In between last week’s episodes and this week’s, I found myself engaging with a Facebook group I’d otherwise elected to hide from (long story). Somebody wanted to know if anyone was watching Physical: 100, and apparently, I’ll take any chance to raise my hand and flail about. In that time, I’d also written an article for Collider, and characterized the show in breathless terms: “Whether all the contestants believe it, men and women are equal competitors in these challenges which emphasize a variety of strengths, creating a final, holistic visual metaphor — this time, for egalitarianism.” Wow! Put that on the DVD box: “Egalitarianism” – Collider. Naturally, I then bit my tongue, remembering that Jang Eun-sil was on thin ice, and if she goes down, the rest of the women follow. … More Jang Eun-sil Report – Physical: 100 Episode #7

Last episode, we learned that five eliminated players would be returning, though their identities weren’t revealed right away. “So, they’re the survivors,” Chung-hoon says in proper anime form as they walk in – still unrevealed. We flash back to a “Quest 2.5,” where the torso busts hang from the ceiling via shibari, and the room is lit with steamy red. This is when Seohyun walks in and cracks the whip, but unfortunately, Love and Leashes never made it to the Netflix top ten. Physical: 100 hit number two this week! … More Jang Eun-sil Report – Physical: 100 Episode #6

I’d made a call too early that 2022 was gonna be one of the best years for movies, and that didn’t pan out exactly. So, is 2023 gonna be the year for television? Already in January alone, I’ve cried at The Last of Us episode three, and I must say that this fourth episode of Physical: 100 had me extremely tense. It was almost unbearable. Funnily enough, you combine those two things and produce one Squid Game, but Squid Game did not have Jang Eun-sil, who finds herself in the spotlight once again. … More Jang Eun-sil Report – Physical: 100 Episode #4

This is it. Finally, it’s Jang Eun-sil’s turn in the ring. Or the “arena,” but believe me, she turns it into a ring. Before we get there, the third episode opens with a resolution to last week’s cliffhanger, between Agent H and Seol Ki-hwan (I did a bit better with names this time). They have a pretty vicious fight, their shirtless bodies caked in mud almost immediately, and injury seems inevitable. Agent H takes the ball and performs a strategy we’ll see plenty more of: the turtle maneuver. He tucks the ball beneath his body, nice and safe, but it isn’t a done deal. Ki-hwan manages to get the ball loose and runs away with the game, despite not being favored to win. “I crushed him,” he says of Agent H, but feels bad all the same. Meanwhile, Agent H tells the camera, “The defeated have nothing to say,” with a chuckle. … More Jang Eun-sil Report – Physical: 100 Episode #3