Physical 100 Season 2 (피지컬: 100) has finally made its return to Netflix on March 19, 2024. After creating much buzz with its first season, the anticipation for the new Underground season was much higher. Created by Jang Ho-gi and co-directed by Lee Jong-il, Kang Suk-gyeong serves as the main writer on the show. Only four episodes were premiered with a runtime of about 60+ minutes.
In Physical: 100, exactly a hundred individuals from different walks of life, representing various age groups, genders, and fitness backgrounds, are set to participate in a series of challenging quests. The objective of these quests is to determine who among the contestants has the most ideal physique. The competition will involve a variety of physical activities, ranging from cardio exercises to strength training and endurance tests. The contestants will have to demonstrate their physical fitness, agility, and stamina to prove their worthiness for the coveted title.
The contestants of the season include former MMA fighter and Korean celebrity Kim Dong-hyun, last season returnee Hong Beom-seok, Sim Yu-ri, Kang Cheong-myeong, Lim Soo-jin, Ku Sung-hoe, Ko Jong-hun, Gibson, Park Woo-jin, Lee Jang-kun, Jung Ji-hyun, Jung You-in, Chang Yong-heung, Lee Hyun-jin, Power Who YAMI, Chong Te-se, Lee Jae-yoon, Single inferno’s Kang So-yeon, KNUCKS, Golden Child’s Lee Jang-jun, Park Kwang-jae, Lee Kyu-ho and many others.
Physical 100 Season 2 Episodes 1-4 Review
Compared to the last season, many known personalities joined the show including actors, idol group member, dancers, many national athletes, MMA fighters, fitness trainers and influencers. Season 1 participant, Hong Beom-seok who is a firefighter by profession, returned for the second time since he was eliminated quite early in the show. As all the 100 participants stood in front of their body cast sculptures, they were soon asked to get ready for a pre-quest, which tested their core stamina.
They were tasked with running on a manual treadmill for a total of 3 rounds. The first round would be of 10 minutes and 50 contestants with lower distances covered would be eliminated. The second round would be of 7 minutes and a total of 40 contestants would be eliminated. Lastly, in the third round of 5 minutes, the top ten contestant would have to give their all to become the ultimate winner. Almost all the contestants were confident enough to make it to the top ten but as the buzzer started, the quest turned out to be quite tiring, especially for heavy weights.
Moving on to the second round called Death Match, two contestants were asked to face off against each other to gain control of a ball in different arenas. The contestant who had control of the ball after three minutes moves on to the next Quest, while the other contestant is eliminated from the competition and will have to break their sculpture.
Before the Quest began, contestants were ranked (1-100) based on their performance in Quest 0 or pre-quest. The higher-ranked contestants had the advantage of being able to choose their opponent and the type of Battle Arena in which they would compete. There were three arenas – a flat ground with various obstacles, a water-logged area and a boxing ring. One by one, from number 1 and so on, the contestants came forward and chose their opponent. The top ten from Pre-quest had the best shot at choosing what they wanted, instead of getting chosen by someone else.
In the previous season, this moment of usually a high-ranking contestant choosing a low rank as an opponent was quite an intense moment. They often looked down on the other and dissed them. However, in Physical 100 Season 2, it didn’t seem like the contestants were trying to pick-up fights or show who’s the boss. Rather, it was nice to see them wanting to show their best skills during the competition and not getting on each other’s nerves to create unnecessary drama.
Among the face-offs, the most anticipated or legendary death matches were between MMA fighter Shim Yu-ri and FBI agent Hunter Lee, Firefighter Hong Beom-seok and Kpop group Golden Child’s Lee Jang-jun, and MMA Fighter and Variety show Amazing Saturday (놀라운 토요일) host Kim Dong-hyun against fitness model Emmanuel. Fair to say, the contestants who joined just to prove their mettle – showed strength and agile abilities, winning the matches against their equally challenging opponents.
Continuing on to episode 3, the first quest ended with half of the contestants eliminated from the show. In the second quest, which was a team challenge, the remaining 50 contestants were given the task of choosing three contestants they would like to form a team with. This team selection process was crucial as the teams formed would be working together for the next round.
After the team selection process was completed, the votes were tallied up. The 10 contestants who received the highest number of votes were declared as team leaders. The team leaders were then ranked based on the total number of votes they received. This ranking system was important as it determined the order in which the team leaders got to choose their team members and the opposing team for the upcoming quest. Challenging each team’s strength and strategy, the teams were not told what their task would be. Instead, it was revealed a few minutes before the buzzer went off and they had to strategies within the limited time.
All the 10 teams were given 15 minutes to complete the ‘Maze Conquest’. They were tasked with moving the weighted sacks to different balance scales. Divided into the blue and red teams – whichever team’s scale would be the heaviest would win the task and the losing team would have to go home. They were also allowed to attack the opponent in the last few minutes of the task, which turned out helpful for some to secure the win. In this quest, not only was it important to make a good strategy – who would move the sacks, who would defend etc, it was also important to be mindful of the way, as one could get lost in the maze.
So far, the show looks as promising as the last season. The only difference would be that they aren’t instructed to attack each other for drama. Thus, there’s a friendly vibe even among the competitors and they do acknowledge each other’s distinct skills. While the banter of whether the female contestants can take on their male counterparts remains a hot topic, there’s definitely less animosity in season 2. The contestants don’t seem to be thinking hard if they should pick a female contestant or not, like last time many female contestants were the last ones to be picked.
With many known celebs on the show, it was expected that much of the screen time would be spent on them but at times, it felt a bit much. For example, seeing Kim Dong-hyun, one could only think how much he would be teased on his regular show Amazing Saturday for his antics on Physical 100. However, he was able to save face by acing almost all the quests and proving that his sportsmanship hasn’t diminished. But asking for his comments on other contestants’ matches and skills was sometimes unnecessary and took away screentime from others. Hopefully, the focus will shift to others as they move to new quests.
Rating: 3.5/5
Physical 100 Season 2 – Underground is available for streaming on Netflix.
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