Running Man: Episode 67

by gummimochi

What do you get when you mix in two Ji-hyos and two Jong-kooks in one episode? Easy – an overdose of Aces, an overflow of brawn and plenty of action! Be wary of who you root for today because things can always take a turn for the worst. Enough talk – let’ s go!

EPISODE 67. Broadcast on November 6, 2011.

It’s a brisk autumn morning and each cast member reads the mission card: wait for the guest to pick you up. If they don’t, find your own ride. So who are these guests with this ultimate power?

Welcome returning guests Kim Su-ro (Death Bell 2) and Park Ye-jin (My Princess), fellow former cast members from Family Outing. Ye-jin is known for her “sweet yet scary” one-liners and Kim Su-ro is a “Game Devil” so it looks like the cast will have to be on their toes this week!

Su-ro’s got a gripe with the Running Man staff: The Capable One, aka Jong-kook’s captions are too large and always accompanied by the ‘SPARTA!’ chant. So he wants a larger, grander entrance: “The Best Capable One.” HA! And how much do I love how appropriate Death Star theme song is? The man’s a beast.

Ye-jin on the other hand, settles for a pretty flowery background, and they’re off! In the car, Ye-jin builds her Dream Team of Jae-suk and Jong-kook, but she’s worried that Su-ro might take away Spartakooks from her grasp.

Meanwhile, Haha waits alone in great anticipation, hoping that his last love will come pick him up after 33 long years. A car appears, his heart goes aflutter… and Haha bursts in disbelief and nervousness as Su-ro climbs out of the car. He hugs him, but his grimace captures his rotten luck at missing Ye-jin. Su-ro: “You didn’t just hug me and then made a face at the camera right?” He’s no variety newbie!

Ye-jin is happy to see Jae-suk at first, but before he can climb in, comments that he should just stay outside since it’s so nice out and all, and then adds to show her a talent. It’s interesting to see the tables turn, having the guest telling the MC what to do! He obliges her with a little jiggly dance and it’s enough for her and the rest of the world.

The next person they run into is Gary, who gives a soliloquy about how he won’t approach the car first; that he’ll accept their decision whether or not they take him. He runs to open the door in excitement when they DO pull up, but it’s locked and he gets all flustered until they zoom away. His last thoughts: “Sometimes in life, you have to act first.”

In the car, Ye-jin reasons that she needs a fiercer player on her team, like Ji-hyo. Mm yeah, Peaceful Gary doesn’t exactly scream intense. It’s clear Ye-jin wants Jong-kook on her team and Jae-suk retorts that outside of Running Man, he’s just another guy who works out. Cut to lone Jong-kook squatting on a corner. Heh.

Poor Kwangvatar who’s got an entire crowd of people rooting for him, but it’s no use – Su-ro tells him to give it his all, that he loves him and… zoom!

Ji-hyo gets passed over too, with an adamant Jae-suk saying he can’t endure two strong women on one team, he’ll waste away. He adds that the ladies are swapped (Lee Hyo-ri in Family Outing, Ji-hyo here) but the feeling of stripped pride is the same. So, they head back to pick up Gary to form the Red Team.

Back in Su-ro’s car, they pull up to pick their next teammate and right on the money it’s Jong-kook. Haha declares that it’s Game Over – they’ve got the best group to win it. Jong-kook gets angry, Su-ro’s keen, and Haha gets irritated and they do a victory lap, sealing their group as the Blue Team.

The remaining team consists of Dumb and Dumber and Ji-hyo immediately pulls rank, citing that she can’t trust the two in order to win it, so we have the Yellow Team. Suk-jin grumbles that even if the staff offered to make them the heroes, they’ll pass on the offer.

The Capable Ones Central, aka the Blue Team, saunters into the next location and receive 15 Running Coins for arriving first. Here each team are sent on errands and must answer a question correctly, all while wearing a giant skirt. This sounds familiar.

Ye-jin is no woman to be trifled with and she can deliver the most terrifying lines with a huge grin on her face. Like when the PD doesn’t answer her question, she replies, “Someone’s talking to you~” *shiver* Boy, that oughta be haunting.

Anyway, the two teams bump into each other at the shop, and while they exchange pleasantries, Su-ro grabs the entire stack of bowls and tries to hide it under their giant skirt. The Blue Team fails the quiz about an odd item out of place, but Jae-suk answers it correctly (fish), however Mr. PD fails him for not guessing the exact number. What the…?

So in essence, the mission is important, but you also have to pay attention to your surroundings as each team are sent task after task. But the absurdity lies in the questions that follow. After the teams are sent to buy a pair of shoes, Haha calls out the four colors of boots in the shop window and Mr. PD says, “What about the other four?” Why I oughta…

The Blue Team still manage to finish first and collect another 15 Running with the Red Team just trailing behind them. Ye-jin also asks if Mr. PD will be at their next location and hints, “We should have a little chat later…”

But we’ve forgotten about the Yellow Team! Sure enough, they arrive some time later, and with no one in sight, they think they’re in first, not last place. Tsk tsk. Round and round they go, huffing and puffing to complete each task until they too head to the next location: the harbor.

The harbor turns out to be a rest stop to their real destination: the island of Dorido, just off the West Coast. Well, that is if you count just off as in several miles away and the crashing waves and winds don’t make the trip any easier. My heart goes to the VJs who have to stand to keep filming.

Here the mission is gather ramen ingredients while one member belts “Dorido” in one breath. The Blue team opts for Jong-kook the singer, utilizing his vocal capacity. He nearly succeeds too, until Jae-suk tickles him in distraction. The Red Team doesn’t fare any better until all the teams are joined together.

Because of Spartakooks‘ image on Running Man, I forget that Jong-kook is a singer and known for his ‘mosquito’ squeaky voice, almost too squeaky for a grown man of his stature. The others attempt to deter him but the Capable One Central succeeds, pumping their fists in the air.

The other teams hurry to catch up but at the rate they’re going, this could go on for several hours. Kwang-soo sneaks in a sly victory over the Red Team and the current standings are: Blue Team, 45 Running, Red Team, 25 Running, and Yellow Team with 20 Running.

Each team can use their hard-earned Running to buy equipment for the Watergun Battle, where elimination equates to a wet name tag. The Blue Team boasts the most cash, so they distribute it amongst themselves with decent water guns and a semi-useful poncho, while the Yellow Team settle for some simple condiment bottles to squirt with.

Then there was the Red Team, who literally drive-in in front of the store to an annoyed maknae FD. Heh. After a little smooth talking, the team comes out prepared with an expensive spray and little squirt bottles.

Time for the actual Watergun Battle to begin! Su-ro and his boys stroll around the neighborhood, completely confident in their future victory. While they stop to fill up with water, Su-ro asks about the sweet potatoes cooking on the grill. The ajumma tells him not for a while, and he replies nonchalantly, “We’ll be back after we kill off one of them.” HAHAHA

Meanwhile the other teams run into each other and Jae-suk laughs at their measly condiment bottles, that is until Suk-jin squirts it a fair distance. Suk-jin notices that besides Jae-suk, his other team members aren’t carrying any weapons and innocent Gary points to the bottle concealed under his shirt. Yeah, that’s probably why the suave spy act didn’t really work out.

They settle on creating an alliance to get rid of Haha first. In the distance, the keen eyes of the Blue Team watch these events slowly unfold, calculating their next move.

Kwang-soo enlists the help of a neighborhood girl and he instructs her to squirt at anyone who is wearing different clothes. She takes this in a literal sense, and then spritzes water at the VJ. She’s so cute.

Her cover is blown the next second when the Red Team appears and realizes if she has Kwang-soo’s weapon, then he’s unarmed and they rush to the rooftop to eliminate him.

Their small win is short-lived because the Blue Team is coming for them. They circle around the rooftop, sending wary shots of water at each other. A little water never deters the Blue Team, as they slowly make their way up the stairs. Jae-suk lies in wait, readying himself for the opportune moment, and he directly shoots at Haha’s back.

A little later, all the teams come within the same vicinity and Jong-kook has a choice to pursue the strong-armed Red Team or the weakened Yellow Team. He dashes towards the Yellow Team and everyone starts firing at each other, making it difficult to determine who is fighting whom.

Just then, Suk-jin grabs Jong-kook’s bottle and plop – the bottom half detaches and Jong-kook runs for his life chased by Jae-suk and Suk-jin. HAHAHA! I thought I’d never see the day.

The ladies take out Su-ro and thereby end the Blue Team’s reign. And in jail, a bitter Su-ro declares, “This game isn’t right. Change it to something else.”

Now it’s 2 versus 2 in the closing match (Ji-hyo eliminated Gary because he was in the line of fire) and Suk-jin is just as surprised as I am that he’s actually got a shot at winning. Ye-jin is declared out quickly afterward, so Ji-hyo bows out so that the ajusshi’s can have their epic duel.

But their water battle looks far more like the fight in the Bridget Jones movie, mainly circling around each other and taking cheap shots at any opportunity. Ji-hyo lightly squirts Jae-suk’s back as a warning and while his back is turned… Suk-jin goes in for the kill, sealing his victory and making his mark on Running Man history.

It’s a time for a new era: Dumb and Dumber.

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