Netizens bemoan Physical: 100 winner had little screen time: 'They can do the surprise ending without making him invisible'

Warning: spoilers ahead.

Our Tuesday evenings are going to be far less exciting from now on, because Netflix's Physical: 100 has come to an end.

The finale last night (Feb 21) started off with the conclusion of the Punishment of Sisyphus round between skeleton racer Yun Sung-bin and cyclist Jung Hae-min, and the latter won as Sun-bin couldn't bear to push the 100kg rock up an incline any further.

Following this, the five finalists — Hae-min, Jo Jin-hyeong, Park Jin-yong, Woo Jin-yong and Kim Min-cheol — battled in four rounds that included a five-way tug-of-war, tile-flipping, shuttle runs, and finally, an epic rope-pulling challenge between Woo Jin-yong and Hae-min that seemed it would never end.

The victor at the end was the tenacious former national snowboarder and current CrossFit athlete Jin-yong, gaining praise from his fellow competitors.

After the episode aired, he posted a photo of the cast of his torso, writing: "I'm so sorry… The best body ever… Chung-Ang University Physical Education, Marines, snowboarder, coach, CrossFit."

Wrestler Jang Eun-sil commented: "I need to bulk up starting today. The best body ever, congratulations!"

"Wow! I'm going to start CrossFit today and go to the ski resort tomorrow," musical actor Jeong Han-saem wrote, and bodybuilder Seol Ki-kwan agreed: "All I'm gonna do from now is snowboarding and CrossFit."

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But many netizens were left upset with the winner's lack of screen time throughout the series.

One Redditor wrote: "It was clever though, I never expected the moustached guy to win precisely because he barely appeared."

Someone responded: "I don't know, I think they can do the twist/surprise ending without making the winner literally invisible.

"See, you can't even remember his name."

Others agreed, writing: "I wish I knew much sooner about Jin-yong's struggles as a national athlete in snowboarding. That was so sad and could have made him really easy to root for."

It was only in the final episode, where the five finalists had a heart-to-heart over a feast that viewers got to hear about Jin-yong's backstory.

A former snowboarder, Jin-yong was an Olympic hopeful but he said his discipline was dropped by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics so they could focus on "more promising" sports. He was also a former coach for the national team but now focuses on CrossFit.

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In another Reddit thread, viewers were concerned about Jin-yong's future prospects due to his lack of screen time.

"He may have gotten the money but I feel like everyone else got way more out of this than he did (popularity, deals, etc)," one Redditor wrote.

Another agreed: "There's no buildup whatsoever and it's unsatisfying as hell. Other contestants got the popularity, followers and fanbase but we don't know much about him. They did him so dirty for real."

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One comment read: "If I were the winner, I would be a bit upset if I was in the background the whole time when I worked so hard to win."

However, there were some who had been paying attention to Jin-yong despite his minimal appearances, especially since last week's episodes put him in a favourable light.

"I started rooting for him when he gave up his first choice of game to his teammate, and effortlessly won his second choice," a Redditor wrote.

In episode eight, Jin-yong gave up his preferred challenge, which would see contestants climbing up a descending rope, to teammate and future fellow finalist Min-cheol, a mountain rescuer and ice climber more suited for the task.

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"He gave up the Icarus Challenge, said he'll win another game, and actually won it all," a comment read, to which another Redditor responded: "A man of his words."

"The payout of his sacrifice was so satisfying to watch," another wrote.

Some were even rooting for Jin-yong all along.

"Crying over Physical: 100 since my man, the underdog, the one with questionable screen time won the game," a fan tweeted.

Crying over physical 100 since my man, the underdog, the one with questionable screentime won the game <3 woo jinyong im free on weekend pls dm me

— ⛅ (@harunocloud) February 21, 2023

Jin-yong's popularity may have been delayed but is now undoubtable — his follower count on Instagram has more than doubled since his victory and now stands at over 24,000.

It's not just him gaining in popularity, his barber has garnered recognition for Jin-yong's perfect gelled locks as well.

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"Props to Woo Jin-yong's hair, always stable and at its best regardless of the quest," a tweet read.

props to woo jinyong’s hair 👏🏻 always stable and at its best regardless of the quest 😂 pic.twitter.com/QGJlWJbNtb

— karen (@eclipsekd_) February 21, 2023

"Four games and not a single strand of hair out of place," a Redditor praised, and another agreed: "That's what put him over the top. Bulletproof hair is the final part of the optimal bod!"

Another Redditor swooned: "I've been admiring his hair (great hairline too) and eyebrows in all of his scenes. He's a handsome dude."

ALSO READ: Physical: 100 aftermath — who has a phobia of bridges now and who started receiving marriage proposals?

drimac@asiaone.com

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