Description: On Japan's Love it! on October 26, 2026, Yusuke Hirayama's Wada got revenge on Rinrin's Zhou with an electric-chair penalty. The VIVANT backstory, late-arrival gag and actual game result explained.
Quick answer: The "revenge" on the October 26 edition of TBS's Japanese morning variety show Love it! was a playful crossover, not a new scene in the spy thriller VIVANT. Yusuke Hirayama, who plays the dead operative Wada, beat the actor playing his tormentor, Rinrin, in a rhythm game and pressed the button for the losing team's electric-shock chair.
Why would Wada want revenge?
In VIVANT season two, Wada Mitsugu belongs to Beppan, a covert Japanese unit. His character dies after torture by Zhou Haoran, played by Rinrin, an operative of the rival Xinxi organization. Ryo Tamaki plays fellow Beppan member Hirose. This background contains a plot spoiler: the morning-show scene works because viewers know the fictional Wada has died.
No actor was seeking actual revenge. The cast temporarily carried their fictional rivalry into a live studio, with the cheerful breakfast-TV setting doing half the comedic work.
A second plotline: the guest who almost missed his own appearance
On October 19, Rinrin overslept, was delayed in traffic and arrived at approximately 9:48 a.m. for a show that began at 8. He had about seven minutes left on air, apologized with a deep bow and faced the show's electric-chair punishment.
For his October 26 return, he stayed at a hotel opposite the broadcaster. The programme displayed a picture of him leaving at 6:27 a.m., presented as if Beppan had conducted surveillance. Host Akira Kawashima joked that this was Rinrin's second visit but his first appearance in the opening. Showing up on time had somehow become the week's big suspense reveal.
The villain's intimidating persona meets an embarrassed actor
Hirayama said he had cried watching Wada's fate in the drama. Staying in character, Rinrin teased that he had watched the same scene laughing. Hirayama and Tamaki stood up in mock confrontation. Hirayama then pointed out the absurdity: his brave operative had been killed by the same villain whose actor was recently bowing in apology for being late.
The joke relies on two incompatible images being shown together. On Sunday night Zhou is terrifying; on Monday morning Rinrin is trying to repair his punctuality record. And the supposedly dead Wada gets to answer back.
How the electric-chair showdown ended
At around 9:20 a.m., the cast played a special VIVANT rhythm-answer game. Players who made mistakes were eliminated. Rinrin was the last remaining member of the Xinxi side, but missed his answer; Beppan won. Hirayama pressed the button that activated the losing side's chair, while announcer Ayumu Akaogi treated the moment like the climax of a spy saga. At the end, Hirayama said he felt relieved.
The chair is a television game-show penalty. The show's result does not alter the drama's story or resurrect Wada.
The punchline
The first week's cliffhanger was whether a guest could reach a studio. The second week's finale was whether that guest could keep a rhythm. A ruthless fictional spy was defeated not by a secret operation but by a breakfast-TV game.
Evidence note: Checked October 28, 2026. TVer lists the October 26 programme in two parts; the detailed exchange comes from contemporary Japanese reporting. The full video was not independently watched, and the response documented here is Japanese rather than a claim of worldwide virality.
