In the last episode, of Physical: 100 Season 2, the competitors were in for a tough fight. With different team divisions and engaging in a team-style task, their group and individual limits and capabilities were tested. In the latest batch of episodes, we are given a further rundown of their capabilities, both physically and mentally. Who will stick to the end of this harrowing challenge?
Created and directed Jang Ho-gi and written by Kang Sook-kyung and Jo Geun-ae, the survival reality show (피지컬: 100) has two seasons as of now, with 9 episodes each of around 1 hour in each season.
This season features 100 fitness enthusiasts and athletes competing in challenging quests for the chance to win a grand prize of 300 million Korean won. The competition kicked off with intense energy, promising an exciting journey ahead. Among the notable participants are Jung You-in, Lee Jae-yoon, Lee Kyu-ho, Park Kwang-jae, Kim Dong-hyun, Kim Min-su, Andre Jin, Chong Te-se, and others.
Physical 100 Season 2 Episode 5
The episode starts with an intense fight between the two teams in the five-on-five maze competition. Team Hong Beom-seok (Blue team) wins in the second quest and they celebrate the hard work that they have put in afterwards. The next teams to compete are Team Jung Ji-hyun (Blue) and Team Lee Jae-yoon (Red). At the blow of the whistle, the game master starts the game off and the two teams rush to occupy their own zones.
However, after the Red Team gets two zones and with 10 minutes remaining, the Blue Team tries to hold the members of the Red Team down, which slows them down even more. In the end, the Red team wins thanks to their quick response and strong camaraderie. The Blue Team is left to question their tactic and wonder whether choosing a different strategy would’ve been a better bet.
Next up is Team Kim Min-su (Blue) vs Team Andre Jin (Red) and the two teams rush towards their goals the moment the bell sounds. After some brawls and fights, while taking the sandbags, Andre Jin’s Team wins. This concludes the group competition and we move on to the next competition that includes a giant sandpit with red lighting! The competitors are left surprised and then the game master asks the contestants who lost in the previous game to enter the pit, leaving everyone tensed. The game master announces that this is their final chance of survival.
In this game, the contestants will engage in a survival match wherein they will have a set amount of time to take over the 10 pillars in the arena. At the end of the designated 3 minutes, whoever is in control of the pillars will be able to survive, while everyone else will be eliminated. However, there is a twist, after every round, the number of pillars will go down until there is only 1 pillar so the number of survivors in the quest will only be 1. Lastly, the survivor will be the new team leader who will get to choose their own team from the 24 contestants in the pit.
It’s an intense couple of minutes, after which wrestler Jung Ji-hyun wins all the matches, becoming the new Team Leader and going on to form his own team comprising Amotti, Lee Jang-kun, Kim Jee-hyuk and Kim Min-su.
Physical 100 Season 2 Episode 6
The episode starts off with the third quest, the Team Delegate Matches, where players will proceed in two groups comprised of three teams each and the lowest ranking team in each group will be eliminated. The first match is pull-ups, which makes all the teams a bit tense. As the matches start off before Quest 3, people are full of excitement and anticipation. In the end, Jung Ji-hyun’s team wins, and they are asked to pick two teams to fight against – Team Lee Won-hee and Team Andre Jin.
Group A: Team Jung Ji-hyun vs Team Lee Won-hee vs Team Andre Jin
Group B: Team Jim Dong-hyun vs Team Lee Jae-yoon vs Team Hong Beom-seok
Quest 2 starts in a dark and abandoned mine area and is a Mine Transportation Match – comprising 4 rounds, delegates will join in every round and points will be given. At the end of the rounds, the points will be tallied to get the winners. The teams with the least points will be eliminated. The contestants will have to transport cargo from one point to another in the mine and will also have to kick cargo across while going down monkey bars. The complicated games, requiring both strength and stamina, leave everyone a bit tensed but also pumped.
The first round with Group A leaves all the players thoroughly drained and in a surprising and warm show of camaraderie, everyone helps Yeong-chan (Team Lee Won-hee) to come back with the load, leaving everyone emotional. After the end of the round, Andre and Woo-hee’s teams tie while Ji-hyun’s team is in the lead.
Physical 100 Season 2 Episode 7
The second rounds start in this episode with the teams competing for the first position by going on the monkey bars. Andre’s team wins this round but Won-hee’s team faces a problem with the cargo not moving so all the team leaders come together to redo the round with only their team redoing the match. In the end, Andre’s team wins first place, Won-hee’s team gets second place and Ji-hyun’s team gets third place. In the last round, Amotti wins the round after a neck-to-neck fight and Team Lee Won-hee is eliminated.
In the next set of rounds, Gibson and Sung-oh get into another neck-to-neck fight and in the eventual rounds, Hong Beom-seok wins the singles monkey bar hanging round, with the other two teams both falling off the bar and having to start over. However, we are left on a cliffhanger to ascertain to comes in second and third!
Physical 100 Season 2 Episodes 5-7 Review
These three episodes have been filled with thrilling neck-to-neck moments between the different teams and we are left at the edge of our seats as we try to understand who wins. I must say that the editing is fantastic and never spills everything at the same time; rather, it cuts different sequences to keep us engrossed even more. One can say that it elongates the episodes further, which I agree, but Physical: 100, I have come to realise, is a show that never really feels long because of its fantastic participants who are willing to push themselves to their limits and the editing team who give us different thrilling moments one after another without letting up!
One more kudos goes to the fantastic set design this season. Although Season 1 was absolutely fantastic as well, one can’t help but be stunned by the vastness of this season in terms of sets. The underground mine in episodes 6 and 7 can make any viewer do a double take and it is difficult to look away even for a second. All in all, a fantastic set of episodes this week and I can’t wait for next week to see who comes out with thrilling colours as the victor in the last episode!
Physical:100 Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.