Guests: ChoA (formerly of AOA) and Cho Saeho
My Entertainment Score: 8 out 10 laughs
The interactions between the members and guests were excellent this episode and all but one game was a hit for me. That one game was a low point for me, but it was brief at least. My only other complaint was that we didn’t get enough of the last game.
What Happened:
Theme: Sweet and Scary Way Home
Opening (start of episode- 15:27)
Member Arrivals (start of episode- 10:52)
They spent some time going over recent events of the members and generally teasing each other about it all. I don’t usually laugh during this, but I did this week.
Race Explanation/Guest Arrivals (4:15- 12:51)
The race is beginning in a central location. There are 6 stops, 3 in each direction, where the teams can do a mission. When a mission is completed, they will move one step towards the winner’s neighborhood and the winners will take over one slot of a roulette. The roulette starts at a 50-50 split (6 slots for each team).. At 5pm when rush hour begins, they will stop what they are doing and spin the roulette to determine the closing scene’s location. Assuming Mapo won all the missions, they would already be in Mapo, but if they lost the roulette spin, the whole crew would have to drive through rush hour to the Gangnam closing site...then the Mapo Team members would have to drive back through rush hour to get home again. The game itself creates the punishment.
Each of the stops is a restaurant where a game will be played. There is a bonus mission for the losing team to resist temptation at each restaurant that could lose them an extra slot on the roulette. I’ll explain that under the first restaurant.
Mapo Team:
Sechan
Jihyo
Haha
Somin
Saeho
Gangnam Team:
Kwangsoo
Seokjin
Jaesuk
Jongkook
ChoA
Starting Mission (12:51- 15:27)
The first mission was done at the opening site to fairly determine which direction they would start in. The game was called “Furious Race”. It was a marble race. There are lots of marble race videos on the internet. I find them peaceful...a mindless thing to help me unwind when my thoughts are jumbled. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more...competitive version of a marble race.
First Restaurant: Tteokbokki (15:27- 42:22)
Travelling to Restaurant (15:27- 20:39)
The bantering/bickering was hilarious.
Game Explanation (20:39- 24:34)
In each restaurant, only 3 members of the winning team will be able to eat the menu. The 3 will be chosen by the restaurant owner. The losing team will be tempted with a portion of food. They set up barriers so they can’t see the other members of the team. If ANY of the members on the losing team give into temptation and eat some food, the winning team will get two slots on the roulette.
The first game is called “It’s Quiz Hour”. The first part of it is a ‘unit’ quiz. The teams will take turns. After being shown a symbol or letters representing a unit of measurement, one member will have 3 seconds to say what it means. Eg: in means inches or oz means ounces. If the first member gets the answer correct, the next member will try a slightly harder measurement. The goal is to have every member of the team answer. I’m sure you can guess how well this is going to go.
The second round in this game is the ‘initial’ game. The members are shown the initials of well-known shows in Korea. They simply have to guess the correct show. Eg: SYTYCD would be So You Think You Can Dance.
Game: It’s Quiz Hour (24:34- 40:06)
I dare you not to laugh. I dare you. Even the smarter members struggled in this. To be fair to the members, there were a couple that threw me off too.
The second round was a little harder to play along with because of the translation issues inherent in the game. The subs I watched did a good job of keeping it playable for English speakers. I tried to keep up in Korean and made a fool of myself.
Food Mission (40:06- 42:22)
It was funny watching the losing team decide if they would betray the team and eat or not. They
Second Restaurant: Seafood Jeon (42:23- 1:02:26)
Travelling to Restaurant (42:23- 47:50)
I don’t know if they were all just in a good mood or if it was the combination they had with the guests, but they were hilarious even doing nothing.
Explanation (47:50- 48:58)
The game is called “The Outlaw on the Road”. The entire cast gets up on a balance beam, one team to each side, in a squat. The members in the middle play rock, paper scissors, and the winner gets the first swing. They will take turns hitting each other with a pillow until one of them falls off. At which point the rest of the team will move forward and the middles will play rock, paper scissors, again. One person could, in theory, take out all the team members of the opposing team.
Game: (48:58- 58:18)
The members chose their line-ups so well from a viewer perspective. They started weaker and worked their way up so that it felt balanced. There were lots of funny falls and funny faces.
Food Mission (58:18- 1:02:26)
Both the winning and losing teams were a mess this time. The members truly seemed to be in a good mood all around.
Third Restaurant: Tteokbokki (1:02:26- 1:09:19)
*They didn’t show the travelling this time*
Explanation (1:02:26- 1:03:18)
The game is called “Open Your Mouth”. Each member will choose 2 shellfish. They will grill them. When all the shellfish on one team open up, that team wins.
Game: Open Your Mouth (1:03:18- 1:06:15)
This was the low point in the show for me. I didn’t feel the tension and there weren’t any super amusing things that happened. The members definitely felt the tension, but it didn’t translate for me.
Food Mission (1:06:15- 1:09:19)
The drama of those who haven’t eaten yet started here. It was funny every time from then on.
Fourth Restaurant: Dessert Cafe (1:09:19- 1:18:07)
Travelling to Restaurant (1:09:19- 1:11:15)
If you like Seokjin or want to see him at his best, this is your segment.
Explanation (1:11:15- 1:12:02)
The game is called “One Arms and Legs”. The members pair off to compete. Each will wear a sweatshirt, putting both their arms and legs into the sleeves. Then they will have to read a word written on the back of their opponent. The staff somehow created a list of match-ups.
Game: One Arms and Legs (1:12:02- 1:15:00)
I am so sad that there weren’t more rounds of this. It was so funny looking!
The first match was ChoA vs. Sechan. The second match would have been Kwangsoo vs. Jihyo, but it hit 5pm and they couldn’t play.
Food Mission (1:15:00- 1:18:07)
The drama of those who haven’t eaten continues!
Final Results (1:18:07- end of episode)
The roulette is spun and the members move to the ending venue for the closing. The winning team gets rice cake as a sweet prize along with their short commute home. The commutes weren’t covered at all.
Preview: Search for the perfect variety partner with guests Seol Inah, Lee Chohee, Jeong Hein (3 actresses). This looks like it could be a mess.
