Running Man: Episode 247

by gummimochi

Every giraffe has his day—this week’s episode centers around our lovable Kwang-soo. Getting an up close and personal look into his daily lifestyle, our cast must cater to the maknae and let him have his moment in the sun. Or so they’ll let him think because the staff has got something else up their sleeve. It’s time to beat the Betrayal Icon at his own game—will he figure it out or let the spotlight consume him?

EPISODE 247. Broadcast on May 17, 2015.

Happy Kwang-soo Day! Our cast sans the giraffe gather at a cafe nearby his home this morning; apparently Kwang-soo has moved recently, and despite what he’d been telling everyone, there is no spare room for when his favorite hyung (Jong-kook) comes to visit.

Haha recalls an episode dedicated to Kwang-soo about two years ago, and the staff has prepared a special morning mission for this happy occasion: surprise Kwang-soo at home. He’d been told that filming wouldn’t begin until the afternoon, and now the others are going to rifle through his new place.

Pfft, the crew has gone ahead to prepare the traditional housewarming gifts: laundry detergent, paper towels, and whatnot, but we all know the greatest gift of all will be Kwang-soo’s utterly shocked expression.

So it’s 11 AM when the cast heads over, and apparently Park Seo-joon lives ’round these parts too. And like any visitor, the cast comment on the nice neighborhood but slow elevators. They wonder if they should ask for the passcode or ring the doorbell, to which Haha whispers to break the door down.

When Jae-suk wonders if Kwang-soo might be hosting a ladyfriend, Haha says that would be big news. Jong-kook: “We’ll just censor her face, is all.” Suk-jin: “Just introduce her as his wife.” Haha: “It’d be bigger news if she was a celeb!” Hahaha, this hushed argument cracks me up.

Jae-suk rings the doorbell, and it takes a minute before Kwang-soo opens the door, his mouth full of toothpaste. Good morning to YOU! He can only stand there in shock as the cast and VJs file inside and look through his apartment.

Wow, his place really is nice—and aww, he has a corner dedicated to his fanmail. Ahh, he’s a comic geek too! Haha goes ahead to order delivery food and Suk-jin plops in front of Kwang-soo’s laptop. Kwang-soo: “Are you looking for porn?” Pffft, you’re the one who brought it up.

Everyone goes through all of his things, and having had enough, Kwang-soo finally bursts, “Get out everyone!” Despite his flustered and annoyed state, he asks everyone to just calm themselves and sit down so he can get ready.

Jae-suk: “Hey Kwang-soo, where do you keep your leopard print underwear?” And while that can seem like an embarrassing question, it’s really part of the cast’s mission. That flashy underwear is one of the six items they’re required to find.

Hahaha, I love how two of the items (“a hair longer than 20 cm” “a photo of a female that’s not a relative”) could be incriminating evidence of a possible secret girlfriend. Ji-hyo discovers a hair on Kwang-soo’s bed, and both Jae-suk and Kwang-soo are convinced that Kwang-soo owns a pair of leather print underwear.

Aha, so there’s a time limit too: the cast has until the Chinese delivery food arrives to uncover at least four items to succeed. So that explains why Haha ordered delivery, and is it just me or is Kwang-soo in his large, round glasses plain adorable?

Gary points out that Kwang-soo’s got a lot of soju next to his stash of herbal medicine. Upset, Kwang-soo fires back: “You’ve got more soju at your place!” Jong-kook snorts when he finds a sauce way past its expiration date, and computer whiz Suk-jin digs through Kwang-soo’s laptop. Hmm, one wonders where the folder labeled “Chicken” must lead.

Jae-suk blatantly asks if he’s got any long hair lying around, to which Kwang-soo ruffles through one of the female writer’s hairs. With the discovery of a fan-made book dedicated to Kwang-soo, the count is up to three items.

While Jae-suk keeps him distracted, Ji-hyo pulls at her own hair. Jong-kook discovers one of them and just to add fuel to the fire, Suk-jin says the two hairs are of different color. “How many girls have been here?!” Kwang-soo: “Probably my mom and younger sister…”

And as soon as they receive confirmation, the food arrives. Now Kwang-soo is boiling with rage, and Suk-jin advises that he really needs to empty out his trash icon on his computer. “Because I found about three or four in there.”

Whoa, that rising table contraption is super cool—where can I get one? While the others eat, Kwang-soo gets a mic attached to him. He wonders why the mat-hyungs even bothered waiting up for him for hours last time when he wasn’t at home, and Haha says the married men should stay at home if they’ve got nothing better to do.

Kwang-soo seems to brighten a bit when he hears that today is dedicated to him in an episode entitled “I Want You Lee Kwang-soo Race.” The person who captures Kwang-soo’s heart will be victorious with today’s hero, which means the others will need to appease the maknae.

The others immediately start pointing fingers of blame at each other, like how Gary was the one looking for the hair and Jae-suk suggested calling his manager to obtain his passcode. Once outside, they all try to appease Kwang-soo-nim who shuts them down one by one for various reasons.

It comes down to either Haha or Jae-suk, and Kwang-soo chooses Haha and busts a gut at the line playing off of Girl Generation to: “It’s Kwang-soo Generation!”

Haha continues to feed Kwang-soo’s ego, saying that this show is built on those who sacrificed themselves like he did. He even tells the production crew to add in a CG effect to illustrate Kwang-soo’s magnificence.

Meanwhile in the other car, Suk-jin says a palm reader was once astounded by the fortune seen in his hand. Evidently he has a single crease across his palm (il-ja-so-geum), and Jae-suk plays off of the word: “You sure it isn’t illiteracy [il-ja-moo-shik]?”

Suk-jin needs clarification on the rules, and Jae-suk says they need to make sure Kwang-soo wins at every game. So when Kwang-soo picks the person he likes the most at the end, that person will make him betray them and the six will win. How apt to play a betrayal game against the Betrayal Icon.

We turn the clocks back again to the opening, where they’re told that today’s game is built to deceive Kwang-soo. Which probably explains why Haha can keep feeding him ego boosts with a big smile on his face.

Anyhow, they must make sure Kwang-soo doesn’t find out, even after filming wraps. Only when Kwang-soo returns home none the wiser does it mean the other six have won. If Kwang-soo doesn’t win at the games, the staff will send him clues about the candid camera prank.

There’s money on the line for the six (about 6,000 USD), but if Kwang-soo catches on, that prize goes directly to him instead.

First stop is the Mokdong SBS building where the cast is tasked to find the guest within thirty minutes. Kwang-soo appears to be the only one legitimately surprised, but then sneaks off by himself. A flashback teaches us that he’d been told that he’ll obtain extremely useful hints if he wins today’s games—and of course, he must keep this a secret from the others.

Someone else will help him out for the first mission: his father. Aww. He’s in the coffeeshop on the first floor and assures his son that he won’t be recognized right away. Elsewhere, Jong-kook thinks that Kwang-soo will call his dad first. Eep, so you guys knew about that too?

Haha guesses that Kwang-soo’s father will be dressed in a suit, and whaddaya know—the other six knew about this game from the start. Their mission is to find Kwang-soo’s father first and each complete a mission. If they don’t, Kwang-soo will be given a hint about the candid camera.

They’re all pretty natural behavior like brushing off the man’s shoulder (Ji-hyo) or taking a selfie with him (Suk-jin), but Kwang-soo will be aware of who their guest is and that he has much to gain from succeeding this task.

Kwang-soo finds his father at the coffeeshop and praises him on selecting a fine hiding spot. Even though there’s fifteen minutes left on the clock, Kwang-soo decides to wait it out for a last-minute reveal. So he brings up how today’s filming began at his house, where the cast discovered that long hair on the floor.

He hopes his father doesn’t get the wrong idea when this episode airs, but his father is just plain cool about the whole thing—Kwang-soo could say it was his family, but he’s also a young man who can make his own choices about his personal life. Ha, what an awesome father.

Little does Kwang-soo know that Ji-hyo spots him from above, then Suk-jin makes his way towards him. Big Nose Hyung suspects him of hiding the guest until he gets to make a last-minute reveal, but Kwang-soo quickly changes the subject, saying that he did see someone.

Haha has seen Kwang-soo loitering near the coffeeshop, so he suggests to Gary that they ambush Kwang-soo’s father from the opposite side. Kwang-soo can’t help but keep checking downstairs, then stops in his tracks when he sees Gary.

He runs downstairs to stop his hyungs, who miss the opportunity to spot Kwang-soo’s father. But now he’s attracted everyone’s attention, so he says that he’s suddenly in a bad mood. Not too far off, Kwang-soo’s father puts on glasses to make himself less recognizable. Just as they start checking the tables…

… Kwang-soo yelps in pain. And while Kwang-soo makes himself obvious, his father carries on conversation with his table so naturally that neither Jong-kook nor Haha can be sure they’ve seen the right man. And instead of attending to his needs, they all head to the table again for a second glance.

They’re all happy to see him, which is super sweet. Jong-kook succeeds first in giving Kwang-soo’s father a shoulder massage, followed by Gary who hands him a drink with a straw.

After Ji-hyo succeeds as well, the group bids him farewell for now, pretending to go and find the real guest. Haha sends the man a wink, and gets one right back. Totally flustered, Kwang-soo stumbles through his answer of why his father is here. His hair is a complete mess now too, probably because he’s been tugging at it in frustration.

Suk-jin’s the only one who hasn’t completed his task yet, and Gary realizes that they have to make sure Kwang-soo succeeds but doesn’t find out what they’re up to. Now there’s only five minutes left on the clock, and Suk-jin doubles back to awkwardly ask for a selfie.

Kwang-soo runs back to collect his father with just two minutes left, and the others try to act natural and stay out of it. He tries to pretend like he’s seeing his father off, only to double back and form a heart over head gesture with seconds left to spare.

The others pretend like they’ve been fooled, though they know they’ve succeeded in keeping up the act. But then Kwang-soo’s father says it certainly seems like the others deliberately let his son win. They quickly backtrack and Kwang-soo says that if Jong-kook really wanted to win, he would’ve used force.

Kwang-soo’s hint tells him that he could still become the sole winner today, and aww, his father’s 60th birthday (which is a big year to celebrate in Korea) just passed. Kwang-soo’s father is gifted a golden key, and the man jokingly hands it to Suk-jin saying, “You said you liked gold.” HA, look who’s diligently been watching Running Man.

In the car, Haha comments that he thinks Kwang-soo’s father is a better actor than his son, but they’re all relieved that Kwang-soo’s still clueless as ever.

There’s a royally comfy seat waiting for Kwang-soo at the second mission station, where six chairs sit suspended over water. The game is Kwang-soo Says, where he’ll call out a number between one and twelve. Each member will be suspended by two lines—one will cut them loose and the other is a fake.

As expected, the six have a separate mission for this game: fix of them must fall into the water. Furthermore, they’ll all know which lines will cut them loose, which explains why they keep hinting at Kwang-soo to trust their own gut feelings.

A part of me wishes that the six didn’t know which lines would help Kwang-soo, but since it seems apparent the show wants to make sure Kwang-soo stays in the dark for as long as possible, the other castmates would have to help him win and ultimately win themselves.

So the numbers to look out for are: 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 11. Suk-jin creates a mnemonic (“When oppa [58] retreats 1.4., we’ll meet on September 11.”) Kwang-soo assures them that he’ll make sure none of them fall into the water, then rallies them in for a cheer.

Uh oh, neither Haha or Suk-jin can remember if their memorized numbers are what will cause them to fall in or keep them suspended. Haha convinces him that those numbers are what will save them. Heh, okay in that case, I’m so looking forward to how this plays out.

Kwang-soo spots Suk-jin pulling Ji-hyo aside next, but doesn’t get to overhear their conversation. His suspicion radar is up nonetheless, and when Suk-jin says he was asking to switch seats, Ji-hyo throws in a self-pity card.

Kwang-soo starts off by calling out “1!” and ignores Gary’s attempts to dissuade him. So Gary drops into the water and the sight astonishes everyone.

Kwang-soo already seems intent on seeing Jong-kook literally fall even without his suggestion to go with number 4. Down Jong-kook goes as Kwang-soo gives a victorious yell.

Suk-jin is the next one on the chopping block, and the mat-hyung suggests he go with number 7. Are… you trying to save yourself here? That hilariously backfires as Kwang-soo orders him to cut line 8.

When Jae-suk tries to get out of it a well, Jong-kook points out that you can feel which line will give once you’re up there. So after Jae-suk drops, Kwang-soo is told that he should just continue the odd-even trend (which would save Ji-hyo).

Haha desperately asks for the chance to choose his own line to cut, which Kwang-soo grants. After a tense few moments, Haha gives in and falls in. Ji-hyo is told to cut line 12, and when she remains suspended, the others accuse Kwang-soo of being too good a guesser.

Everyone tries to curry favor with Kwang-soo one last time before being torn apart for their final mission. Kwang-soo is informed that he must let the others eliminate one another save for one, with whom he’ll stand side by side at the end.

But of course, he has the option to betray that person and win it all himself. The others hear the same spiel, then hear the added rule: have that last man (or woman) standing make Kwang-soo betray them and let him become the sole winner.

But here’s the twist: that person left standing to complete that task will be awarded twice the prize money. Now it’s a competition to win Kwang-soo’s favor and leave with a fatter wallet.

Using one meaning of the Chinese characters of Kwang-soo’s name, our cast must find the crazy (Kwang) water (Soo) to erase each other’s nametags. Kwang-soo: “Those aren’t the characters for my name.” He’s told that his pick cannot win on their own.

Kwang-soo arrives in time to see Haha and Suk-jin attack Gary with “crazy water” aka moolpas a liquid solution that alleviates pain. Jae-suk joins the fray, and then both Haha and Gary are eliminated.

Driven by greedy ambition, Jong-kook grabs hold of Jae-suk which allows Kwang-soo to leisurely erase the rest of Jae-suk’s nametag. In jail, the eliminated trio hopes that the rest keep up the act long enough so that all of them will get a payout. When they wonder who Kwang-soo will save, Jae-suk figures he’ll keep the weakest link around, aka Suk-jin.

Out in the hallway, Kwang-soo puts Suk-jin and Jong-kook through a test of trust by keeping their backs turned. He starts erasing characters from their nametags, but it’s Jong-kook whom he eliminates in the end.

In jail, Jong-kook admits that he was ambitious, but then realized he wasn’t confident in making Kwang-soo betray him. As for Suk-jin… well they already know where his sense of greed takes him…

Outside, Kwang-soo lets Suk-jin and Ji-hyo duke it out for that special spot by his side. He gets his moolpas at the ready as if to attack Suk-jin… while wiping off Ji-hyo’s nametag with the other hand. Sneaky.

Which leaves Suk-jin, who looks like he wants to spill the beans so badly. He does his best in pretending not to see Kwang-soo wipe some moolpas on his hand and wipe it on his back. As expected of the Betrayal Icon.

And so Suk-jin is eliminated, making Kwang-soo the winner. He yelps in victory, and once out of earshot, Suk-jin asks the crew if he gets a double payout.

The others pretend to be upset about being fooled at the closing, since they have to keep up the ruse until Kwang-soo goes home. Kwang-soo is more than pleased with himself, and Haha says Kwang-soo never watches the show unless he wins.

Haha: "You'll probably see the broadcast this week!" … and you know see that he's been had. Kwang-soo is declared the winner, and is promptly led off the set as filming officially wraps.

The cast celebrates in hushed whispers at their official victory and collects their prize money. While they do admit that they feel pretty bad for deceiving Kwang-soo, he’s gone behind their backs plenty of times over the years.

Staring at the camera, they wave the envelopes: “These could’ve been yours!”

Then we cut away to a live broadcast brought to you from Kwang-soo’s home because Kwang-soo has been kept in the dark since the filming two weeks ago. Needless to say, he’s surprised and enraged and promises to have his revenge someday.

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