Running Man Episode 643-644 Review

May 15

May 15 Running Man Episode 643-644 Review

Guests: Cha Taehyun (actor), Yoo Yeonseok (actor)

My Entertainment Score: 6 out of 10 laughs

A combination of Cha Taehyun being his mischievous self and the incredibly long odds on the roulette results over the course of the day have barely tipped this race up above 5 for me. I’d like another ‘yes’ or ‘no’ roulette episode with a better theme or more games. Unfortunately this one felt like hanging out rather than a competition.

What Happened:

Theme: Butler Race (And Seokjin’s Bad Luck Generosity)

Opening/Guest Introductions (start of episode- 21:17)

This was presented as a scene with Taehyun as the master, Jaesuk as the head butler, and everyone else in a panel of butler candidates who showed talents or expressed their earnest desire to be hired.

At the end of this segment Taehyun paid each member as he wished…and yes, he was the perfect person for this particular role. If you’ve seen him on other variety shows, you’ll know he’s playful and sly. **I will not be keeping track of all the coin payments for this race. It’s far too complicated.**

Race Explanation (21:17- 22:20)

The ‘butlers’ must carry out the schedule for the day. A huge roulette with ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in every other space is provided. The master can spin this roulette for free throughout the day. The butlers must pay to spin the roulette. They can pay 10 coins for a blank card question to fill out or pay 25 coins for a ‘change the master’ card. The spinner that gets ‘yes’ on a change the master spin becomes the master and takes all the master’s coins. If the ‘change the master’ fails, the person that spun for it will get a penalty ball. The head butler gets 10 coins after that spin and the master (new or unchanged) will get 20 coins. At the end of the day, the current master is automatically exempt from punishment.

The master and the two members with the most coins get a prize at the end of the day.

There are missions during the day for people to earn coins. Or coins can be earned directly from the master. The schedules for the day include things like meals or coffee…and of course the supplies must be purchased using coins.

NOTE: I will not cover the parts of the race where the members are buying things or making food. Any time not covered by the timestamps are when the members are going about the schedules. Cooking, the roulette, and payments are all at this time.

First Mission: Debate Game aka I’m sick of this game (1:07:17- 1:24:34 of episode 643)

The members were given 3 questions in all which were in the form of stories from fans. The members would debate the topic and then decide individually ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The roulette would be spun to determine the ‘correct’ answer. Any member that matched the roulette would receive 5 coins.

NOTE: Right after this game ends is my favorite part of the episode. Double negative grammatical complications cause a ruckus….yup.

Second Mission: Team Chemistry Quiz (39:50 of episode 644- 53:20)

Everyone splits up into teams of three. Each team plays by themselves. The teammates are separated by a barrier. They must write matching answers to a quiz question in order to pass each round. If they pass the first round, they earn 5 coins. The second round is worth 10 coins. They can choose to stop at any point. However, if they attempt a question and fail, they will get 0 coins regardless of how many questions they correctly passed.

41:50 - Seokjin, Jaesuk, Yeonseok Team plays.

44:40 - Jihyo, Sechan, Somin Team plays.

*Note: At this point, the rest of the members begin betting on whether or not the playing team will get a question correct.

49:42 - Taehyun, Jongkook, Haha Team plays.

52:50 - Bonus. The roulette is spun. Each member can guess where it will land. If they match the roulette, they earn 40 coins.

Butler Race Final Results (1:00:14- 1:06:00)

The prize is a premium strawberry set. The punishment is making 30 banana brulee for the staff.

Seokjin’s Bad Luck Generosity (1:06:00 of episode 644 - end of episode 644)

Seokjin made a comment in a previous episode about treating everyone to dinner, so the staff sets up the dinner. At first, only the members are there, but one by one, staff enter the restaurant. There is a secret trigger that adds people to the bill: “This is delicious”. The staff had left hints and banners about this rule in previous episodes, but the warning had gone unheeded. After a while, a roulette is provided that could absolve him of the cost or split the cost.

Preview: Welcome to a special variety school led by teachers Jaesuk and Seokjin! Is one teacher superior? Will the students, joined by Roh Yoonseo (actress) and Joo Woojae (model) excel or fail their classes?

!!!Spoilers!!!

Debate Game

Seokjin - 5 coins

Jaesuk - 0 coins

Taehyun - 10 coins

Jongkook - 10 coins

Haha - 5 coins

Jihyo - 15 coins

Yeonseok - 15 coins

Sechan - 10 coins

Somin - 10 coins

Q1 - Jaesuk and Haha fail to match.