I'm a huge fan of survival TV shows. Squid Game, Alice in Borderland, that kind of thing. I particularly loved the game design, the stakes, the adrenaline. It scratches a primal itch I guess.
I guess that's why Physical: 100 hits different. Because it's real.
To me, Physical: 100 is basically Squid Game IRL except instead of desperate people, the contestants were absolute genetic elite. They were olympians, special forces, bodybuilders, MMA fighters. Basically people who've spent their lives becoming superhuman. The premise is simple: toss 100 "perfect" bodies into a room and see who survives.
Season 3 is out now, Manny Pacquiao is in it apparently which is pretty cool. But I keep thinking back to Season 1. That first episode was iconic. Just 100 people hanging by their arms. Sounds boring on paper but watching these massive, peak-condition humans dropping like flies because their own muscles were too heavy? Pretty nerve-wracking. Watching it made my arms hurt. (Side note: the show's subtitles always wrote it as "nerve-racking" which confused me. Is there a difference? I don't know.)
Production quality is solid too. Feels cinematic.
Episode 3 stressed me out. The 1-on-1 death matches in the mud were wild. Some went for speed, others just tried to overpower with brute force. I was wincing half the time thinking someone's gonna break something. The respect thing stood out though. Like one second they're trying to destroy each other, next second they're bowing and hugging. That's the athlete mentality I guess.
Episode 6 had the ship pull, 1.5 tons or something. This proved raw strength isn't everything. You need strategy and a leader or you're going nowhere.
Episode 8 broke me though. The Greek Mythology challenges were brutal. Atlas, Sisyphus, Ouroboros. Atlas was holding boulders overhead until you collapse. Sisyphus was pushing 100kg rocks up and down a hill over and over. Ouroboros was basically tag on a loop track. All of it was more like a torture than a game show. Watching favorites get eliminated right at the finish line was heartbreaking. You could see how much they wanted it, but sometimes physics just wins.
By the finale it wasn't even about strength anymore. Just who could suffer the longest.
Not gonna lie though, the show has issues. Some episodes feel dragged out just to create cliffhangers. Like they could've wrapped things up in one episode but instead they stretch it across two just to keep you hanging. Gets annoying when you're invested and they cut right before the good part. Sometimes it feels like they're padding runtime instead of respecting your time.
Still, this show is good for the soul honestly. High-budget, intense, but surprisingly wholesome in a way. Reminds you what sportsmanship actually looks like.
Anyway, if you haven't watched it yet, you should. It's genuinely inspiring or whatever that sounds like without sounding too cheesy. Just maybe have patience for the pacing.