S1·E501 The 1st Running Man's Ultimate Quiz Show

Episode recap

The episode titled “The 1st Running Man’s Ultimate Quiz Show” opens with the regular cast welcoming four special guests: Ha Yeon Ju, Kwak Si Yang, Park Hyo Ju, and Lee Yi Kyung. The guests are introduced as possessing “extraordinary detective acting skills,” a description that frames their participation in the episode’s central competition. The format departs from the series’ typical physical challenges and instead focuses on a quiz‑based race that tests the intelligence and reasoning abilities of all participants.

According to the episode synopsis, the quiz is conducted as an “all‑out” contest in which three “illegal participants” are covertly inserted into the competition. These three individuals are described as knowing all of the correct answers in advance, creating an uneven playing field that the regular members and the guests must navigate. The presence of the illegal participants is concealed from the other competitors, adding a layer of strategic difficulty to the challenge.

The competition’s stakes are defined by a two‑part condition. First, the top five ranking members at the conclusion of the quiz are eligible to receive prizes. Second, the prize eligibility is contingent upon the successful exclusion of two of the three illegal participants from the “leader’s board,” a term that implies a ranking or scorekeeping mechanism used throughout the episode. In effect, the contestants must not only achieve high scores but also prevent the majority of the pre‑programmed answer‑knowers from dominating the leaderboard.

The episode’s structure therefore combines elements of mental acuity, deduction, and covert observation, aligning with the broader premise of Running Man as a Korean variety program in which members compete in a series of games and missions to win. By integrating a quiz format with hidden advantages held by certain participants, the show creates a scenario that tests both the overt knowledge of the contestants and their ability to detect and counteract unseen interference. The episode concludes with the determination of the final rankings and the identification of which illegal participants, if any, were kept off the leader’s board, thereby deciding the distribution of the promised prizes.