Variety Review: Running Man Episode 596 pt.2

May 16

May 16 Variety Review: Running Man Episode 596 pt.2

Guests: None

My Entertainment Score: 4 out of 10 laughs

Idol Group BTOB was scheduled to be the guests for this race but they were prevented from coming by a positive covid test. *Sad Face* The last minute changes meant that the members had to carry on with the missions, slightly modified. They did their best, but I was disappointed. The games were clearly designed for BTOB to shine with the members. I hope Running Man invites them to come again!!

What Happened:

Theme: BTOB Race without BTOB

Opening/Race Explanation (22:52- 32:15)

The members split up teams based on blood type with Somin as a wildcard that can switch teams at will. The B-blood team is Jaesuk, Haha, and Sechan. Somin plays the first game on their team.

For each game, the winning team will get 3 penalty balls, while the losing team will get 10. At the end of the day, there will be a random draw to determine who gets the punishment.

First Mission: It’s Agonizing and Painful (32:15- 54:42)

Round 1: The members play one on one. The attacking member does an overhead strike (kendo style) with a foam stick (covered in flour). The defender has to catch the stick on any strike where the attacker says “rice” instead of “barley”. The attacker can only attempt 5 “rice” strikes. Each hit on ‘rice’ counts for one point. They switch after 5 “rice” strikes and the points are tallied and carried over for the team score including round two.

They play Seokjin v. Somin, and Jaesuk v. Jongkook.

Round 2: (44:52) This was still an overhead strike blocking mission, but it was played with three people on a team attempting to block. To make that work, the staff attached a long stick to a lever. On the stick were three balloons. The goal was for the blocking team to pop all three balloons as they caught the stick. This game was made more difficult again by increasing the length of the stick.

Lunch (54:42- 1:05:27)

This was another sponsored thing, so they had to split up because Haha is a brand representative for a competitor. But their chats were pretty funny.

After lunch, they move to a new location and have a long chat on the bus. I’m including that in this timestamp.

Third Mission: Longing to Score (1:05:27- 1:20:57)

They played foot volleyball with Somin as the referee. She was in charge of keeping score via a computer. After each point, she would record the score. When her team scored, she could raise the points 2 instead of 1. The opposing team couldn’t see what she typed, but they could challenge her if they wanted. If they correctly challenged Somin, Somin’s team would get no points for that rally. If they incorrectly challenged, the challenging team would lose 1 point.

Another layer of challenge was added by spreading mud on the playing field to make the ball unpredictable and by having a female staff member join each team.

Third Mission: Chalk Protection Game (1:20:57- 1:23:35)

The members had to hide or protect long pieces of chalk for a certain amount of time, but it ended so quickly that most of it wasn’t actually shown.

Final Results (1:23:35- end of episode)

The penalty was to have buckets of water dumped on them.

Preview: Park Ahin, Kim Heejung, Roh Jeongeui join the members for a couple’s special. It looks like Jaesuk will be one of the girls for the race and Somin may be one of the boys. It also looks crazy….like falling through the floor crazy. We’ll see!

!!!Spoilers!!!

It’s Agonizing and Painful

B-blood team loses: They get 10 penalty balls.

A-blood team wins: They get 3 penalty balls.

Longing to Score

Somin is on the A-blood team for this game and she gets caught EVERY time she changes the score incorrectly after the first time.

B-blood team wins: They get 3 penalty balls.

A-blood team loses: They get 10 penalty balls.

Protecting Chalk

B-blood team wins: They get 3 penalty balls. (16 going into the random draw)

A-blood team loses: They get 10 penalty balls. (23 going into the random draw)

Final Results