Follow TV Tropes

Following

Awesome / Running Man

Go To

    open/close all folders 

     Running Man Live Action 
  • Episode 4: Eliminations usually happen in the blink of an eye because the nametags are easy to rip. Kim Jong Kook's rep skyrocketed here when 4 people, all of whom had at least a hand on him, were unable to tear off that nametag. For twenty full minutes he dragged all of them across the floor and up a flight of stairs.
  • Episode 13: Time is running out. After many close shaves, Yoo Jae Suk is the last man standing in his 5 man mission team. He has a tape left to find, and he is cornered by Kim Jong Kook along with HaHa and Gary in the office. What does he do? He pretends to resign to his fate and begins joking and bantering with his captors (and as such, they don't bother ripping off his name tag right away, until he seizes an opportunity, shoves Jong Kook out of the way mid-sentence, sprints for the exit, barely manages to slip past HaHa to make it through the door, and tells his cameraman to hold the door shut, buying him enough time to escape in the elevator and turn in the last tape, thus saving the day for his entire team.
  • Episode 52: The frightening power of Choi Min-soo is truly something to behold and how he terrified and dominated everyone. Even Kim Jong Kook himself dare not try to run away or fight him when Min-soo calls him. That, in turn, makes the Down to the Last Play Sole Survivor victory by Song Ji Hyo, who managed to shake him off just enough by doubling back around a circle to get to the finish line, that much more intense.
  • Episode 74 - The Entire Superpower Battle Episode
    • HaHa and his Time Control power. He can rewind time by one hour once by holding a watch and saying "THE ONE WHO REWINDS TIME!"
      • What happened was HaHa, Jong Kook and Ji Hyo are the only three people left and the duo wants to eliminate HaHa. But the moment he says it, not only it saves himself but he MANAGES TO REVIVE EVERYONE WHO WAS ELIMINATED, since one hour ago everyone was still alive trying to gang up on Gary and his 'duplicators' (except for Suk Jin who was eliminated once before the event).
      Jae Suk: (To HaHa) I have to thank you for it! Because of your time controller ability you have changed the entire game!!
      • This ends up being the Running Gag in later episodes due to his awesome ability.
    • Kwang Soo's Death Note ability. During his elimination, he was lectured by Gary and Jae Suk to eliminate Jong Kook as it would be funny to see him alone. He did during the revival but ends up being the second person to be eliminated. See below.
    • Ji Hyo has the mind reader abilities where she knows all of the superheroes' powers. But she has a second ability called the reversal abilitynote , which she can use it only once. Kwang Soo learns this the hard way. Fate is a cruel joke for him.
      • But wait... that means in a Fridge Brilliance sense if HaHa never uses his powers after Suk Jin's eliminationnote , she would have won regardless of whether Jong Kook or HaHa survived.
    • What can you say about Gary? He has one of the most useless abilities out of the seven Running Man members since his Duplicator power is too obvious. Sure he was eliminated but he manages to win during the revival. And wins a trip to Europe as the main prize.
  • Episode 79: The Sherlock Holmes episode. Ji Suk Jin is designated as the episode's culprit and in his pre-game prep, he devises a clever ploy by faking his elimination, using his 'getting eliminated first' reputation to his advantage. No one suspects a thing, even even though his "elimination" was never even officially announced over the intercom like everyone else. With the help of his two nameless henchmen, he manages to eliminate almost everyone in secret (save for one wrongfully accused guestnote  who was eliminated by Jong Kook). However, there were some flaws in his 'perfect plan':
    • The first is that he intended to eliminate Kwang Soo last. Unfortunately, by pure coincidence, Kwang Soo manages to see HaHa getting eliminated by Suk Jin and intends to warn everyone; making him the second person eliminated.
    • And the second is to eliminate Jong Kook first as he feels easy if he's out. He's right as once Jong Kook and Ji Hyo found out who the true culprit is and the location of the treasure, they confronted him. However, when it comes to a stand-off, Suk Jin accidentally tells them that his henchmen can't eliminate them. This causes Ji Hyo to hold them as Jong Kook eliminated him immediately. Had he eliminated Jong Kook first or never tell him about the henchmen part, he may have won.
  • Episode 82: The Spy episode. Their final mission was to eliminate and find the spy. But what they didn't know was that all the Running Man members are spies who falsely believe that they were the only spy on the mission. However the guest, Lee Da Hae wasn't the spy and had to eliminate everyone. Sounds impossible... not for her case since she did the impossible. First, she heard the secret song code that only the spies knew by eavesdropping on Jae Suk. She uses this as her advantage to gain an ally of Gary and Jae Suk, pretending that she's a spy. To lower their guard, Da Hae acted as if she is a very terrible spy causing Jae Suk and Gary to fall for it. This was how all the members got eliminated:
    1) Kwang Soo - Teaming up with Gary, Da Hae fooled him into that she's also a spy. Daydreaming that they could team up together as 'couple spies', she managed to rip his name tag. Gary came in to shut him up and put him in the changing room while Da Hae threw the name tag with the 'spy' label on it to cover up the evidence.
    2) Gary - After confronting Suk Jin, he and Da Hae decided to take him out but during the scuffle, Suk Jin managed to rip his tag first until...
    3) Suk Jin - ... He was so surprised to know that Gary's also a spy that Da Hae ripped his tag off.
    4) HaHa - Convince that Da Hae's a spy (due to her brilliant acting performance), Jae Suk managed to eliminate HaHa. However, he does not bother to see HaHa's spy tag or follow HaHa who intends to prove to Jae Suk he is a spy and leaves him. HaHa was confused about whether Jae Suk knows he's a spy or not.
    5) Jong Kook - Eliminated by Jae Suk. Like HaHa's case, he didn't bother to check Jong Kook's nametag that has a spy tag behind it.
    6) Jae Suk - During the confrontation between the last three members, Da Hae managed to rip his tag during the confusion of both members.
    7) Ji Hyo - Dumbstruck to know that Jae Suk was a spy, she let her guard down and got herself eliminated by Da Hae.
    • The below states it all:
    Gary: Lesson learn for today : "We men must choose women very carefully.
  • Episode 92: The Chinese delivery episode
    • Despite the fact they dislike Kwang Soo's betrayal habit, HaHa manages to trick Kwang Soo into eliminating Jung Myung by giving him a false promise that he'll eliminate Jong Kook. Of course, Kwang Soo takes the bait.
    • The first time match between Kwang Soo and HaHa. This comes up after the winner has been decided:
      "I LOST TO THE GIRRAFE!!!"
  • Episode 113: The Absolute Ddak-Ji, where the staff tried 158 times to flip it over and no one succeeds. Jong Kook only needed one time to flip the Ddak-Ji over. The other teams try to flip the Ultimate Ddakji but they also fail. The PD tells them that it shouldn't have flipped until Jong Kook does it the second time and it flips again; causing the PD and the staff to laugh in shock about it.
  • Episode 124: Gary picks a vegetable porridge dish that happens to be laced with extremely spicy Cheongyang chilies seasoning and eats it, without reacting negatively to the spiciness as required by the challenge. Jong Kook, Ji Hyo, and Kwang Soo were all staring in disbelief that Gary could stand it bite after bite - Jong Kook might have guessed it after Gary's first bite, Ji Hyo could smell the peppers despite being at least two feet away from the bowl, and Kwang Soo immediately reacted after taking just one bite for himself just to make sure. Gary was able to hold out by not reacting until the producers declared he passed.
  • Episode 129: Team Running Man employed the "ant hill attack plan" in the final attack/defense game where they deliberately trapped themselves in a line in a blocked-off area and lured the Idol team into attacking them at the last minute where they could ensnare at least one Idol member when they went into a cease-movement and thus were able to attack when their roles switched.
  • Episode 130: Suk Jin somehow eliminates Jong Kook for the first time. He is so proud that after the final battle against HaHa, he put Kook's nametag on his head.
  • Episode 132: Kwang Soo has been ridiculed for most of the episode, especially in the "Guess-who-has-the-spy-tag" segment where he indirectly exposes Ji Hyo and earns his team the victory. How did it happen? Well...
    • During the final mission, teams are to find all 7 briefcases even if the opposing team is eliminated; there is no automatic win. At the beginning of the mission, Jae Suk and Kwang Soo are left in the dark by their team members; suspecting one of them to be a spy for the other team.note  This makes them dubbed Dumb and Dumber as they are clueless about what's going on.
      • What makes it awesome is that Jae Suk and Kwang Soo are the only two people who know the 7th briefcase 'without any clue on its whereabouts unlike the 6 briefcases''.
    • As time pass by, Hwang Jung-min finally tells the duo about the situation and there are suspicions as ss. The best moment is when Kwang Soo tears off Ji Hyo's name tag after Jae Suk is eliminated. As both men realize the truth, Jung Min gives an anguished scream as the person he trusted was the true spy, and have to rely on Kwang Soo who he didn't trust since the start of the mission. note 
    • However when they search for the last two briefcases, Jung-min was eliminated leaving only Kwang Soo the sole survivor in his team while Jong Kook and Suk Jin are still alive in their team. Knowing the locations of the 5 briefcases and the rules, Kwang Soo threatens both of them that he will self-eliminate himself and pretends to get all ticked off for them to drop their guard. It works. Jong Kook was eliminated after Kwang Soo tricks him into holding the 7th bag while Suk Jin gets eliminated while doing their trademark "Feel-Touch-Cross". Suk Jin was dumbfounded that he gets eliminated and worried that Kwang Soo will have to spend the entire day searching for it. But after he follows him to the same floor where Jung-min was eliminated. He was shocked that he found the two briefcases that they'd hidden. (causing and eliciting laughter from the Production Crew).
      • Jung-min hides the two briefcases in one of the basement floor rooms but thanks to Ji Hyo, Jong Kook decides to relocate the bags and hide them in one of the boxes in the very same room. During the time Kwang Soo acts that he's pissed and enters the same room, he realizes that one of the boxes is lighter and looks like it has been recently opened. He finds it and then acts that he didn't. Because he finds it in a very short amount of time while under pressure before Jong Kook and Suk Jin approach him, he puts one good acting performance to make the win for his team.
  • Episode 162: Each of the cast members is paired up with an Idol group and dances their introduction. For some members who are not dancers, they did a pretty good job being in sync with the idols while making it look awesome and hilarious at the same time.
  • Episode 165: For the first time in 165 episodes Ji Suk Jin finally gets his first solo win ever since the start of the show.
    • This is also dedicated to everyone in Namyangju who has helped Hye-Mi by making an entire episode looking for her without even her knowing about it.
  • Episode 178: Two teams had to cross the Han River with a boat made of cardboard. They had to deal with cold winds, exhaustion, and rocky waves with one boat even capsizing. And they all made it!
  • Episode 197: It is a testament to the skills of the production team, and the popularity of the show, that Running Man manages to make a Ddakji tournament look like a World Cup Final. The Running Men compete in teams of 3, with a cast member recruiting 2 university students. Purpose-built arena in a gymnasium? Check. Bringing in around 300 college students as cheerleaders and a passionate audience? Awesome. Having A-Pink put up a performance to kick off the tournament? Even more awesome. Having Ji Suk Jin defeat Kim Jong Kook and Yoo Jae Suk, the two hot favorites, to win the whole thing? Crowning Moment of Awesome.
  • Episode 217: Jong Kook single-handedly pushed a car with his team inside the car from one point to another, even speeding up and passing the other team.
  • Episode 248: On the second (& final) mission, the ones who lost have to swim across Han River within 30 minutes, as if rowing across said river twice isn't enough. Amazingly, all of the ones who got punishednote  managed to cross them within the said time limit!note 
  • Episode 257 - A lot of epic awesome moments during the episode.
    • Kwang Soo intends to go to the toilet after both he and his hero Jin Ho lock themselves in the computer room when Jong Kook tries to push the door (Along with Jae Suk and their heroes) when they open it. Somehow Jin Ho manages to push the door without letting them in with the help of Kwang Soo. At the last minute, Kwang Soo tells him to eliminate Jong Kook while he holds the door. That risky move works out.
    • After 4 years of almost always getting obliterated on the strongest Running Man yearly episodesnote , Jae Suk finally manages to win while Kwang Soo got second. What some did not know was that the recording has been taken place during Kwang Soo's birthday (July 14). It's no wonder Kwang Soo was seen hugging Jin Ho as he intends to win this so badly.
  • Episode 372 - Despite Kwang Soo losing, the fact that plan was executed perfectly as it's considered a Plot Twist of a plot twist.
    • To find his two assistants (male and female), all team members (minus Kwang Soo himself) must find clues from hint videos hidden in the building. Once they find out they can eliminate Kwang Soo's assistants to get exempted from being selected to go on a punishment trip with Kwang Soo to Australia. Moments later, Jae Suk and Jong Kook soon find out that all of the 'assistants' are Kwang Soo in disguise, manipulating the video scenes using CGI. What they didn't know is that the IS A HIDDEN ASSISTANT, which was today's guest Sung Rok, who was out of camera shot. Sadly Jong Kook figures it out (the moment he eliminates Kwang Soo), despite not watching the whole hint video, and was safe from elimination.
  • Episode 379 - HaHa and Se Chan taking the Nevis Swing? Great. Jong Kook and Ji Hyo taking the Nevis Swing while upside-down? AWESOME TO THE MAX!!


     Running Man Animation 

Season 1

  • Episodes 1 and 2 - Don't Walk, Keep On Running
    • Each of the Running Man contestants has to wear a handicap when going to the game arena. Some may have to deal with little difficulties on how to run with them at first. But when they entered a selected corridor, that's when they show off their moves.
      • Miyo, wearing swimfins, had to take large steps when running. She then uses it as a replacement for ice blades when she entered the ice corridor.
      • Liu had to wear metal boots that are too heavy for him to move. When the corridor that involved magnets dragged him in a split second (along with accidentally kicking Gai in the face), this is the first time he uses his intelligence by manipulating the poles to his boots as he can now hover in the corridor.
    • Pala, who slept at the beginning of the race can catch up by riding on the bus and crossing the corridor with Liu and Gai.
      • Funny Moment that Pala had to wear rubber shoes as his 'handicap'. At least, this proves that Pala can still compete.
    • You have to admit, Lonky switching the flag is not just funny but it's awesome how he outsmarted Kuga in the first place.

  • Episodes 3 and 4 - Feast of the Monster
    • Kuga ripped off the emblems and bells of his competitors in one swoop.
    • While he had some minor miscalculations, Liu was able to come up with the plan to restrain Kuga from removing his tag when it was his turn. This is also one of the turning points on how important teamwork is in the show.

  • Episodes 5 and 6 - The Bell Hunter
    • Even though Kuga acts scary, he has a point that there can only be one winner in the game. Because Lonky betrayed the others so he can win the game, and Kuga already knows this. If it happened before, then he won't let it happen again.
    • Liu fought Miyo and Kuga using a laser pointer.
    • The Curbstomp Battle between Kuga and Liu when the two ran towards the last marble. Then comes the dust that keeps the audience in their seats. When the dust is gone, Liu is laying on the ground with his arm holding out. But then his watch lights up, revealing all of the marbles are complete. The ceiling opens with Charming Gold announcing Liu's name, in which he fixes his glasses and cheers in joy for his victory.

  • Episode 8 - Hammer Bingo
    • Gai knocking out Kuga with a hammer.
    • Pala's first win. It makes him glad that he can win from something ever since he's been treated as a Butt-Monkey from the series.
      • This doubles when he breaks the fourth wall and faces the people, in-universe or out-universe, on whoever doubted his abilities even if it's just a short time.

  • Episode 12 - Ttakji Battle
    • All of the members showed their Ttakji and battled against their competitors.
    • Kuga, like his Expy, flipped the unflippable Ttakji. Even Charming Gold was shocked before he logged out.

  • Episodes 13 and 14 - Escape Game
    • How the other members escaped from their cage.
      • Miyo can slip past through the lasers.
      • Kuga doing his own thing by ramming himself through the cage.
      • Liu counted the timing of the cage's revolution to find its opening.
      • Lonky, who is desperate to take a pee, uses his Rubber Man ability to reach the opening even if he gets shocked.
    • Liu became a temporary mole as part of the Escape Game. He uses a laser tag gun so the other players get dragged from the tower and restart from the very beginning.
    • Gai became the winner in the end by patiently waiting.

  • Episodes 15, 16, and 17 - Hidden Game (Express)
    • A 'murder mystery slash zombie apocalypse' like Hidden Game made by Charming Gold, even if he's the bad guy in the series.
    • Pala is being left behind again for being a Butt-Monkey. But he didn't give up because of that as he chased the train using his potions and a pump-handcar alone.
    • Even if the other six were handcuffed, that doesn't mean they can't escape.
    • Miyo and Gai are the last two players standing in the game. Declared as winners of the Hiden Game.

  • Episodes 18 and 19 - The Red-Eyed Beast
    • Gai is determined to save Miyo from getting kidnapped by the Kuphaman (who is D.V 2).
    • Popo can figure out who dragged them out in the game whenever they get their tags removed. Not bad for a Squishy Wizard.
    • Kuga had a Curb-Stomp Battle to their kidnapper as he was able to have one dent on his enemy.

  • Episodes 20, 21, and 22 - The Team Change Battle
    • How the leaders get picked based on their accomplishments.
      • Kuga is the most popular in the championship.
      • Liu is the current player with the most wins.
    • Kuga didn't pick Popo and Lonky to be on his team for their mistreatment of Liu.
    • Liu pays them back by selecting the two, accompanied by an evil laugh. This warns them not to mess with Liu again.
    Liu: (evil laugh)
    (Popo and Lonky hug each other in fear)
    Liu: Goooooo RED TEAM!
    • When the possessed Pala attacks Popo and Lonky. It's a scene where they should not also mess with the "weakest player".
    • Liu made a temporary truce with Kuga's team after Pala went berserk. Not only did his plan work, but he (and Pala) won the match.

  • Episode 23 - Infiltration
    • A Day in the Limelight episode for Miyo in uncovering the secrets of the Running Man game. Showing her secret spy stuff along the way.
    • At the same time, a subplot for Liu after Mr. Suitcase ran away from him at the end of the Team Change Battle.
      • He was able to disarm and disable a robot at the same time who's about to alarm the others about Liu's infiltration.

  • Episode 24 - Find The Golden Key
    • Popo, Lonky, and Pala had enough of being the last placers and decided to trick the others by stealing the Golden Key.
    • Kuga's idea of throwing Gai and Liu into the escape pod is good even if it's temporary.

  • Episodes 25 and 26 - Pyramid Pursuit
    • This is where Popo, Lonky, and Pala's determination for teamwork were put to the test as it also gave them a sight of how their actions have consequences.
    • Even if Liu is badly injured, he kept on walking to see Pala for medicine.
    • Gai's sacrifice of saving the game that he controlled after Miyo and the others got hurt in the match.

  • Episode 27 - Introduction of the D.V 7
    • Gai gave Charming Gold a "screw you" by quitting as his mole. This is a Moment of Awesome for standing up for himself.

  • Episodes 28, 29, and 30 - Battle for the Highlands
    • Miyo and Kuga had a grudge against the Kuphaman when they recognized his face. However, Liu indirectly volunteered himself even if he has a point.
    • When Liu became the first player, he made himself a test dummy for the Kuphaman / D.V 2. Despite having bruises from multiple hits, Liu was able to give pieces of information to his teammates live.
    • Pala being the Butt-Monkey again when he emerged in the game field, but at least he's there and is ready to help the others!
    • Big Damn Heroes goes to Liu in saving Miyo from getting tagged out. In return, Liu, Kuga, and Popo helped Miyo in searching for Gai's memories before his kidnapping.
    • Miyo can take off Gai's mask temporarily. And he can still fight, even if he's brainwashed.

  • Episode 31 - Liu's Plan
    • It's a risky one, but Liu's plan needs to work with all of the Running Man competitors. Liu tells the truth that each member has a vital role even if it appears to be insane for the others. He did say that the D.V 7 don't work as a team, after all.

  • Episodes 32, 33, 34, and 35 - Gaining Grounds
    • The other Running Man members may appear to be losing when in reality, it's Liu's plan working.
    • Right before he gets tagged out, Lonky can save Popo from having the same fate. This scene became Popo's motivation to at least fight for his friend.
    • Instead of fighting the Kuphaman, Kuga decided not to and took his opponent's tag from behind.
    • The remaining Running Man team were able to exploit the weakness of the D.V 7 by acting as a team. Which gave the Big Bad Charming Gold a Big "NO!".
    • With the help of Miyo, Gai can break free from his brainwashing. Even though there are shadow forms of Gai trying to hold him down, he resisted and reaches out to Miyo.

  • Episode 36 - The Red Explosion
    • Kuga figuring out who D.V 2 is. His true name is Master Makhan, and he is the famous warrior who was banished from the Bars Tribe. The thought of being able to withstand Charming Gold's forces until he gets knocked out which left him with the imprint of his Super Paw is pretty awesome.
    • Popo and the others came up with the plan to bring Liu back from his 10-Minute Retirement, the latter is impressed with what his friends did to help him.

  • Episode 37, 38, 39, 40 - Battle for the Throne
    • Operation: Thunderstorm as a whole even though it failed from the first round.
      • Popo is chosen as the true King, while Lonky acts himself as a decoy.
      • Kuga and Gai sacrificed themselves to make the plan work. Kuga made himself battle with Shan and can send a message to his teammates when Dr. Mala exposed her as the King. While Gai saved Miyo and destroyed the portal so the other D.V 7 won't go through.
    • The second round that saves the brainwashed D.V 7 members.
      • Kuga wears armor that Liu reverse engineered to make his attack increase. This power matches D.V 2 and can break the brainwashing. The two still fight but ends up having a draw afterward. The way they finished the battle by using the Super Paw and imprinting two walls at the same time.
      • Liu against Shan. Showcasing their fighting styles; Shan is a close-range fighter with a gauntlet as her weapon, while Liu uses a blaster as he fights within long-range. Liu can subdue Shan without brute force and he helped Shan to become herself again.

  • Episode 48 - The Last Card
    • Popo's Heroic Sacrifice as he used his card to rewind time. It comes at the cost that he aged backward. He also becomes the catalyst that helped his friends not to give up in the climax.
    Popo: Everything will be okay, Liu. I must protect what's precious and wonderful.
    Liu: You're right. We can restore our balance and harmony. We... can... DO IT! Never give up!
    Whole Running Man team (sans Popo): NEVER GIVE UP!

    • Liu and the Running Man characters were able to convince Ulcus not to end the world.
    Ulcus: Your hope has made it possible.

Season 2

  • Episode 49
    • When the whole characters were about to be arrested, what did Gai first do? He threw one of the guards towards the other guard who captured Liu and Kuga.
      • It's even surprising when the guard that Gai subdued almost hit Liu if the latter didn't dodge.

Top