter wind. At least someone came prepared and they all have a good laugh over Gary’s wool explorer hat.

Time to introduce our guests. And look, there’s someone else here today: actor Park Sung-woong (Gaksital, Man of Honor). Ha – Jung-min sticks his head out, screams, “It’s cold!” and gets back in the car. This man’s already hilarious.

But there’s one more who will join them today to even out the numbers: returning guest HyunA, who drives up in a fancy red sports car. That number doesn’t look very winter-appropriate and the cast asks, “Aren’t you freezing?!” She nods.

Mr. PD announces today’s two teams and the cast argues that Kwang-soo’s more of a comedian than an actor. And as for Jae-suk, turns out he had small role in a 1994 film.

Boss Maknae FD sounds like an oxymoron, so we’ll stick with Boss Go. Today their task is to find all seven missing cases and deliver it to Boss Go. The team who does so first wins.

Jung-min’s like a chipper chipmunk in the car and immediately suggests that they forgo the mission and play hooky. Wouldn’t that make for an interesting episode?

But the conversation turns to Jae-suk’s filmography and though Kwang-soo jokes that Jae-suk should act as a manager today, Ji-hyo points out that he’s acted before in Banjun Drama (think of it almost like a parody of popular dramas). And then we get a flash of Jae-suk in Bae Yong-joon’s role in Winter Sonata. Undo, undo!

Out of the blue, Sung-woong takes a call from his wife (so cute) and Jae-suk teases him about taking a personal call while filming. And then Jung-min’s like, “You especially don’t take calls from your wife!”

It seems that Sung-woong used to play handball and Ji-hyo adds that he’s gone to action school as well. Explains why he wants to take on Jong-kook today.

Sung-woon mentions that his actor teammate is quite charismatic and easily molds to whatever environment (hwankyung) he’s in. Jae-suk: “So that’s why his name is Hwan Kyung-min!” So punny.

Their first mission takes them to the streets of Hongdae and here, they’ll play Hide and Seek where one member will need to find the rest of their teammates. In order. And if that weren’t hard enough, they’re told to leave their coats behind. But it’s cold out!

Then to top off the ridiculous, their seekers have to wear these foam ladders that will eventually connect everyone together.

Gary and Jung-min are left behind and they start to strategize on ways to communicate. Don’t you think that rapid eye blink will attract some attention? Hee.

The pair head out to find their teammates.

We cut to Jae-suk and Haha trying their best to keep warm and the two engage in a play-boxing fight. It gives us some physical comedy and then Jae-suk ups the ante and leans in to play-smooch Haha. Commence play-kiss fight.

Gary’s attempts to slow his teammates down fail thanks to Spartakooks‘s competitive spirit. But when the Actor Team come for Kwang-soo, he grows faint because HyunA has her arm around his and coyly asks for him to stay. Jung-min breaks him out of that reverie: “HURRY!”

Both teams pick up their last teammate and now it’s just a race to the finish. Jong-kook holds the other team back to make it to the finish line. But it isn’t over yet because they have yet another mission to complete. Gary tries his best to buy time, but the Singers Team take the win.

Jung-min gives a punishment punch to the arm to both Kwang-soo and Jae-suk because of their fumble. The team leader directs much of his annoyance at Kwang-soo, warning him that if it weren’t for the cameras, he’d probably curse right now.

Then he tries to cover up the cameras with the mission cards. Gulp.

It’s a battle of wits at the restaurant for their second mission. The “Robber Card” game might be familiar to longtime Running Man fans, but the gist for this version is for the other team to guess who holds the unique card (There’s only one ‘jjajangmyun’ card.).

Jae-suk distributes the card among his teammates and the Singers Team immediately start guessing. Can’t be Kwang-soo (he can’t lie) but it’s still a toughie since they’re all actors.

Suk-jin places his initial guess on Sung-woong (“He put his hand over the card!”) and then Jong-kook declares that he’ll use his x-ray vision to figure it out.

The Singers Team directly asks the actors in order and they all get confused when Jae-suk’s like, “It’s me!” They eliminate some of them (Gary’s like, “Not Ji-hyo. I can tell from her eyes.”) and Haha proclaims that he’ll be his life that it’s Sung-woong.

Jung-min: “You think a life can be taken so lightly?!”

The battle of wits continues and then all of a sudden, Kwang-soo’s like, “Why aren’t you suspecting Ji-hyo?” That question raises a red flag and now most of the suspicion now falls on her. Time is running out and they have to make a decision, so they settle on Ji-hyo.

She’s forced to reveal her card, and indeed, the singers were right. Fingers start pointing at Kwang-soo again. Jae-suk: “Why did you say that earlier?!” Someone’s gonna get a hurt real bad in the car.

Worse yet, Jung-min waves him out. “Get out.”

The Singers Team randomize their cards (Sung-woong mutters that they should have done that, heh) and when the actors start and Kwang-soo fathoms a guess, Jung-min tells him to stay out of it. Aw.

We get this cute ex-Monday Couple moment when Ji-hyo bursts into giggles just by looking at Gary’s face. While the others tease her, she undercuts the moment. “Did you wash your face?” Gary: “Do you wanna wash it for me?”

Suk-jin’s delayed reaction to a direct question sure is suspicious and so does Gary’s eye twitch. HyunA is harder to read, which Kwang-soo says as much. Then Jae-suk turns it into a “You can’t read her [because you love her]?” moment.

Jung-min suggests that all the singers close their eyes and that the “jjajangmyun” holder raise their hand. Both Jong-kook and Gary raise their hands. Hm.

Time’s up and the actors pick Gary…. and they’re right.

In the next round, Jung-min does this obvious last minute card switcharoo and it takes three seconds to figure out who holds the unique card. Jung-min burns red with embarrassment. Haha: “It’s like he knew it’d be too much to be ‘jjajangmyun’!”

They do a redo and Kookie notices that Kwang-soo is oddly silent. They do the same hand-raising technique (and fool Kwang-soo to raising his hand) and it’s enough for them to place their guess on him.

They’re right and Sung-woong (who gave out the cards) bursts out, “NOW I get why no one trusts you with anything!”

Jong-kook’s teammates are impressed with his uncanny ability but we see that it isn’t so much the x-ray vision than his spy, Ji-hyo, tipping him off. Eliminating two members is enough for the Singers Team to win it and they get a few more hints, four in total.

Everyone gathers for the final mission (the Actor Team gained two more hints in another game) to search for the seven missing cases. They decide to split up after they find one suitcase and Jung-min disguises the bag among some boxes.

The Singers Team do the same with their suitcases as well, but let’s not forget that our spies know exactly where those cases are hidden.

The Actors Team reconvenes and they figure that if the Singers Team approaches without any cases, it means they’ve hidden them in the other building. Smart!

Ji-hyo slips away to hide another suitcase but then Sung-woong appears to help her hide it away.

It’s time for the spy pairs to get to work and Jung-min puts in a call to his partner. Unfortunately he gets caught by Kwang-soo and makes the excuse: “It’s my wife.” Kwang-soo’s like, But you said you don’t take personal calls when you work…

Poor Kwang-soo’s suspicious (as he rightly should be) but you can tell from his face that he can’t bring himself to confront his sunbae. He does, however, mention it to Jae-suk, and naturally gets ignored. Aww.

Thanks to Gary, Jung-min finds two suitcases but he gets caught by three of the Singers Team. Go! Run like the wind!

This is all too strange and Jong-kook immediately pipes that there must be a spy amongst them. Then HyunA hits it on the nail: “It’s Gary.”

Jung-min is stuck in the closet and Jong-kook offers a proposition: the suitcases for his life (nametag). Jung-min: “Then send Suk-jin in, because I can’t take you on!” HAHA.

Jong-kook retorts that there’s no way out because they’ve locked the other door from the inside. But Jung-min acts so cool about it and says that he’ll just climb through the ceiling.

As a result, Jung-min has no choice but to hand the suitcases over and opens the door a crack. The Singers Team buy some time to place them in a new hiding place (though Jung-min hears the noise).

When they’re ready, they tell Jung-min to count to a hundred. Annoyed, Jung-min bites out: “I know how to count!”

After a quick secret meeting with his spy partner, Jung-min backtracks and discovers where his stolen suitcases are now hidden… to hide them elsewhere.

He whispers to Sung-woong and Ji-hyo that he’s planted a spy in the other team. But that also means there’s a spy in theirs as well. All the while, he has no idea that the very spy he’s looking for is Ji-hyo. But Sung-woong asks for good measure (she denies it), adding, “You always play spies in your movies!”

Why Sung-woong felt the need to declare that he’s not a spy is beyond me but it still cracks me up. Jae-suk: “We definitely know you’re not the spy.” However, he is upset that he and Kwang-soo are out of the loop, and asks why.

Jung-min: “I wouldn’t tell anyone where they’re hidden since I was born!” That sounds like nonsense but the others are still suspicious of the Grasshopper and Giraffe pair. When Sung-woong mentions a possibility the two could be eliminated simultaneously, he backs up: “I’ve always talked this way since I was born!”

Completely confused, Kwang-soo hollers, “Why was everyone born so weird?!”

But Jung-min does say that he’s stolen two suitcases from the other team (“Aren’t you happy?”) and gets a round of applause. He won’t divulge more and high-fives his teammates (and addresses them more formally as “Kwang-soo sshi/Jae-suk sshi!”), leaving them puzzled.

There’s a reason why SpartAce make such a great team. They whisper about where the hidden cases are and Ji-hyo relays that the actors plan to gather all the suitcases in one place and then move them. She also adds not to eliminate Kwang-soo and Jae-suk for the time being.

Meanwhile, it turns out that though Jae-suk and Kwang-soo are left in the dark, they do find the last and seventh missing suitcase. I should note, however, that it was Kwang-soo’s idea and then Jae-suk luckily found it behind a panel.

Now that everyone has found all seven suitcases, it’s just a matter of somehow stealing them from the other team. Sung-woong and Jong-kook face off but four seconds later, Jong-kook has the actor’s nametag in his hand.

With four suitcases in the Actors Team’s hands and two with the Singers (and the one found by Jae-suk), it’s then odd that Jung-min declares that he knows where six of them are. But there’s a reason why he says it and he gives a furtive look at Gary. Go check and make sure to tell me where all of them are hidden.

Jung-min notices that the Singers Team crowd around the stairwell, arguing who should go downstairs. He uses that information and deduces that if the team is getting worked up, that means two cases must be in the basement. Oho.

The spies text their teams and the members are on the move. Jong-kook discovers the suitcases hidden in the shopping cases and then places them in empty boxes. Anyone else getting confused yet?

So Jung-min is both surprised and upset to find that those cases are now missing. He definitely has a blind spot when it comes to Ji-hyo (they’re co-stars in the upcoming movie New World) and doesn’t suspect her even though they were the only two who knew about that specific location.

Gary manages to eliminate HyunA and then runs over to see Haha be eliminated. Haha huffs that he’s not the spy and gives noogies to “Dumb and Dumber” aka Jae-suk and Kwang-soo.

They hear of Gary’s elimination over the speakers (Oh no! What about Jung-min!)… and then continue to snack on chips. LOL, these two.

Jung-min finally fills Dumb and Dumber in on everything: about how Gary was a spy and told him about the cases’ locations. As expected, they don’t quite get the explanation and jump to the wrong conclusions (Jae-suk: “Then are you [Jung-min] a spy?”). But when they finally do, it’s like a lightbulb lit over their heads: “Oohh~~~”

The two remaining Singers members, Jong-kook and Suk-jin, come to crash the party and Jung-min bolts. Spartakooks then asks if Dumb and Dumber are sure that there’s a spy among them – do they even trust each other? Kwang-soo: “We’ve come too far not to.”

Jung-min’s suspicion radar pings when Jae-suk’s elimination is announced and he runs up just in time to see Kwang-soo tear off the Ace‘s nametag. Once he checks it, it’s hard to tell if he’s more shocked at Ji-hyo’s betrayal or that Kwang-soo was his ally the entire time.

Jung-min and Kwang-soo work to hide the suitcases and search for the two cases Jong-kook hid earlier. But then, Jong-kook appears out of the blue and rips off Jung-min’s name tag.

He and Suk-jin figure that Kwang-soo must know everything and approach cautiously. Then Kwang-soo grabs his own nametag and yells, “Stand back!” Like you’re going to take yourself out of the game? Hehe.

What’s funnier is that Suk-jin’s like, “If he does that, then we have five hours to look for the cases.” True…

The trio agree to gather all the cases to one place but neither side give in first. Kwang-soo actually comes out pretty strong, saying he won’t cooperate if they won’t and he stalks off.

Jong-kook and Suk-jin can’t afford to eliminate Kwang-soo since doing so won’t give them any answers. So Kwang-soo heads upstairs to take out the missing seventh case. Hmm, what are you thinking of doing?

He allows Jong-kook to touch the case (“With two hands!”), and then he reaches for Jong-kook’s back. Ah, so that’s what you were thinking. Jong-kook has a slightly delayed reaction and is eliminated.

Thus, the Easy Brothers are left and then Suk-jin challenges Kwang-soo to tear off his nametag. He jumps when the Giraffe actually tries to do so. They both do their trademark “Feel, Touch, Cross” cheer… only that Kwang-soo tears off Big Nose Hyung‘s nametag.

Suk-jin sighs and figures that Kwang-soo will be looking for the cases for days. And then a minute later, Kwang-soo walks out with two cases in hand and then takes the third from the mat hyung’s hand. Epic.

A flashback teaches us that Kwang-soo found the cases a few minutes earlier. Now he collects all seven and heads out to meet Boss Go. He even compliments the pretty attendants on his way there but then crashes into the elevator. Lol.

Kwang-soo safely delivers the cases to Boss Go, securing the win for the Actors Team. Then when everyone gathers together again, he yells, “I’m the hero today!”

This also means that their spy, aka Gary, is also included in the win. It’s just that Kwang-soo stands there, still confused. Oh Dumber, we still love you.

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