Before we started with Episode 1 of “Physical 100,” we promised ourselves that we would not pass unnecessary judgments, the kind that go like, “Oh, even I could have done that.” Instead, we decided to enjoy some of the trash talks between players, someone too smug being put in their place, or maybe just watch some impossible strategies work out. That was going to be our fun, which we kind of got from the first two episodes. However, “Physical 100” Episodes 3 and 4 really faltered because the makers could not gauge how to keep the audience interested. Nevertheless, we still tuned in for Episodes 5 and 6 because they existed, and we were not ready to give up on a reality show that was not centered around romance. The good news is that they are better than the previous episodes, albeit marginally.
“Physical 100” Episode 5, titled ‘The Uninvited guests,’ continued from the cliffhanger of Episode 4. It was Jang Eun Sil’s team that won the round, which one of the teammates called “the revolt of the underdogs.” As we said before, we are not going to judge somebody’s strengths or weaknesses, but it felt like even the contestants were making grievously wrong estimates in this regard. Maybe it was the hangover from the previous quest, but they still seemed to believe that brute strength was the key to winning. This task required a combination of speed, strength, and patience to keep paying attention to the details in the face of overwhelming pressure, along with knowing who should be assigned what task. That is what got Jang Eun Sil and Ma Sun Ho’s teams the win against their competitors. Strictly speaking, the latter were not underdogs, but there was still an element of surprise in their win. To be honest, we did not find the first two rounds that interesting, but the last three made up for it.
The third round had a lot of heart. The contestants did their best, and we understood them when they said that they were tired and were glad that it was over. Despite the fact that pretty much everyone had taken their defeat gracefully, it was for these teams that we felt a sense of appreciation in our hearts. But it was the next team that had us glued to our screens. In the match between Team Chu Sung Hoon and Team Tarzan, the latter’s strategy was that they were “young and hungry.” Yes, but what else? What are your skills, and how are you going to use them? Team Chu Sang Hoon was very aware of their advantages and disadvantages, and they strategized how to play the game instead of how they could win, which ironically is how they emerged on top. It showed that it was as much about the strength of the mental faculties as it was about physical agility. Chu Sang Hoon sunbaenim’s experience played in his favor, winning over the simple blind enthusiasm of their opponents.
The last round was also something similar. Laying the planks of the bridge properly was easily the most underrated part of the whole quest, yet it was the one that gave the last team its victory. In the previous round, it was quite a sight to see Chu Sang Hoon crawl on the bridge in parts, but that was the wisest thing to do to ensure that there were no unnecessary pauses in the game. It was a prediction of what was to come later as Kwak Myung Sik’s team got left behind because their bridge was not properly built, which automatically made the girl in the opposing team the hero of their victory. As much as this quest required physical strength, it was mind games and strategy that made the teams win and lose. Now, with the pool of contestants narrowed down to a quarter of what they started with; it was time to rest before the next round. Well, we are a little bit heartless, and we wanted their rest to be more interesting than last time when all we got to see was their amazement at the variety of protein supplements.
There is certainly some magic in being called “Iron Man” because out of everything we saw in the two episodes, Yun Sang Bin was the coolest. Out of the expertise we have gained from watching 6 hours of this reality show, we could tell that he was using strategy more than his physical strength, especially when he did the Sargent jump on a stack of mats almost as tall as him. Kang Min was cute, and Ki Kwan was “the man,” but Sang Bin had our attention. We just feel sad that Chu Sang Hoon lost a chance to be cool when he willingly went up against Jo Jin Hyeong, who weighed 127 kg, in thigh wrestling. What happened to his strategy brought on by experience in this case? Or was it a clever throw-off to put his competitors at ease? The next few rounds will tell.
But the biggest burn for the contestants was when some of the eliminated ones came back. We guess even we would be miffed if we had to shed blood, sweat, and tears to reach the finishing line but found that the ‘obstacles’ we were done with were coming back. It was Quest 2.5 that gave the losers their second chance. Turns out that being incredibly strong still doesn’t mean that you can carry 40% of your body weight. We learn something new with every episode of “Physical 100.” The top five were allowed to come back into the game. This time, the teams had to drag a ship that was 1.5 tons (1360.78 kg) heavy. Maybe the prize money of $300 million won is not enough for everything the contestants are being made to go through, especially when we can see the number of pain relief patches they are wearing. But our discomfort immediately turned into irritation the moment we heard someone say that “not losing is not their goal; coming first is.”
You have to pull more than 1000 kg, yet your ego is heavier, and it hurts us because this was Chu Sang Hoon’s team, with whom we are clearly in love with, a little bit. At least he has Nippert to compensate for every guy who “wants to come first.” Either way, Team Chu Sang Hoon and Team Jo Jin Hyung did their quests pretty admirably. But Team Yun Sang Bin and Team Ma Sun Ho had troubles. It’s sad to see Iron Man face something like this. But we were glad to catch a glimpse of Cha Hyun Seong. We were wondering what had happened to him. But we doubt we will see him again since somebody in his team told them not to think too much and use all their power, which is probably why they are so close to completing the task but not quite there yet. We will just have to wait until the next episode of “Physical 100” to see what becomes of them. We believe that next week is going to be far more interesting than what we have seen before, and we desperately hope that Netflix validates our intuition with better editing.
See More: ‘Physical 100’ Episodes 7 And 8: Review – How Strategy Wins When Strength Can’t?
