Running Man: Episode 68

by gummimochi

EPISODE 68. Broadcast on November 13, 2011.

Somewhere in Songdo, two spies walk in to receive their mission… Suk-jin and Kwang-soo? These two look just as confused as I do. Mr. PD sets them down and delivers the news they’ve been nearly a year and a half to hear: today, they’re the spies. They hug, speechless and Kwang-soo says excitedly, “I’ve seen this on TV! I’ve seen this on Running Man!”

I worry though, because they read over the card carefully and they’re dumbfounded as to what it means. So Mr. PD explains slowly and clearly: There are two missions before the final one, and they must help the cast succeed in those missions, lest their identities be revealed.

But this information doesn’t crack into Dumb and Dumber‘s brains, and end up asking the same questions over and over again. Mr. PD nearly explodes in frustration, before describing the entire mission again. Yes, I’m sure your previous spies have never been this dense.

Mr. PD reveals the hints to them: one with the Chinese characters of “Spy” and another written, “EASY.” Once he reveals that it stands for their names (Lee = Ea, and Ji = Sy), Kwang-soo’s left in awe and amazement at the brilliance of the Running Man staff.
Henceforth, the two are entitled to a new nickname: the Easy Brothers. There’s a reservoir of good puns in there somewhere.

Little do they know that two figures are watching them…

Time to join the others for the opening and the Easy Brothers remain relatively silent as the cast jokes around until they hear their mission: There are two missions before a final mission, and can pick up necessary items along the way.

The hitch is that they have to travel shoulder-to-shoulder to the missions, a little awkward for Kwang-soo who’s nearly 190cm tall. It’s refreshing to see the cast working towards a common goal today; all that back-stabbing can sure tire someone out. Oh wait, that’s today too. Sorta.

They arrive to their first mission: They have 5 chances to pass ten rounds of following the PD’s orders while lying on the ground. And when Ji-hyo lies down, she’s surprised and annoyed at Gary’s arm pillow. His excuse: “Sorry I thought it was Monday!”
There go through a practice round that consists of choruses of calling, “Kwang-soo, get up” in succession and then “Jong-kook, get up… not.” Cheap shot, Mr. PD. The Easy Brothers scream the loudest but their object isn’t morale – it’s not to get caught.

They fail the first round and it ends up being an argument over technicality, and Ji-hyo contests that she didn’t technically get up. Mr. PD offers to call out his orders faster, and the cast contemplates it for a moment and realize that’s not a better deal.

Round 2 and this time they’re a little better until the last call is, “Handsome guy, get up.” and Gary rises, essentially failing the round and rousing everyone’s ire. The next round is Haha’s fault, who feigns a stomachache and then coughs. Before their final chance, they need to determine who will be “Handsome Guy” and they universally appoint Ji-hyo.

They succeed on their last try, and the cast erupts in relief, moreso for the Easy Brothers. The cast stuffs their bag with some necessary items and head out.

Next stop is a water taxi, and everyone climbs aboard. Their next mission is for six members to flip a coin on a cast member’s belly, with 3 chances to complete it. Gary looks to Haha for this honor and despite his protests; Haroro ends up on the table, his flab to flip.

Haha gets fairly creative with his pot-belly, sticking it out deliberately at first, and then sucking it in to help steady the coin as it falls. It’s a brilliant plan and the cast chant his name, until Jae-suk fails their second time around. Suk-jin steps in to show him how it’s done and gives a few smart slaps to Haha’s belly before he wriggles in pain.

Down to their last chance, it’s up to Jae-suk again and he flips… and loses. Which means that a clue is handed over to the cast. They’re initially surprised and perplexed at the clue, “easy.” The Easy Brothers smile in relief. Then, the Capable One suddenly steps in and the spies hold their breaths.

Thankfully his rambling theory about the levels of the games is far off from the actual clue, but Ace Ji-hyo slyly replies, “I think there’s a criminal amongst us.” Spot on, Ji-hyo but now it’s time for the final mission!

Each member is dropped off individually at different locations of the shopping mall and they read their final mission card: Pop the balloons to reveal a clue, but more balloons will replace every incorrectly popped balloon. The members step inside to reveal hundreds, if not thousands of balloons hanging around every corner and the cast is beyond stumped – where to start?

Meanwhile, the Easy Brothers reveal their mission: Eliminate the Running Man members via spraying their name tags before they discover all the clues. They only received one sprayer at their meeting and when they ask why, Mr. PD explains: “It’s crazy expensive.” HA!

The Easy Brothers grow more nervous by the minute, the sounds of popped balloons adding to their anxiety. Suk-jin locks onto Gary as his first target, but he misses his opportune moment. Kwang-soo is the only one tall enough to grab the balloons on the ceiling and after he grabs one, Haha says, “Okay, now just do that 300 more times.”

Oh Big Nose Hyung, you are the King of Awkward Acting. Kwang-soo points out his slip, “Watch your backs…” stating it draws unnecessary suspicion.

Suddenly, Haha shouts that there’s a guest, pointing to a crowd of people strolling into the mall. More people means more time for our two spies…

In another part of the mall, Kwang-soo ushers Jae-suk to a secluded room and prepares to spray him, but Jae-suk turns around at the last second, mid spray-reaching (it slipped into his pants), and casually tosses, “You’re not…the spy right?” Jae-suk notices his shocked reaction and rolls with it, questioning his every move. He suggests eliminating Kwang-soo and the latter gets defensive.

Ace Ji-hyo is popping balloons by herself when she discovers something in the balloon – a clue “soo.” She runs to share it with the rest of the cast, and Suk-jin immediately thinks, “It’s ‘soo’ for Kwang-soo!” Um well, crap.

Well that should be the least of your worries because Haha suggests it could be “Choi Min-soo.” The Easy Brothers yell that Min-soo’s back to get them, all the while smiling to divert attention from themselves. To make it worse, Jae-suk wonders if the hunted order is the order they got dropped off…which means he’s first. Yikes!

Suk-jin manages to squirt Gary successfully this time, but we see him loitering around. Just then, someone approaches him, grabs him and tears off his name tag. Wait, is that Su-ro and Ye-jin?

That’s right. They’ve seen everything – from the Easy Brothers receiving their mission to following the cast to the mall. Their objective is to eliminate the cast members in the order the Easy Brothers have marked, which basically demotes the boys to lackeys of the true spies.

Haha inadvertently finds another clue “jin” and who is the first person he calls for? Jong-kook. Meanwhile the Ace and Yoo Hyuk deduce that it must be “Ji Suk-jin” and “Lee Kwang-soo,” their suspicion radar now on full alert.

He ends up telling Kwang-soo that it must be Su-ro and Ye-jin to put his mind at ease, but fails to realize he’d already figured it out. And drawing out the plan to a T is the Capable One, who catches on that there must be an alliance between the Easy Brothers and Su-ro and Ye-jin. He figures these out too quickly.

The true spies voice their complaints about their minions – they keep running around together, creating suspicion. But Kwang-soo sprays Jae-suk and Ji-hyo with ease, but whispers why the crew isn’t taking them away.

Likewise, the first person Jong-kook hunts down is Haha when he finds the next clue, “pal.” But the following clue, “ro” confirms Jae-suk’s suspicions that indeed, the guests must be back, and Kwang-soo is left speechless. It does little to shift the doubt from Kwang-soo retorts to Jae-suk’s longing to rip his name tag: “You’ve been doing that for a year and a half! ‘Let’s just rip off his name tag’ ‘He seems strange’ ‘He’s acting awkward!’ I’ve been awkward for 27 years!” Point taken.

Ji-hyo gets a clear shot of Su-ro and shares it with the rest of the group. Now Jong-kook breaks it down for Kwang-soo: he’d been given a mission, but Su-ro is here and he’s flustered. Kwang-soo confirms that the only person who has been taken away is Gary, but what about the others?

Well those others are about to be taken care of because soon after, Jae-suk walks right into the true spies’ direction and Su-ro eliminates him fairly easily. And when Jong-kook turns out Big Nose Hyung’s pocket (and finds the sprayer), Suk-jin sprays it into his mouth to distract him, and targets Spartakooks. And Haha is the last to be sprayed.

The Easy Brothers hug in celebration – Mission Complete! Or so they think because as soon as Kwang-soo is alone, Su-ro appears. And before Kwang-soo is hauled off to jail, Kwang-soo says, “But I’m the sp—” and they cover his mouth.

He arrives to jail in complete disbelief, jarred from his recent capture. His hyungs explain that he and Suk-jin’s were simple pawns in this game. Jae-suk asks, “What are you today?” Question of the day, Jae-suk.

Haha is sent down to draw out the guests and they bite. So Jong-kook rushes downstairs, with Ji-hyo yelling directions from overhead. But she should be watching her own back because Ye-jin sneaks behind her and eliminates her.

Now only Spartakooks and Big Nose Hyung remain. Jong-kook calls Suk-jin, who has a hard time believing that Su-ro and Ye-jin are here. As soon as he hangs up, however, Jong-kook is easy pickings for the Best Capable One, aka Su-ro.

Suk-jin is still confused, even after he meets up with Su-ro and Ye-jin, who take him out fairly quickly. Once everyone is gathered together, the entire clue is revealed as, “Su-ro and Ye-jin’s bracelets.”With an all-kill, the guests are declared the winners!

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