You're standing in an arena and are given the choice to play one of five games in order to survive. All are based on Greek mythology and involve a test of endurance, strength or agility — and to win, you must be the last person standing.
There's 'The Punishment of Atlas', which involves holding up a large rock on your back; 'The Wings of Icarus', where you must repeatedly climb a rope that descends at random intervals; 'The Fire of Prometheus', which involves running through an obstacle course in order to grab a torch first; 'The Punishment of Sisyphus', where you roll a 100kg boulder up and down a steep slope; and 'The Tail of Ouroboros', which is a deadly game of tag where you must run and catch the person in front of you (while avoiding being caught from behind).
What would you choose in order to survive and advance to the next round? Well, this is exactly what the contestants of Physical:100 — a new Korean reality TV show from Netflix — had to do.
If all of this is starting to sound like something straight out of the hellish landscape that is Squid Game, you wouldn't be the first to make that comparison. People have called Physical: 100 — which involves 100 of the fittest people in Korea competing in tests of ultimate strength, agility and endurance to find out who is the strongest — the "real-life Squid Game".
The show cleverly leans into that with its tense atmosphere, creepy, faceless host, gameshow-like sets and survival of the fittest mentality.
There's just one big, glaring difference — nobody dies in Physical: 100, but you wouldn't know that from the intensity of the contestants who put all of their blood, sweat and tears into winning.
With a cast that consists of Olympic athletes, mountain rescuers, military members, wrestlers, the strongest man in Korea and more, it's no surprise that each contestant of Physical: 100 takes these games seriously. They've spent years of their life crafting their bodies and honing their muscles to perfection.
We see this in Episode 1, where each contestant is greeted with a Greek-like statue of their molded torso upon entering the arena. While it's a chance for the contestants to size up who they're up against, the torsos also act as their lifeline for the games. If they lose, they must 'kill' it by smashing their torso before exiting.
While the premise of Physical: 100 sounds like something akin to a gladiatorial bloodbath, I beg you to consider watching it, because it's so much more than that.
Yes, it's part of human nature to be entertained by grand spectacles involving people battling in gruelling competitions. From the comfort of your seat, you get to experience the adrenaline rush of the fight and the thrill of victory — all without putting yourself in danger or exerting any real energy. Plus, it helps that the contestants are super fit and often take off their shirts mid-battle.
The real beauty of Physical: 100 is that it works to dispel our preconceptions about what strength really looks like.
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