Mini-Recap: Netflix’s “Physical: 100” Season 2, Episode 4

Okay. So here we go with the team competitions on Physical: 100. And I’ll just say right off the bat, last season’s Quest 2 was much better than whatever this mess was.

First of course, choosing teams was a big source of drama last season. This season, maybe not as much. But the show did at least try and make it a little bit fairer this time around.

Instead of having the rest of the crowd lining up behind which team leader they wanted, the team leaders had full control. Again, a bit better. But still not completely good though. Schoolyard pick may work better when it’s just two teams. But TEN teams? Maybe still flawed.

It’s okay to have the team leader choose as it really ultimately could decide their fate in the game. Team leaders are usually the big name stars. So, if they choose wrong and lose, it’ll be their fault.

Part of being a peak physical specimen includes having a peak mind as well. And shortsighted, prejudiced thinking should take points off in the long run. Same for the people upset with being chosen by their unpreferred leader.

Then you have a Kim Donghyun overthinking everything. Like sir, it’s not that deep. Lol

Perhaps if there is a season 3 (and at this point, I would be willing to bet against that), just make it random. Seriously. Like, luck is better than whatever nonsense this episode had, to be honest.

For the challenge itself, I think on paper, it is very creative. It is definitely a physical competition. But there’s still some strategy involved and teams would need to adjust depending on how the competition plays out.

Just navigate the maze to literally tip at least two of the three scales in your favor.

HOWEVER… the show seems to have engrained some trickery into the competition. First with the false advantage of heavy barrels which ended up actually being a fatal mistake for a team. Why advertise the barrels as “special” heavier items, but really be hindrances for the teams. The show intentionally sabotaging the team who makes the effort to retrieve it.

But that ends up being nothing to the show intentionally sabotaging teams by allowing them to steal and literally sit on their competitors and prevent them from moving. Like, WTF?

At first, I was surprised because I thought in the instructions, the “Master” specifically said you could not impede another team’s progress during the challenge. Turns out, it only applied to the first five minutes. Then for the final ten, it was apparently a free for all.

And that’s exactly what happened. People grabbing sacks from other people’s hands. People literally laying or sitting on others so they could not move. Like, what nonsense was that?

For a show that supposedly wants to foster healthy competition, this was probably the worst, most unsportsmanlike conduct I’ve seen across the two seasons so far. You might as well have allowed teams to just steal sacks off of each other’s scales. What’s stopping you from allowing that? This isn’t football or basketball where you can steal a ball. This is like running track and then sticking your leg out so your competitors trip and fall. Or running onto the track just before the finish line and pushing a runner to the ground and assuming their position to win.

It shouldn’t work like that. So basically, allowing stealing negated the little strategy needed to complete this task. And no, stealing is not a strategy. It’s a desperate move by losers that has nothing to do with having a peak body.

In the end, whichever team has the biggest men would be the winner. Because obviously, the bigger the man, the easier it is to grab sacks from women or sit on smaller men preventing them to even move. What was stopping the men from just bearhugging the women? Or picking up a man and hurling them at the wall? That’s basically what they were doing. Why not go all the way then if anything goes.

It seems pretty obvious now that Physical: 100 just wants all the hot, most muscular men to make it to the end. Because if you can just brute force your way to win this Quest, then what’s the point in casting all these different body types and people from different fields and background. If all you want are alpha males battling it out against each other, then just stop the pretension and just cast hunky guys with big stories if that’s what you really want.

Like I’ve said last season, it’s not about lowering standards to accommodate people. It’s about a level playing field that does not so blatantly favor certain people over another. Yes, this is a reality show. But what made season one so engaging was that anyone could win.

Otherwise, trying to top the scales (pun intended) in their favor just goes against a healthy and sportsmanlike competition. That’s what I thought this show was all about.

Last season’s Quest 2 was both physical and mental. And it allowed for teams to really show that brains and brawn were equal in determining who is a peak human. But seems like the show wanted none of that this time around. Only big, beefy guys with a good backstory need apply apparently.