Running Man: Episode 166

by gummimochi

The corporate world can be a ruthless place especially when you have a group of chaebols all fighting over shares within the company. It can get downright brutal at times or utterly ridiculous in that head-to-head battle where gasp, you may even need to get on your hands and knees. But in order to survive, you’ll do virtually anything to secure your place as the rightful heir of that variety throne.

EPISODE 166. Broadcast on October 6, 2013.

We open at RM Group headquarters, where Kwang-soo welcomes everyone to his fancy rooftop garden party …and then stops to ask if he’s playing his rich boy character correctly. Ha.

Haha, however, has no problem slipping into the role. Will the “Almost Paradise” intro be used in every mega-rich-elite drama to come? Answer? Yes, probably.

It’s not long before the two chaebols hurl insults at each other, only to be told that they’re actually affiliates. So they immediately switch to polite jondaemal, then the PD adds: “You two grew up together.” Cue high-fives and banmal. Love. It.

Everyone looks spiffy in their white threads today, and when Ji-hyo arrives, the boys congratulate her on her Midas touch. Heh. Along with Jong-kook and Suk-jin, they’re all part of the oil industry.

But every large corporation has a rival, which is when Jae-suk and Gary arrive in their black suits. Kwang-soo finds it hard to believe that Jae-suk is the leader of anything fashion-related, but that’s easily remedied by today’s guests: Heirs castmates Choi Jin-hyuk, Kim Woo-bin, and Park Shin-hye.

I love how both Gary and Haha quietly distance themselves from their tall guests, whom Jae-suk calls the “real heirs.” The others are like “So are we!” but Jae-suk shuts them down.

It’s a team battle in today’s race where the rival subsidiaries will duke it out to acquire as many shares as they can prior to the final mission. The winning team will earn the right as heirs to the massive RM conglomerate.

As corporate trainees, the teams (Oil vs. Fashion) change into their tracksuits, and the cast note how the flower boys (and girl!) manage to make anything look fashionable. I wonder if Jae-suk will stick to his running joke of calling the other team “squid” today, but then everyone heads off to their first mission.

In the elevator, everyone is surprised to hear that Jin-hyuk and Kwang-soo are donggap, to which Kwang-soo adds, “To be honest, Jin-hyuk doesn’t look young for his age either!”

It cracks me up that the PDs keep trying to sell the whole mock company scenario, only to have the cast bring it back to reality. “We’re at the SBS building!” But the staff barrels on to introduce their first game to test their endurance… by pulling out plungers from a pillar. LOL.

Kwang-soo talks up a storm before his turn, only to run into trouble right away. After much hilarious struggling, the first one gives a great big *pop* noise before he falls to the ground.

HA, now I get why the staff chose this task—there’s so much comedic potential trapped in a single concept. Rewind, replay!

Naturally, the others think Kwang-soo is playing it up for variety’s sake, but it really looks like he’s having a hard time. It’s a good minute before Kwang-soo removes the second one while Jae-suk tries his hand with a fallen plunger and nearly throws his back out. HA.

Kwang-soo eventually finishes (Caption: …Success?), completely out of breath. He’s told that he was nearly disqualified, and in utter disbelief, Kwang-soo argues for his 2:54 record.

The Fashion team send out Woo-bin (eee!), who steps up… and also struggles with the first plunger. HA. But he soon figures out a strategy and pops out the rest with ease (and 39 seconds to boot).

For the next round, the teams are allowed to place the plungers for the other team. It starts off easy enough as Jin-hyuk jumps to see how far he could reach. But then he tries to climb on Woo-bin’s shoulders, and the maknae crumbles underneath him. Kwang-soo: “I lost to this guy?!”

So they switch places and Woo-bin places the plunger high above him… and then it falls off. HAHAHAHA, is there an underlying heodang quality to you two?

What’s great about all of these attempts is how these two whisper their awksome plans among themselves, only for them to epically fail, like how Jin-wook runs up for a boost and crashes into the pillar. So Jae-suk shows them how it’s done and collapses to the ground. Pfft, these are better than the game itself.

Suk-jin and Haha volunteer their efforts for the second round, and I love how offended they get when Myuk PD asks if they’ll be okay. “Why?” “What about us?” Sure enough, they pull and pull, and Haha ups the comedic effect by pulling on Suk-jin’s hair.

Is that… black hair powder? Then Haha saves the potentially embarrassing moment by declaring, “There’s suk-tan [coal] coming out of Suk-jin’s hair!” It earns the mat-hyung the new punny nickname “Ji Suk-tan.”

The Heodang Brothers aka Jin-hyuk and Woo-bin get teased again for strategizing in whispers. But whaddayaknow, Jin-hyuk is strong enough for the both of them and finishes in a cool 7.81 seconds. Whoa.

Turns out the bankbooks contain real money (a million Won or $1000 USD) that will be given to the winners. Jae-suk tries to interfere with the other team’s rock-paper-scissors rounds, but it’s Ji-hyo who takes it for safekeeping.

Woo-bin’s heodangness is brought up again in the car as Oppa struggles with the seatbelt. The conversation turns to the origin of Gary’s name, and he answers: “They called me gae [dog] at school.”

There were some other alternative choices as well, Gary adds, “Like gae-mi [ant].” HA.

That image of the Oil F4 cracks me up (with more “Almost Paradise,” yes), especially the attached captions, like Kwang-soo (herbivore) and Jong-kook (Gym King).

Our second game sounds confusing but could easily be entertaining. It’s a series of 1:1 battles while their teammates will bet two glasses of water for every one bankbook. The winning team will get to throw said water into the losers’ faces, just like they do in the dramas! Suk-jin: “Just don’t get any in my hair.” Heh.

Jin-hyuk and Kwang-soo face off in a thumb-wrestling match, and the latter shows off his long thumb, exclaiming, “When it comes to toes and thumbs, it’s me!” They start, and Jin-hyuk gets called out for hiding his thumb. But no matter, because Kwang-soo pins him a few moments later and wins the round.

He pockets the bankbooks, and when Ji-hyo says she’ll keep it safe, Kwang-soo yells, “You know how many times I fell for that at New Years with my mom!” Hahaha.

It takes three takes for Kwang-soo to throw the water into Jin-hyuk’s face, but it’s Jin-hyuk who comes out looking cooler between them. Kwang-soo: “I’M the hero of this scene!” Jae-suk: “You’re the one the viewers would curse!” Truer words.

I love how the height difference with Haha turns his dramatic threats instantly funny. He has Jin-hyuk match his height (“Open your legs!”) just like they do on drama sets.
Then Haha and Jae-suk engage in a race to see who can change into their suits the fastest. Haha wins the round.

He positively beams at the rare opportunity to get his revenge after working with Jae-suk for so long, taunting his sunbae to draw out the moment. It builds up the anticipation… and then Kwang-soo steps in to do the honors. Twice. Ahahaha.

The ladies step up for the next round, and Jae-suk mistakenly(?) calls Shin-hye as “Eun-hye” in a slip of the tongue. And Jae-suk sends out another “I miss you [Yoon] Eun-hye” to the camera.

Gary presides over the game (think of Simon Says but flipping spoons of “gold” and “silver” over your eyes). Ji-hyo gets caught up and blames it on Gary’s mumbling, to which Jong-kook asks: “Were you just listening to Gary’s voice?” HA.

Gary: “I was just looking at YOU, silly.” Ha, and the replay confirms it.

Jae-suk tells Ji-hyo to stop playing with poor Gary’s heart, and then sends another video message to Yoon Eun-hye. That riles Jong-kook’s temper of course, and this time Shin-hye asks why he’s getting so upset: “Are you still attached to her?” Heh.

So they start over (and Gary speaks clearly this time), but Ji-hyo messes up again. Heehee.

Their current number of bankbooks are on the line in their next game of rock-paper-scissors. Jong-kook doesn’t consider Woo-bin at his rival at all, and Kwang-soo reminds everyone: “Don’t you remember Jong-kook throwing Woo-bin off last time?”

Both men put those quick reflexes to use, and though Woo-bin gets the first hit, Jong-kook hits him back with two more. Woo-bin ties up the score, and it’s down to one last hand… and Woo-bin gets the final hit.

Kwang-soo sells off two of his bankbooks for a turn to hit Jong-kook with water, and when Haha joins in, he in turn sprays Kwang-soo for depleting their account. Then Jin-hyuk gets in a refreshing splash, cutting Jong-kook off mid-sentence. Niicce.

But perhaps the best part comes when it’s Jae-suk’s turn and Jong-kook throws the water back in his face over and over and over again. Hehe.

Then we check in with our bankbooks count as the Fashion team holds 12(!) versus the Oil team’s 3.

At the Han River, the cast gapes at the manmade pool by the river bank. Haha: “At this rate, we’ll keep doing [the pool games] ’til winter!” Here, it’s a literal head-to-head wrestling match and Haha and Jae-suk step up for the first round.

Haha puts in a good fight while all I can think of is Owwwww. But then Jae-suk rams him once more and Haha falls into the water. That victorious glory shot is hilarious.

HA, why am I not surprised that Woo-bin yelps in pain as soon as the match starts? The heodang …it kills me. Every. Time. Kwang-soo: “You think you can still be an heir?!” Woo-bin: “Shut up!”

Then I love how Woo-bin just barrels on ahead as Kwang-soo slides off the platform. He takes on Jong-kook next, and I can’t imagine why Kwang-soo thinks it’s a good idea annoying Spartakooks before the match.

Not that he needs the extra encouragement since he sends Woo-bin and Jin-hyuk off easily anyway. Jong-kook: “Bring on Chu Sung-hoon!”

But we all know Jong-kook’s greatest weakness is women, and when Shin-hye asks for his help, the dongsaengs call out: “Don’t fall for her!” She makes sure to add in an aegyo-filled “Thanks, Oppa.” Hook, line, and sinker.

Shin-hye’s aegyo attacks work like a charm as the dongsaengs yell at Jong-kook to stay focused. In the end, he gives in like a gentleman, to his team’s disappointment. Haha: “Should I consider [Shin-hye] as my sister-in-law, then?”

A final count before the final mission: Fashion (17) and Oil (5).

Everyone heads back to headquarters where the teams will meet their shareholders, and obtain their legal proxies. The first team to do so and sit in the shareholders’ meeting room first, wins.

The teams run inside once they learn who they’re looking for. The Oil team crashes the Cultwo’s (컬투) live radio broadcast, to the audience’s great pleasure.

Meanwhile, Jae-suk and the Heodang Brothers head upstairs to meet MC Im Sung-hoon whose son happens to be PD Im Hyung-taek. Then there’s announcer Kim Min-ji aka Park Ji-sung’s ladyfriend.

Ha, it’s hilarious how unwilling MC Im Sung-hoon is willing to hand the envelope over. As the dae sunbae of the bunch, he totally milks the moment and sends them out on a coffee run.

Back at the radio show, Haha is busy trying to persuade the hosts when Shin-hye offers to dance then and there. She does and it’s adorable. But then Haha throws out Jong-kook’s six-pack. He does and it’s glorious.

Suk-jin makes up a theme song on the spot, and the Oil team ends up with the proxy.

Elsewhere Hong Rok-gi is bombarded by both teams, so he holds a dance-off to see who will obtain his shares. It’s actually pretty funny to watch the extent to which the cast will go to get into their good graces.

For instance Park So-hyun says she’d like a boyfriend, and Kwang-soo immediately declares his love for her. Kwang-soo: “Age doesn’t matter!” So-hyun: “To me it does!”

With a final test to say a few words to his listeners, Rok-gi gives a hug to Haha and Suk-jin… before handing off his proxy to Shin-hye. Hahaha, figures.

So-hyun is caught between choosing between the two teams just as their coffee order arrives. Ji-hyo and Kwang-soo waste no time to sabotage that maneuver, but Jae-suk ends up with the proxy anyway.

With two more shares out in the open, the teams rush to find their remaining shareholders. Anchorwoman Park Sun-young looks disappointed that Suk-jin has come alone, saying, “I can wait a little longer.” Hehehe.

Meanwhile, Haha and Ji-hyo corner the M.I.B. boys, and distract them just long enough so that Haha can make off with the proxy. Ha, sneaky but clever.

The Heodang Brothers are busy swaying the announcer’s heart upstairs, not that I can blame her. Pair that with Jae-suk’s entrance and she hands her shares to the Fashion team.

Both teams rush over to warmly greet Nam CP (the show’s producer-in-charge) with hugs and compliments. Jae-suk even gives the high-level exec a piggyback ride when Kwang-soo notices the already-signed proxy on his desk. Oho!

So Kwang-soo makes off with the proxy in hand, bringing the share count to 4 to 3 in favor of the Fashion team. Now they just need to find the Girl’s Day members for their last few shares.

But Shin-hye’s already two steps ahead of them as she pulls the idol girls aside, and the ladies greet each other in deep bows. It’s not long before they’re joined by the others, and Jae-suk greets his former teammates.

The Oil team tries to impress, but it’s Shin-hye’s dancing skills that win the girls’ hearts. Now armed with five proxies, the Fashion team runs to the meeting room. Not that the other team will stand for that as Jong-kook steals a proxy with his teeth.

Poor Shin-hye collapses in her chair in exhaustion as her teammates file in after her. In the scuffle, Jae-suk manages to steal the proxy back, and few more struggling seconds later, the Fashion team sits in their seats.

It’s time to count their pennies since only one of the winning team members will be the true heir to the RM empire. The team swipes their bankbooks to see who has the most in their accounts, and Gary gripes, “There’s 100 Won in this one!” Ha, that’s like a dime.

At least he has more money than Shin-hye whose bankbooks total a whopping 1,700 Won. Things look good for Jin-hyuk who has a cool million Won and change.

It comes down to Woo-bin who has about 50 bucks until the last bankbook… adds another hundred bucks. Which means Jin-hyuk inherits the RM Group name and gold for the win.

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