Running Man: Episode 307

by gummimochi

It’s reunion week in varietyland, as familiar faces both off and on camera return to breathe much-needed life into Running Man. Even an outright downpour won’t be able to get in the way of fun and games for this week’s outing. The endless laughs and smiles will make it seem like it’s a bright and sunny day out, and the rain will be quickly forgotten for fierce competition.

Never have the words “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” been so sound than in this episode—hearts will be broken to make way for new budding relationships.

EPISODE 307. Broadcast on July 10, 2016.

Today’s episode begins seconds after last week’s broadcast ends with whaaa—that’s Myuk PD! Are you back?! For good?! Please say yes.

Anywhoo, the preview instructed the cast members to call in as soon as they see this episode because the first three members to do so will gain an advantage. Myuk PD appears nervous, but then much to his surprise, someone calls in.

It isn’t long before two others call as well, and that’s it.

The opening kicks off two days later at Yongsan Station; the cast is headed to Chuncheon for today’s “Thumbs Up Couple Race.” Our guests will join them at the next stop, so all aboard!

Jae-suk still remembers when he cut class in university to go on an MT with actress (and college classmate) Jeon Do-yeon. When Jong-kook suggests that Jae-suk invite her to the show, Jae-suk says they haven’t spoken in about two decades. Heh.

Actress Ye Ji-won was another classmate, along with singer Kim Won-jun, whom Jae-suk admits he was envious of. Suk-jin quickly puts him in his place by telling him that he and Won-jun are in entirely different playing fields.

Jae-suk would always be the “funny oppa” who made his female classmates giggle, but they were never attracted to him. So he’d always be alone.

When Myuk PD interrupts to remind the group about their first mission, Haha, Gary, and Ji-hyo all apologize for not tuning in. Now it’s time to find out who actually did call in first after the broadcast…

… and that was Kwang-soo. Myuk PD was quick to guess that Kwang-soo’s mother gave him a heads-up, and then we see that Jae-suk was the second caller. Suk-jin was Caller 3.

Kwang-soo gets three Thumbs Up for being the first caller, and Jae-suk chimes in: “Kwang-soo always tunes in whenever his girlfriend is over.” Kwang-soo: “I saw the episode with my mom!” Jae-suk: “He has his girlfriend saved as ‘Mother’ on his phone!”

Jae-suk and Suk-jin get two and one Thumbs Up, respectively, and soon the train pulls into the next stop where our guests are waiting. It’s SISTAR: Hyorin, Dasom, Bora, and Soyou.

Just a few minutes earlier, Soyou had asked to be paired up with Jong-kook since he’s strong enough to carry her. Dasom enters the compartmest first, and while the Unlucky Trio tries persuading her to join them, Haha reminds her that those three have the worst luck.

She has everyone close their eyes and ultimately chooses Kwang-soo, and he is really excited. Myuk PD tells everyone not to worry because today’s couple arrangements are fluid depending on what happens today. Now THIS is how you logically present an episode—we missed you, Myuk PD!

The other guys are quick to dispel Dasom’s impression about Kwang-soo, saying that he compliments every girl he sees. Kwang-soo: “I’ve never said that to Ji-hyo!”

But the guys feel bad for Dasom when Kwang-soo gets up to greet Hyorin. So Hyorin plops down beside Jong-kook, and Jae-suk confesses that he’s actually relieved with this outcome.

Our next guest is Shownu of Monsta X, who pairs up with Ji-hyo. Bora bounces into the compartment and leans toward Gary… before telling Dasom to get out of her seat next to Kwang-soo. Oof.

It’s up to Kwang-soo now, and he chooses… Bora. Jae-suk immediately leads Soyou to his row when she walks in, and Kwang-soo’s betrayal is fresh in her mind. As expected, she tells Hyorin to take a hike… and Jong-kook asks her to get up.

Now there are two women scorned—Dasom chooses Jae-suk, and Hyorin sits with Gary. This means that Haha is paired with Suk-jin, and our couples are all set.

Our teams will collect Thumbs Up along the way to their destination, which will become useful to trade for items. But then things take a turn for the worse: Due to inclement weather, the crew has to change up the Thumbs Up Race. (But the caption tell us that there’s a special surprise for Kwang-soo.)

Time for a little game where everyone will open up to a random page on a magazine and whichever team has the most people pictured on that spread, wins. Kwang-soo and Bora are in the lead with four people until Haha opens up his magazine to dozens of people.

The second game requires each couple to hold in their laughter for a full minute while the others try to break them down. Haha and Suk-jin are first to bat, and Haha tells Suk-jin that he’s a “has-been,” which makes him crack up.

Ji-hyo seems to be able to stifle her laughter until Jae-suk tells her: “I think Suk-jin likes you.” Bora crumbles when Kwang-soo starts off with a melodramatic line, and in the end, only Hyorin and Dasom hold out for the full minute.

The group is met with a downpour when they arrive at Chuncheon, and it looks like the mission by the swimming pool is out the window. But never fear—the backup plan takes place at a cozy gymnasium.

Turns out that Jong-kook and Soyou are the only ones without Thumb Ups while Kwang-soo and Bora are still in first place. It’s time for each couple to introduce themselves and Haha said it was love at first sight for him and Suk-jin.

Gary’s face falls after he introduces himself as a dance machine because Ji-hyo says her partner is quite the dancer himself. Jae-suk describes his teammate as a lady who easily falls in love. Dasom immediately points to Kwang-soo, warning him against being nice to her.

Jong-kook introduces himself as a gym rat, and Gary immediately outs Soyou when she claims to be from Cheongdam-dong: “You’re from Jeju!” She works out in her spare time too, and she’s prepared to beat everyone here.

There’s a blossoming love triangle between Kwang-soo, Bora, and Dasom. Ji-hyo introduces her shy partner on his behalf, and Shownu hopes that he can be viewed as a fun person by the end of this episode. Aww.

Dasom admits that it’s the quiet ones the girls seem to like on MTs because they carry an air of mystery.

Then it’s time for the couples to show off their best dance moves to pick up another Thumbs Up. Haha and Suk-jin push the boundaries of this show’s PG-rating, and for a hot second there, so do Gary and Hyorin.

Kwang-soo and Bora don’t make it any better when she lays down on the floor. They might not be doing anything particular risqué for TV, but this is a family show, people!

So the crew changes up the music to something more upbeat, and now everyone is bouncing to the groove. Suk-jin and Haha are selected as the best couple, and Jae-suk advises that both Hyorin and Gary’s managers make sure to drop each person off at their respective homes tonight.

We move on to the next game, Foot Wrestling, where the top two teams will pick up two and one Thumbs Up, respectively. Jae-suk and Dasom face off against Gary and Hyorin, and Jae-suk pushes on Gary’s groin.

Gary returns the favor in kind, and both guys fall to the ground. Both ladies hang tight onto the bar (spurring a line of photoplasty memes) until Dasom finally falls. Bora is scared to go up against Ji-hyo, which is understandable since Ji-hyo quickly wraps her legs around her.

Kwang-soo tries to tickle Shownu loose, but then the latter tries going for the pain points. Unfortunately for him though, Kwang-soo swings Shownu off and his long legs touch the mat.

When Gary and Hyorin are up again, Bora is pulled down within seconds and Gary… well, he’s on the receiving end of Kwang-soo’s headbanging against his family jewels.

Kwang-soo tries tickling Gary, then pounds on his butt with his fist. Gary then pulls down on Kwang-soo’s leg that’s wrapped around the bar. The result? Extra weight on his nether region. Owwwww.

Kwang-soo picks up a painful win when Gary slips off. He doesn’t have much time to recover for the final round versus Jong-kook and Soyou, who eliminates Bora.

Meanwhile, Kwang-soo punches Jong-kook’s butt and then his front until Spartakooks lets go. Soyou is quick to avenger her teammate, pulling on Kwang-soo’s hair until he slips off.

The next activity is a Couples Badminton tournament, where only five points are needed to move on. However, the choice of racquet at their disposal is varied, like the flipper Bora is armed with.

It turns out that Hyorin’s ping pong paddle is extremely handy here, but it’s Kwang-soo who scored the first point. Gary ties it up, but then he gives up the second point to the other team.

Later the score is 3:1 in favor of Kwang-soo and Bora, then Bora scores the fourth point. Kwang-soo uses his height to his advantage by towering over the net, and he and Bora win the match.

Jae-suk and Dasom clang their frying pans against the shuttlecock, which Jong-kook returns with ease for the first point. The oversized racquet helps Jong-kook with the counterattack, but soon Jae-suk and Dasom catch up and it’s deuce.

It’s match point Jae-suk scores another point, and both teams are determined to win this round for themselves. Soyou strikes… but the shuttlecock falls short.

We breeze through the semifinals, and Kwang-soo and Bora advance to face Jae-suk and Dasom in the finals.

The teams volley back and forth until Kwang-soo scores the first point. We skip ahead to when Kwang-soo and Bora lead 3:0, and much to Jae-suk’s frustration, Kwang-soo picks up another point. Despite Jae-suk’s best efforts, Kwang-soo gets the fifth and final point.

Needless to say, Kwang-soo and Bora lead the scoreboard. The teams sit down for lunch, where Suk-jin reemerges sporting a new ‘do.

The mat hyungs encourage Shownu to speak his mind, asking what he thinks about his teammate Ji-hyo. Shownu says Ji-hyo really looks after him, which Gary and Hyorin can attest to.

Kwang-soo wonders why he doesn’t get the same nice treatment, to which Jae-suk says it’s because he deserves it. Jae-suk makes sure the R-rated couple aka Gary and Hyorin are eating, and Gary jokes that they need to fill up in order to go out later.

Lunch isn’t completely free though, since Myuk PD says that only the top two teams in this next game will get fried rice and more Thumbs Up. The picture-in-pictures teaches us that’s Gary and Hyorin and Ji-hyo and Shownu. Ha, now Jong-kook’s Instagram update of stacked radishes makes sense.

There’s a separate game reserved for noodles: a mix between the Pepero game and racking up as many steps on a pedometer through dance time.

Our R-rated couple is included in the first batch, and while they shake their bodies, the other couples shake their feet vigorously. But after all that work, Gary only racks in 39 steps.

In the next round, Haha accidentally kicks off his pedometer. Kwang-soo and Bora take first place with Ji-hyo and Shownu coming in second.

The teams head over to a museum for their final mission where an array of conjoined boxes decorated with bowties and suspenders await them. They’ll be doing the nametag ripping mission wearing these “love outfits,” and Bora worries about the height difference between her and Kwang-soo.

Cut to: Kwang-soo in the box and Bora’s head nowhere in sight. She pops her head out of the sleeve and Kwang-soo pulls up her hair. He has to get on his knees to minimize the height difference.

Now they can trade in their Thumbs Up for advantages, so choose wisely. Getting rid of the additional wings on the nametag is a popular choice among the teams while Ji-hyo and Shownu trade for a medium-sized nametag.

The bottom three teams decide to work together to bring down Kwang-soo and the others. Jae-suk and Dasom have traded in for a small-sized nametag, and though he and Jong-kook agree to take Kwang-soo down together, neither team is willing to expose their nametags.

The two teams contemplate venturing outside to go after Kwang-soo and Bora. Sure enough there they are, climbing up the stairs in the rain. Kwang-soo and Bora soon find themselves cornered and are quickly eliminated.

They’ve still got one hidden card up their sleeve — a revival coupon — which they can’t use to break out of jail because all the teams are waiting to pounce at the door.

Since staying here means they’re definitely out of the game, Kwang-soo and Bora use their coupon. It lasts all of two minutes before they’re eliminated once more.

The four couples target Jong-kook and Soyou next. But that couple nearly eliminates Jae-suk and Dasom, proving that they won’t be easy to beat. It takes nearly three teams to drag them out of the corner and rip off their nametag.

Once Kwang-soo hears the announcement, he predicts that Jae-suk will be the mob’s next target. Bingo.

There’s lots of grabbing between the four teams until Jae-suk and Dasom are finally eliminated. But when Jae-suk arrives at jail, Suk-jin arrives with him. As it happens, Suk-jin and Haha were eliminated one minute later.

They can hear Gary’s distant cries as he succumbs to Shownu and Ji-hyo. When everyone gathers together for the opening, Hyorin is told that she and Gary look so good together that they should go out for a month.

Today’s winners are Ji-hyo and baby-faced MVP Shownu, who are awarded diamond rings for their efforts. Gary says he got a bigger and brighter diamond today: Hyorin(g).

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