Running Man: Episode 137

by gummimochi

In a land far away, there once lived three beautiful princesses who were to be married off to the village idiots. But when these idiots are this sweet, earnest, and chivalrous, how can you not love them? There’s much hilarity to be had in this adventure and with so many ex-Monday Couple moments to love in this episode, I can pretty much die happy now.

EPISODE 137. Broadcast on March 17, 2013.

Once upon a time, three pairs of foolish idiots gathered together to hear a royal decree read out by Jo PD. However, these men weren’t happy to be called such a name.

From the land of Dumb and Dumber, Jae-suk gripes that he’s always classified as dumb whenever he stands next to Kwang-soo, who retorts to his brethren: “You think this is because of me? I’m even wearing green because of you!”

Others give a word of caution. Gary whispers, “An idiot gets really upset if you call them dumb!” Haha: “You’re not supposed to tell an ugly person that they’re ugly!” Still others vehemently deny such a ridiculous statement.

But we know that these men fit this role like a glove and to prove it, we see Kwang-soo trying to catch a persimmon hung from his hat.

Meanwhile, King Go addresses his three daughters: the eldest, Noh Sa-yeon aka the Plumpy Princess; the second, Ji-hyo, the Blank Princess; and the maknae, singer and actress UEE (Jeon Woo-chi), the Peaceful Princess.

He points out his daughters’ flaws, like how his eldest’s eating habit has drained the national treasury or of Ji-hyo’s infamous blankness. As for his youngest, her crime is what else – being pretty. Then we get a customary CG flower petal effect as is with all young, pretty guests on this show. King Go: “You take after me.”

The princesses grow upset at the news that they’re to be married off and turn to their unni to plead their cause. But mat-unni’s hearing isn’t what it used to be and she asks back, “What did he just say?”

Nothing will change this decision and the princesses cry on their knees as if the world is crumbling before their eyes. Their only hope to obtain forgiveness, their father tells them, is to train their foolish, idiotic husbands to become the best general in the Running Man Kingdom.

Princess Ji-hyo blames her unni (“If only you didn’t eat so much!”) and Princess Sa-yeon breaks down in tears, “Then what else am I supposed to do when I never feel full?!”

Then the unnis turn to the youngest, complaining that she’s too pretty. Princess UEE answers in a meek voice: “It’s because I don’t take after Father.” King Go chuckles.

Still crying, the princess head out to meet their husbands.

Maybe it’s her competitive spirit or perhaps her biological clock is a-tickin’ as Sa-yeon runs ahead of the others to find her potential teammates. Dumb and Dumber plays games to pass the time and Jae-suk hits Kwang-soo with a plastic mallet at every turn.

This is how Ji-hyo finds the two, who immediately pretend to act cool and stick their hands in their pockets so that she won’t choose them. But how cool can you look with a balding wig and a mustache while striking a model pose? HA.

Jae-suk says that their getups are only for appearances and Kwang-soo pipes that he’s an international student. Which, what?

Then who should come marching up towards them at that every moment than their former teammate Sa-yeon. So they start begging Ji-hyo to stay.

Whens Sa-yeon explains the royal decree that she and her sisters are to be married off, Dumb and Dumber insists that they’re not foolish idiots and that she’s better off finding them ooovvvveerrr there.

After much persuasion and teasing threats (Sa-yeon: “Wanna come with me?”), the princesses move on and Dumb and Dumber breathes a sigh of relief. When they’re out of sight, Jae-suk mentions that whenever there’s a princess or a queen special, somehow Sa-yeon is always involved.

Ji-hyo and Sa-yeon complain about their father (“He always holds the fact I was born as 4.8 kg (more than 10 lbs) against me!”) when they suddenly spot foolish idiots Kookie and Big Nose hyung.

The boys immediately hide behind a tree to avoid notice but Sa-yeon marches up to them anyway and immediately chooses them as her team. Ha, then both Jong-kook and Suk-jin hang onto Ji-hyo crying out, “We’d rather have you instead!” Are you afraid of your betrothed already?

The Dumb and Dumber duo’s faces light up in pure joy – their “UEE, we miss you!” chant has finally come to fruition (like the “Feel! Touch! Cross!”chant, where Yoo + Lee = UEE). What’s even better is that UEE bashfully cries into her robes. “I was looking all over for you!”

They try to act all cool again and Jae-suk smiles that if only they knew UEE would be joining them today, they would have dressed to the nines. “Don’t worry,” he tells her, “We’ll change into suits soon enough.”

Onto today’s mission, which is pretty simple: The teams will face off in various games to obtain princess name tags. The winner of the final mission wins it. To avoid further confusion, we’ll refer to the teams by color: Orange (Sa-yeon, Jong-kook, and Suk-jin), Green (UEE, Jae-suk, and Kwang-soo), and Blue (Ji-hyo, Gary, and Haha).

In the car, UEE steals glances at Kwang-soo and simply unable to hide her giggles at the sight of him. She even points to the camera and says that he looks scary from that angle.

Jae-suk tells Kwang-soo to back off, lest he be hit by one of UEE’s backstrokes because she used to be a swimmer. He even demonstrates it for Kwang-soo and it looks like a backhanded slap.

Pointing to the camera, Jae-suk tells him that it looks like he’s carrying a puppy in the backseat. I can kind of see that, given the floppy haired wig. Finally, Kwang-soo sticks a light under his chin in an attempt to get UEE to giggle, but she whimpers in fear instead.

The teams pull into a spa and everyone agrees with the first mission location at a heated pool. But this show wouldn’t be Running Man without a catch and Jong-kook hollers: “This pool has water cannons!”

All the women have to do is dig into their fountains of knowledge to answer trivia questions. However, if they answer incorrectly, their teammates will be shot with a jet of water.

Needless to say, the foolish idiots are NOT happy about this. Haha complains, “We’ve got Mung Ji-hyo!”

Haha shouldn’t be that worried that their team is at a disadvantage since all the ladies blank at the first question about soccer. The boys all yell out, freezing in the night air (it’s an outdoor heated pool), but when Ji-hyo rises to answer, Haha screams, “Don’t!” while Gary prepares himself for the inevitable.

Woah, that is one powerful stream of water and it knocks both Gary and Haha off the beam. I’d say that’s a worse but far more hilarious than the puff of air you get on Strong Heart. And ooh, Ji-hyo – look who’s enjoying her teammates’ punishment a little too much.

Gary tries to mouth the answer to Ji-hyo but gets caught and he’s hit with another blast of water. There’s no holding back, is there?

It’s clear that none of the women know the answer. So round and round they go as the men are sent into the water until Sa-yeon gets the answer right. Too bad she admits that Suk-jin fed her the answer and the boys get hit with another blast.

But to everyone’s amazement (and mine), Jong-kook manages to hang on. This feat earns him a brand new nickname: Kookminator.

The second question has the ladies just as stumped and in the back, Suk-jin yells out a clue: “Eternal!” (for soccer player-now-coach Hong Myung-bo aka the Eternal Libero) Then Sa-yeon runs up to answer in English: “Forever!” Yeahh, that’s wrong.

I love it how the foolish idiots in the background grow more frustrated by the minute. If they all know the answer, then what’s the use of going through training? Touche.

Not only do some of these answers like “Forever field!” and “Felice!” crack. me. up. I am loving these new chants, especially: “Mung! Ji! Munngg~” HAHAHAHA.

I can’t help but think that the staff purposely chose sports trivia questions so that we can see the boys fall into the water at least once. I mean, let’s face it – it is freakin’ hilarious.

UEE’s answer “buzzer beat” is nearly right (it’s buzzer beater) but all of the women’s answers has me in a fit of laughter. See: Buzzer beast, last chance, and buzzer bead. And my personal favorite: Buzzer beacher.

I can’t even count how many times the boys have fallen off of their beams before Jae-suk finally yells: “Save us!” Every team as a point and the women complain that they’d rather answer questions about a different topic.

Then Gary complains for the ladies to hurry up but he takes it right back when Ji-hyo compliments him, saying that he looks good in his damp state. Mmhm.

Mr. PD changes up the rules, giving the boys a chance to answer. Thinking that it will be another sports questions, the boys shout their confidence in their expertise. Then the question is about shoes. HA.

Now it’s the women’s turn to sigh with disappointment as the boys yell out anything and everything they know about shoes. Her blood boiling, Sa-yeon finally yells out the answer (wedge heels) and Suk-jin yells back in defense, “I’ve never heard such a thing in my life!” Priorities.

Jae-suk: “To us, everything is ‘shoes’!” UEE: “To us, everything is ‘soccer’.”

The Green Team answers another two questions correctly and in the car, UEE praises her teammates. When Kwang-soo asks her to be more specific, she names Jae-suk as the more impressive one.

UEE evades the question on whether she’s taken or not (hm) but sidesteps it well enough by asking if Jae-suk is trying to set her up with Kwang-soo. So Kwang-soo admits that most people don’t get his charm upon first impression. Jae-suk emphatically agrees with that statement.

In her car, Sa-yeong teaches her teammates about pedicures, joking that her toenails are so large that you could paint landscapes on them. Then she adds that make-up costs her a lot money too because she has a wide face. Do we consider these running jokes about her weight and femininity offensive if she’s the one saying them?

At Itaewon, Jae-suk runs into a familiar face (a pie-shop owner) before receiving his mission. As a part of their training, the foolish idiots will be split up and need to complete both missions in order to continue.

We check in at one restaurant where the boys will have to squat five times with their princesses and then try to limbo. No offense but you’ve got Haha here who can barely lift someone once.

Out of concern, Sa-yeon asks how much Suk-jin weighs nowadays and at his answer, she replies, “Yeah, I’m not that much different.” He tries to hoist her up but drops her a second later. Jae-suk steps in, to save face but can barely lift her up once. Oh boy.

At the other restaurant, the boys’ faces redden at the mission: a Pepero game. UEE is so flustered that she honestly blurts that she’s nervous. Kwang-soo face flushes a deeper red and Gary brings him back to Earth: “She’s not that kind of nervous!”

But UEE steels herself to give it a go and she’s the one coming towards him. Kwang-soo so nervous that he breaks it off first, both times and she asks the staff innocently: “What happens if the entire Pepero stick is gone?” Um, well…

You would think that Haha would be fine carrying Ji-hyo, that is until we hear a *crack*. Did… his back just give out? Then he yells to the camera, “[Byul, his wife] I’m sorry!”

We watch Suk-jin suffer through another round and in a behind-the-scenes moment, Sa-yeon challenges Suk-jin to arm wrestle. And she wins. Well, that explains it.

Both Sa-yeon and Ji-hyo hop over to the other restaurant and Sa-yeon admits that just the thought of the Pepero game makes her heart flutter. In order to make this game quick and painless, both Jong-kook and Sa-yeon go all in.

The remaining piece is pretty short… and then Kwang-soo crushes it under his foot. Uh oh.

Then comes the pinnacle of my Running Man experience: the ex-Monday Couple and the Pepero game. Gary admits that he’s nervous and he asks, “Are you gonna close your eyes? You’re not going to tilt your head, right?”

They start and Gary bites closer and closer. He touches Ji-hyo’s head to steady himself but she freaks out and breaks free first. His reaction is the same as mine: “WHY?!”

Meanwhile, the princesses-less restaurant chat about Suk-jin’s loss against Sa-yeon. Suk-jin’s all, Yeah, you enjoyed how I lost on purpose there? and the others remind him that he lost a little too naturally back then.

Jong-kook and Sa-yeon pass the Pepero game easily (with a remainder of 1 cm! Woah!) and before they leave, she gives the others a word of advice: “It’s better off if you don’t have any feelings towards each other. You guys can’t do it because you do!” HA.

The ex-Monday Couple give it another try and this time, they inch closer and closer together. Omo, omo. And if I tell you that their lips touched, their lips touched, okay?! La la la la.

They pass, but that doesn’t deter Gary to add: “We’d like to try to go for 7mm!”

The Green Team finally succeeds and Kwang-soo arrives to the other location grinning ear to ear. But that smile is about to fade when Kwang-soo lifts UEE and his expression tenses. Is she heavy? Is he weak? Question of the hour.

Kwang-soo grits through it and squats anyway. Then there’s the whole limbo part which is another hurdle. He tries to crawl under the bar, moving barely an inch per minute. This height is already an obstacle itself and I totally understand why he takes a break every few seconds.

He fails just short of the end and then his legs buckle under him. Poor guy.

The lifting part is no issue for the Kookminator but then he struggles through the limbo. Omg, if Jong-kook can’t do it, then who can?!

Gary steps up to carry Ji-hyo and he whisks her off her feet with ease. Everyone watches, their eyes riveted as he easily completes the mission and raises his arms in victory. Daebak.

Everyone heads out to the final mission location: a boxing ring. Here, the foolish idiots are blindfolded as they piggyback the princesses, who try to tear off each other’s name tags. The Green and Orange teams face off for the first round.

They circle around each other, reaching for each other’s backs as the boys blindly run around. Sa-yeon falls off of Suk-jin’s back and after another teaching point provided by Coach Kookie, they go back in the ring.

But Suk-jin spins around, unable to get a grasp of his surroundings and UEE tears off Sa-yeon’s name tag, who in turn grabs Suk-jin’s hair. OW.

Before the following round, Jong-kook shoots daggers in Kwang-soo’s direction. Kwang-soo tries to kick him when Jong-kook has his blindfold on but that tactic works against him and Jong-kook wrestles him to the ground, blindfold and all.

Astounded, Haha wonders if they’ll ever be able to beat Spartakooks, to which Jae-suk pipes that he’s waiting for Jong-kook’s 70th birthday. Caption: He might still have muscles then…

The round starts and this time, the ladies are more in sync with their partners. But then they both grab each other’s name tags simultaneously… and UEE wins it.

The team rev up for the final round and Haha gives the ex-Monday Couple a pep talk: “After this season, [you guys]’ll get married!” In the other corner, Jae-suk tells UEE that all they need is the gold. Aww, no loveline for you, Kwang-soo.

Ji-hyo instructs Gary to step forward so that she can give Kwang-soo a little slap. Then they crank up the match and the ladies face-off. Ji-hyo holds onto UEE’s sleeve but she’s pulled off and yells at Gary to drop her. So he does. Ouch.

When she gets back on, Ji-hyo grabs the Giraffe’s hair, who in turn bites her. Both ladies back off for a moment until they both grab each other’s sleeves and name tags. Then Ji-hyo rips UEE’s name tag, winning the first of three final rounds.

Ji-hyo wastes no time to grab UEE’s sleeve but the boys end up circling around to avoid getting caught. Then Ji-hyo has the name tag in her hand just before she tumbles to the ground.

It isn’t long before Ji-hyo is ready to battle again and then both ladies have a hold of each other’s name tags once more. They both tug with all their might… and UEE lifts her arm, Ji-hyo’s name tag in her hand.

UEE wins a pair of gold rings as her prize. Placing one on her finger, Mr. PD lets her choose who get to have the other. She chooses Kwang-soo. Aw.

Our child narrator reads that they lived happily… until they broke up. “Mom!” she cries, “This book is weird!”

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