I Am A Running Mate- (Final) Episodes 5-8
The school election hits maximum chaos mode.
Episode 5 kicks off five days before the vote with whispers about Se-hoon’s “accident”, Gyeong-tae calls it a pity stunt, Ui-jun shuts him down. Sang-hyeon’s rally goes well until Won-dae’s team steals the show with a clever umbrella rental skit starring Yu-gyeong and Ji-hun, making Se-hoon fume. Tae-oh then drops a bomb: he saw notes from Won-dae labeling Se-hoon as nothing more than a pity vote tool. Tensions spike, Sang-hyeon snaps at Se-hoon for “doing nothing,” and that night Se-hoon destroys Won-dae’s posters. When the sabotage is discovered, Se-hoon throws counter-accusations. The blue team’s flashy smartwatch pledge backfires, support drops, and Gyeong-tae drags up the old harassment scandal to publicly smear Se-hoon, with Won-dae secretly applauding him. Enraged, Se-hoon tells a delinquent to “do whatever it takes” to stop Gyeong-tae.
Episode 6 sees that order nearly carried out, Jae-won stops Jong-su just in time. A rally debate between Jeong-hui and Yu-gyeong ends in a blue team win, but Won-dae retaliates by leaking photos and videos from Sang-hyeon’s underage drinking party. Support for Sang-hyeon nosedives. In desperation, Sang-hyeon leaks a distorted recording of Se-hoon accusing Ji-hun of forging report cards. Won-dae kicks Se-hoon for betrayal, and new party photos threaten to sink the blue team completely.
Episode 7 starts with another blow to Won-dae, a video of him losing it during a football game. But the campaigns are in shambles, students are boycotting, and tempers boil over in the final rally with a physical fight. The red team leads 48% to the blue team’s 47%. Police arrest Jae-won for roughing up the source of the leaked party pics. In the final speeches, Won-dae pins all wrongdoings on Gyeong-tae, who runs out in tears. Sang-hyeon takes the opposite route: embracing his flaws, confessing every dirty tactic, and asking the school to let him atone as president.
Episode 8 delivers the results, Sang-hyeon wins with 49% of the vote, Se-hoon and Jeong-hui as vice presidents. But the celebration sours fast: Se-hoon learns from an eyewitness that Sang-hyeon staged the hit-and-run to boost sympathy votes. The teacher won’t help, and when Se-hoon confronts Sang-hyeon, he overhears him bragging about using people. A heated fight ends with police arresting Sang-hyeon for damaging property, and he later leaves for the U.S. Disillusioned, Se-hoon drops out of school. One year later, he’s still out, awaiting his GED results, estranged from Ji-hun, and only in touch with Jae-won, now a celebrity manager.
DramaZen's Opinion
If I thought episodes 1–4 were messy, 5–8 just said “hold my umbrella” and cranked the drama up to max.
We’ve got pity-vote conspiracies, poster sabotage, smear campaigns, and Se-hoon low-key ordering a hit on Gyeong-tae (?!). Won-dae is still the king of shady moves, Sang-hyeon is giving “charismatic chaos gremlin,” and the blue team is in a constant state of “two steps forward, five scandals back.”
The final rallies were pure K-drama election insanity, public fights, leaked party photos, emotional breakdowns, and speeches that had me wondering if I was watching a school campaign or a political thriller. Then Sang-hyeon wins… only for Se-hoon to discover he may have staged the hit-and-run. The betrayal jumped out.
By the finale, friendships are shattered, the presidency feels cursed, and Se-hoon drops out of school entirely. One year later, people have moved on... except me, because I’m still screaming over that whisky bottle scene.
Episodes 5–8 prove that in I Am A Running Mate, victory comes with receipts, regrets, and probably a police record. And I loved every second of it.
