| Overview | Gallery |
Synopsis
The contestants each take turns in becoming a monster, for Monster's Mealtime. Then, the winning competitor becomes the bell hunter for the following game.
Plot
A voice tells the players to get in position.
Five minutes before the start of the game, the Running Men are asked to report to the game stage. Aboard the R Board, they are transported to where the game stage; the Hall of War Heroes. This place is said to commemorate the heroes from the ancient War of Materion.
As they gather around, a hologram of Charming Gold appears. He jokes about yesterday's scuffle and reassures the group that he made sure they won't be disciplined. However, he subsequently warns them that if a scuffle that severe happens again, the involved party will be brought to the disciplinary board, where they may be banned from participating in the games, along with their tribe. The players pause as they take in Charming Gold's warning.
Lonky organizes the player order.
Charming Gold then announces the start of the game and his hologram disappears, the robot projecting him activating and turning to Lonky, informing him that since he won the Opening Games, he will be tasked to choose the order of the seven contestants, warning him about the importance of the order in regards to the next game. The robot informs Lonky to touch his watch and when he does so, seven holograms of the Tribes' emblems appear in front of him. Excited, he starts organizing the order. Pala notices him and questions why he's so excited as he finishes. Lonky ignores him and confirms the order to the robot, who collects the holograms and begins to explain the game, which is called 'Monster's Mealtime'. This mini game will decide which contestants are the hunter and the prey for the first solo match. The rules of the game are as follows -
The robot holds up the emblems of the tribes.
The chosen monster will turn his back towards the prey on the opposite end of the playing field. While their back is turned, the remaining players, called 'Prey', will ask the Monster the time. The monster, back still facing the prey, replies with a time and the players will walk forward taking that many steps before asking the question again. Once the prey takes out the monster's shield, the monster will be replaced with the next player and a new round will begin. However, when the monster says "It's Mealtime!", the monster will turn around and chase the players, stealing their bells in the process. Once the prey's bell is taken, they are tagged out of the game. Each player will take turns playing the monster and the player with the most amount of bells wins the game.
Charming Gold announces the start the game.
After the robot is done explaining, Charming Gold appears once more via a hologram and asks the Running Men if they are ready. The Running Men reply excitedly and Charming Gold announces the official start of the game, throwing his rose to the ground. His hologram disappears and gets replaced with a tall, black wall. The wall announces the first monster - Lonky, who smugly walks in front of the wall as the other players walk to the opposite end. Gai begins the game by asking Lonky the time, the latter responding teasingly and annoying the players. He finally decides on a time and the players start walking forward. As Popo walks, he notices Kuga and stops, watching him curiously as the tiger takes a deep breath and jumps forward, getting closer to Lonky with each 'step'. Kuga lands just behind Lonky and calls his name menacingly, shocking the players.
Kuga taunts Lonky.
Lonky laughs nervously and starts trying to butter Kuga up in hopes that he will let him go. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as Kuga begins taking his shield. Panicked, Lonky begs for someone to help, amusing Kuga, who teasingly asks him the time. Lonky screams and tells him to get on with it since he's going to win anyway. Kuga taunts him, telling him that 'it's just a game', which makes Lonky snap and yell out, "It's mealtime!" as he tries to take Kuga's bell. Once again, it doesn't work as Kuga grabs his hand before he can take his bell and puts him in an elbow lock, taking his shield and beating him up while the players gather around to discuss their plan after witnessing Kuga's skill.
Liu tries to work together with the other players.
Liu concludes that because of Kuga's skill, they'll have to work together to make sure he won't win so he wouldn't be chosen as the 'Hunter' for the next game. Pala complains how it would be unfair for everyone and Liu reasons with him, asking if he would rather have Kuga hunt them for the next game, which ends up convincing the players to work together. Popo agrees that it would be a great plan and offers himself to be the Hunter, getting pushed by Gai who offers himself as well. Miyo chastises them, offering herself instead as she believes that the two won't be able to take on Kuga. Popo rebukes this and the trio's argument gets cut short as an automated voice informs them about Gai's turn to play the 'monster'.
Gai, Miyo, and Popo kneel in defeat.
Gai tells the others to give their bells to him so he could be the next hunter, which annoy the others, who protest against his decision. Liu, frustrated, scolds the others for being selfish, which confuses them, angering Liu even more. Kuga notices the change in 'monster' and walks back to his post. A montage starts as Kuga asks Gai, Popo, and Miyo the time, grabbing their shields with ease. The scene cuts to Kuga smiling victoriously as Gai, Popo, and Miyo kneel in defeat with Liu and Pala watching them. The players gather in a circle once again and this time, they're willing to hear Liu out, including Lonky. Liu begins to explain his plan, called "Operation: Bell Storm" -
After calculating the dimensions of the stage as well as the distance that Kuga is able to jump, Liu tells the others that when he says the time, Kuga will jump behind him and when he does so, the other players will restrain Kuga from all sides and Liu will shout out "It's mealtime" and take Kuga's bell. Once he takes Kuga's bell, the others will give over theirs and Liu will become the next 'hunter' for the game.
The Running Men doubt Liu's Plan.
The others silently start doubting his plan but go along with it anyway. The automated voice calls on Liu as the next monster and a new round begins. Liu looks back at the others and nods, initiating their plan. Pala begins by asking Liu the time, to which he responds by saying "Three!", whic prompts Kuga to leap forward. Immediately, Pala grabs onto Lonky's arm and subsequently trips, which leaves Gai to initiate the first phase as he grabs onto Lonky's hand instead and starts to restrain Kuga with Lonky's stretchy abilities. The others then grab onto Kuga, holding him down as Miyo asks the time. Liu turns around with a grin and declares "It's mealtime" as he leaps in front of Kuga, his hand stretched out to grab Kuga's bell.
The Running Men yell at Liu.
The plan seems to going smoothly until Liu realizes he's landed on the wrong side and promptly gets taken out by Kuga. The scene cuts off to Liu leaning against a wall, lightheartedly mentioning how close they were to winning and getting yelled at angrily by the others. The group gathers once more, this time without Liu and Lonky starts scolding them for listening to Liu, telling them that they should have listened to him if they wanted Kuga to get tagged out. Popo starts mocking him, mentioning the time he begged just a few minutes ago for Kuga to take his shield. Lonky growls at him and smugly tells Popo not to come crying to him if Kuga ends up getting all their bells. When all seems lost, Liu calls the others and informs them of a 'Plan B', which immediately makes them doubt once more, reluctantly following as it's their last shot to take Kuga's shield.
The Running Men doubt Liu's plan once more.
An automated voice reports Kuga as the next 'monster'. As he walks towards the black wall, he takes one last look at the players and smirks to himself, confident in his ability to win. As the games begin, Miyo asks for the time, to which Kuga responds with 5'o clock. The players take a step forwards and Liu nods to Lonky and Miyo and initiates their new plan.
Gai clones himself to create more noise.
Popo, Pala, and Gai stand farther in the back, shaking their bells furiously in order to confuse Kuga's sense of direction. Meanwhile, Miyo leaps over to Kuga's spot in order to take Kuga's shield while Lonky and Liu distract him. When Popo asks for the time, Kuga responds and Lonky suddenly stretches his neck, reaching over to Kuga's ear. Miyo suspiciously glances over to Lonky and attempts to take Kuga's shield, where Lonky suddenly warns Kuga, making her chop his neck to shut him up. The group freezes, awaiting for Kuga's response.
Miyo chops Lonky's throat.
Kuga, on the other hand, pauses after Lonky attempts to warn him. He wonders if he should trust him and promptly chooses to ignore his warning, his back still faced towards the others as he waits for them to ask the question again. Liu notices his lack of action and orders the others to continue their plan, Popo, Pala, and Gai shaking their bells furiously while Miyo reaches in to steal Kuga's shield. As Miyo is about to steal his shield, a drop of sweat falls down her forehead, the impact being heard by Kuga as he suddenly declares, "Mealtime!" and begins chasing the other players with ease.
The Running Men defeated.
The scene changes to the end of the chase scene, the Running Men lying dejectedly on the floor as Kuga holds all six of their bells in his paw. The automated voice announces Kuga as the winner of the game. It then switches to the Running Men angrily stomping on Lonky, yelling at him for ruining their plan while Lonky attempts to shield himself from the hits, Kuga watching in amusement.
Kuga scowls at the audience.
His attention switches to the robot that suddenly appears in front of him, Charming Gold's hologram being projected at the top. Charming Gold informs Kuga how the game is just beginning, waving his hand to summon a cage that traps the tiger. His demeanor turns serious and asks Kuga if he's ready to play seriously. The episode ends with Kuga clawing at the cage bars, looking at the audience with a scowl.
Cast
Main
- Kim Seo-young/Rachel Slotky - Liu
- Kwon Chang-wook/Daniel J. Edwards - Kuga
- Eom Sang-hyeon/Daniel J. Edwards - Lonky
- Kim Yeon-woo-I/Carrie Savage - Miyo
- Nam Doh-Hyeong/Matthew Ip Shaw - Gai
- Kang Si-hyeon/Syndi Szabo - Popo
- Jeon Tae-yeol/Mark Szabo - Pala
Side
- Park No-sik/Daniel J. Edwards - Charming Gold
Trivia
- The game is based off the classic children's game called 'What's the time, Mr. Wolf?', which has the same rules, sans the bells attached to the players.