Squid Game

Squid Game is a 2021 Netflix-exclusive Korean science-fiction drama, also referred to as survival drama, created by Hwang Dong-hyuk. It premiered on September 17, 2021, worldwide on the channel.

Seong Gi-hun is a loser divorcee, deadbeat father, and compulsive gambler. He also knows that he's all of these things when his debts to loan sharks and a chance encounter with a pickpocket cause him to botch a get-together for his daughter Ga-yeong's birthday. To top it all off, his ex is moving with her husband and family to the United States, ensuring he won't see Ga-yeong again. He desperately accepts an offer from a sharply dressed Salesman to go play some games and earn enough money to at least try to fight for custody of his daughter. There's just a catch: you may win a lot of won, but the games in question are deadly.

While a release date for season 2 is unknown, it has received the green light. Hwang Dong-hyuk says that it's in progress.

Not to be confused with Squid Girl.

Tropes used in Squid Game include:

Adult Fear:
- Gi-hun's situation when we hear his full story. He fully admits that he's a loser, especially compared to his childhood friend Sang-woo. 10 years ago, he was a laborer in a car factory, only to be downsized just as his wife was about to give birth. He joined a strike to save his job where he saw a friend die in front of him and unable to go to a hospital. His wife went into labor and nearly died from complications, and they broke up partly because she couldn't forgive that he wasn't there for her. Gi-hun did have a point that he was trying to make sure he had enough money for her and a newborn Ga-yeong, but he doesn't have one for his descent into gambling addictions. In the present, he owns debts to loan sharks that make him sign a blood contract to take his eyes and kidneys if he doesn't produce the money for them, and they beat him up badly at the horse races just as he's about to treat Ga-yeong with the winnings. Then he finds out his mother's diabetes has become terminal, and because he gambled away her insurance money, she doesn't have the funds for the operation. Yeah, Gi-hun's life sucks.
- Sae-byeok is revealed to be a North Korean refugee, along with her little brother. Her father and grandmother were killed, but there is a chance to somehow locate her mother either in North Korea or China. The problem is that her broker claims the smugglers ran off with the sums that she stole, and he says that if her mother got deported from China to North Korea, she's as good as dead for being marked as a "defector". Her brother also resents being in an orphanage, fearing that the kids are right and Sae-byeok has abandoned him. Their last conversation is a fight and in the season one finale, he's guilty when asking Gi-hun where she is, as Gi-hun sets him up to live with Sang-woo's mother and the prize money that would have gone to Sae-byeok and Sang-woo.
- Detective Jun-ho Hwang's older brother In-ho has gone missing for a few days. He assumes that In-ho is just being In-ho since he makes trips like this all the time and his mother is worrying. Then he finds out that his brother hasn't paid his rent in a while and has been gone long enough for his goldfish to go belly-up and for papers to accumulate. Jun-ho also finds a business card, which looks identical to the one that a supposed drunk brought in claiming that he and 455 other people were kidnapped and forced to play games. He sincerely begs Gi-hun for help, saying that his brother may have been one of the kidnapped victims; when Gi-hun is too despondent and desperate, saying he can't help anyone, Jun-ho elects to follow him, and finds out that his story wasn't that of a bored drunk. Cue Jun-ho going undercover by posing as one of the guards, and facing the real possibility that In-ho might have already been killed and cremated, or worse dissected for his organs. The truth is worse; In-ho won his 2015 games and is now running them as the Front Man.
Ain't Too Proud to Beg:
- Most of the players after round one get on their knees after Mi-nyeo does so, begging to go home. They say they'll pay their debts and do anything, just please don't kill them. The Square Guard tells them to knock it off and stop groveling. This isn't a means to scare them into paying their debts, but to allow them a "fair chance" to change their circumstances for the better.
- The old man panics during the riot. He stands on his bed at the top, out of the line of fire but terrified. The old man begs for the guards to stop the rioting, that everyone will kill each other. It ends up doing the trick, somehow. When you learn who Il-nam really is, the answers become much clearer.
- Gi-hun tries begging the guards for help when Deok-su callously kills a man in the barracks. He says they can't stand by and let that happen, it's not fair. This comes back to an even more tragic note when Gi-hun uncovers Sae-byeok's mortal wound in "Front Man" and she starts to lose consciousness from blood loss, while deliriously asking if she can go home. Gi-hun tries to keep her awake, begging her to stay with him, but runs to the locked doors. He starts banging on the bloodied areas, shouting that Sae-byeok needs a doctor, please help so she can play in the final game. All Gi-hun knows is that the last game needs players and hopes that this necessity will save Sae-byeok.
An Aesop: You cannot trust fairness when privileged people set the rules of a game, or a system. The Front Man claims that the games are fair, but we see many cases where it's not true. As Gi-hun logically points out, there should be games where girls are favored more than guys, given that it's supposed to be random, but all the games chosen favor guys, meaning only one woman makes it to the final round, or would have if not for glass piercing her abdomen. None of the challenges are girls' games like jacks or jumprope. Gi-hun is right; il-Nam freely admits that the games were based on those from his childhood.
An Offer You Can't Refuse: This is how the Squid Game forces the players to complete round one. At the time, most of the players are debtors who called the number, expecting to earn some money to avoid losing a kidney or going to jail. They then have to cross the finish line in Red Light, Green Light before the timer goes out; if they keep freezing, they'll be shot anyway. The guards congratulate the winners for making it past round one, who brokenly beg to go home. When the top square guard reminds the players they signed a contract and that if they refuse to play, they will be "eliminated," Sang-woo stands up and reminds them that the third clause says players can have a group vote.
Anyone Can Die: One of the reasons why this series knows how to pack emotional wallops; none of the players are safe from sudden or undignified death. Gi-hun has Plot Armor owing to being the protagonist, but he is the exception that proves the rule. Try not to get attached to anyone, major or minor in this story.
Awesomeness By Analysis:
- Sang-woo survives the Squid Game by using his power of observation. He figures out the doll in Red Light, Green Light must have a motion sensor given the way that her eyes dart around, and logically hides behind bigger players to increase his chances of survival. Later, he studies the other team's footing in tug-of-war. Gi-hun keeps saying this is why Sang-woo is the genius and pride of their neighborhood.
- Player 062 is a math teacher, who comes to rapid conclusions using calculations. He alerts Gi-hun to the fact that there is an odd number of players for the fourth game, meaning one person is likely to get killed for being unable to play. What's more, when he calculates his chances for the glass bridge and realizes it's hopeless, he laughs mirthlessly and tries his luck knowing he's dead.
Badass Boast:
- Mi-nyeo claims that she is good at everything, except for the things that she can't do. To her credit, she remains a strong player and takes out Deok-su when he endangers the others during the Glass Bridge.
- The old man says that when he was a boy, he would always win at tug-of-war. He ends up putting his money where his mouth is because his strategy allows Gi-hun's team to get an early edge in their round, long enough for Sang-woo to come up with a Plan B.
Because You Were Nice to Me:
- Gi-hun latches onto Ali for keeping him from getting shot during the first game. He sincerely thanks him, and later says that Ali should be in the alliance when he, Sang-woo, and the old man return to participate in round two. When Gi-hun can't drink the milk they're given for breakfast because he's lactose intolerant, he selflessly donates his limited ration to Ali.
- Likewise Ali sincerely thanks Sang-woo for letting him borrow his phone to dial his family after they are dropped off together on the mainland, as well as a bowl of hot ramen and a bus ticket. Sang-woo keeps saying with embarrassment he wasn't doing it to be nice; he did it because he wasn't going to let a man that saved his childhood friend's life to walk several miles to another city.
Beware the Nice Ones: Ali is a Nice Guy who makes his mark by saving Gi-hun during the first game without second thought. He's also still a strong guy, and not a pushover. Case in point, he mauls his boss by accident while fighting to get the wages that are owed to him, and later he defends Gi-hun during the nighttime riot using a metal bed beam, wielding it like a caber.
Bittersweet Ending: Season one ends this way. Gi-hun wins the Squid Game by default when Sang-woo elects to kill himself rather than vote to go home alive and penniless with his childhood friend. His mother succumbed to her diabetes without the operation that she needed, meaning Gi-hun was too late by a few days. He spends the next year drinking and drifting, only using the money if anything to pay off his debts, and finds out that the old man Il-nam was the creator fo the games when the latter invites him to spend Christmas Eve in a penthouse. Their conversation and final game motivates Gi-hun to clean up his act, set up Sae-byeok's brother with Sang-woo's mother as well as the portions of the winnings that would have gone to his friends. It's implied he paid overdue child support so his ex consents to let Gi-hun visit Ga-yeong for her birthday. Before he gets on the plane to California, however, he sees the Salesman bitch-slap another potential player, and goes to try and stop him. All he does is confiscate the card, dial it, and promise that he's not forgiving them. The Front Man threatens him to get on the plane and see his daughter, making Gi-hun realize that his family is in danger unless he stops the Squid Game. So he turns around and gets off the plane, disappointing Ga-yeong again but determined to give her a better future.
Crane Game Gag: A crane game toy fumble caps off the terrible day Gi-hun is having. When he's pickpocketed by Sae-byeok and coerced by loan sharks just as he earns enough money from betting on horse races to treat his daughter for his birthday, he's reduced to winning her a prize from a crane game. Though a child kindly helps him acquire one, the gift ends up being a gun-shaped cigarette lighter. Ga-yeong takes it well. TV Sins pointed out how dumb Gi-hun was since the next crane game had Stitch plushies in them.
Curb Stomp Cushion: To their credit, Team 7 in the opening round of tug-of-war briefly holds their ground against Deok-su's gang. The problem is that they are simply not strong enough and Deok-su is too murderous.
Drama Queen: Mi-nyeo makes her entrance by getting on her knees and begging the guards to let her go home after the Red Light Green Light game, claiming that she has a newborn that hasn't been named yet. Then she proceeds to vote for the games to continue. The old man notes she returned for round two, and wonders dryly if she named her nonexistent kid yet. Sae-byeok even notes that Mi-nyeo has been burning bridges because she can't pick a side, or know when to be serious.
Dumbass Has a Point: Gi-hun is not dumb per se, but he is less analytical than say Sang-woo who graduated top of his class. The guy also has a habit of making bad decisions. He does have his moments of insight, however, that make him a more layered character.
- While fighting with his ex, who resents him for not being there through a difficult labor that nearly killed her in the hospital. Gi-hun points out that he was attending a strike to save his job and support her as well as Ga-yeong. His friend also died in front of him and there was no time to get him to a hospital. It was not an easy situation, but he had good intentions.
- Zigzagged, overlapping with Right for the Wrong Reasons. Gi-hun, while preparing for games two and three with Sang-woo and Ali, makes a legitimate point that if the games are supposed to be fair, a few ought to be girls' themed games like jumprope or jacks. He ends up proven wrong; much to contestants like Mi-nyeo's horror, all the games are clearly ones that boys played, some which favor strength and athleticism. Turns out the games' claim of being fair are Blatant Lies; Il-nam admits that while everyone had a chance to compete and leave of their volition after the group vote, they were based on games of his childhood.
- Sang-woo and Gi-hun have a fight after Sang-woo pushes the glassmaker during the Stepping Stones game. Gi-hun asks if that was necessary, and if Sang-woo would have pushed Gi-hun if he had been hesitating in front. Sang-woo can't answer that, and rants about how Gi-hun is a loser and a disappointment. Gi-hun agrees. He then asks why the genius of their neighborhood is with him, the loser gambling addict, in the "shithole" of the Games.
Even Evil Has Standards:
- The Front Man is definitely a hypocrite and a remorseless killer who will gun down his own men for breaking the rules. He is, however, sincere that the players need a fair chance. That's why he gets mad when he busts the guards for feeding the doctor knowledge about the games in exchange for his help with organ donations. Later, he refuses to let Gi-hun register for the games again when Gi-hun announces his intentions to take them down, telling him he won and should go fly to America and be with his daughter.
- Il-nam, the old man, is horrified and closes his eyes when the guillotine comes down to slice the tug-of-war rope for a team with women and a middle-aged man who lost to Deok-su and his gang. This didn't seem to be an act, as he spent most of the games smiling, including when he participates in the tug-of-war.
- The Jerkass priest has a troubled expression after they win the tug-of-war and sacrifice ten people in the process. So does Mi-nyeo, not at all looking like her flippant self until they are safe in the barracks, and she starts gushing about how amazing the old man was.
Everyone Has Standards
- Gi-hun does not like killing. Unless a game demands death and the other choice is to get shot or dragged off a platform to await a long fall, Gi-hun would rather keep to himself and not have blood on his hands. Il-nam pinpoints that he didn't spend the money after winning because he feels guilty about the other 454 that died for it to happen, and tries to rather bluntly point out that Gi-hun did earn it with his luck and skill.
- Jun-ho while undercover is unable to save any of the players from the games. The most he can do is check on Gi-hun after riot to make sure that he's not hurt, and ask if a prisoner named In-ho Hwang is in the barracks. Later, however, when a guard busts him for being an imposter after the latter asks about a "zombie" that woke up on an operating table, Jun-ho angrily rants about how his brother gave a kidney to save his life, and accuses the guards of dissecting In-ho. It's clear he's mad at the senseless violence, and extracts a confession from one of the VIPs.
- As he is slowly going down the slippery slope, Sang-woo is horrified on realizing that for game three, they have to kill ten people to progress forward. After they win their round of tug-of-war, he gives Gi-hun a worried look as Gi-hun stares at the blood on his hands with abject guilt.
Explain, Explain, Oh Crap: During the glass bridge, player 062 has fifteen panels to clear before he can reach the end when everyone in front of him has fallen. He takes a few minutes to calculate his odds, as a math teacher. Given each step has 1/2 chance of being successful, and raising that to the 15th power the answer is "One in 32,768. Damn it." realizing he's dead, Player 062 runs forward and clears three panels before falling.
Gambling Game: Shows an escalating series of them. First, the protagonist Seong Gi-hun is a gambling addict, who bets on horses. This makes him easy prey for the Salesman, who challenges him to a game of ddjaki, where two players need to try and flip a folded paper by tossing other papers at it. Loser either has to pay up 100,000 won or receive a Bitch Slap. When Gi-hun finally wins some money, the Salesman gives him a business card for another "opportunity". This is revealed to be high-stakes versions of children's games like "Red Light, Green Light" where the losers forfeit their lives depending on if they fail to complete a round, break the rules, get caught cheating, or lose a round that involves them killing their opponent. Finally, it's revealed that masked VIPs are betting on the games, putting millions on single players.
Gut Punch: Given the genre and the nature of the episode, these are bound to happen.
- Episode 1, "Red Light Green Light" has players 324 and 250 form a fast friendship, despite having just met in the barracks. Both are excited when they learn the title game is their first challenge, claiming it will be a cinch. They rib each other affectionately that they're going to win and bet a million won and who crosses the finish line first. Then 324 gets ahead of himself literally, and doesn't stop in time during Red Light, Green Light. Cue a gunshot, and 324 collapses. 250's first reaction, once he hears green light, is to run and check on 324. The poor guy is bleeding and coughing up blood, making the players realize this is a death game. Cue the Mass "Oh Crap" where hundreds of players panic and try to run for the locked doors, banging on them. They end up getting shot in succession, until corpses line the field. Gi-hun survives only due to sheer luck, while Sang-woo has the sense to stay still and analyze the situation.
- Episode 6, "Gganbu", may as well be titled this trope. Players are ordered to pair up for the challenge while each is given a bag of ten marbles. They have to play to win the other player's bag of marbles, and the loser is shot in the head. Sang-woo technically loses to Ali, who is apologetic but wants to try and find another solution. Sang-woo betrays him and leaves him with a bag of stones. Gi-hun panics and tries to scam the old man when Il-nam's dementia acts up, only for Il-nam to reveal he was faking it to test his Gganbu. As Gi-hun cries and prepares to forfeit his life as an apology for succumbing to weakness, Il-nam forces him to win, saying that he wasn't in it for the money, but to have fun, and it was nice while it lasted. Then we have Sae-byeok and Ji-yeong, who have a long conversation about their lives before they play. Ji-yeong throws their game without hesitation, telling an anguished Sae-byeok that she has nothing to live for, except for debt and pain, but her new friend has a brother, and dreams. Her sacrifices means that at least she was able to do some good, and give her life meaning. The guard allows a tearful Ji-yeong to say goodbye to a sobbing Sae-byeok before shooting her.
Hero Antagonist: While some players like Deok-su are definitely villainous, others like the tug-of-war team going against Gi-hun's group doesn't seem to have bad people. Sure they're a little smug when they're chosen, because they're all strong men and Gi-hun's team has the old man and three women, but they're not evil. During the tug-of-war, they're pulling for their lives and didn't cheat the way that the doctor and Deok-su did. Indeed, Gi-hun feels no joy while sending them to their deaths
Heroic Sacrifice: Ji-yeong throws the marbles game and forces Sae-byeok to win. In an OOC Is Serious Business moment, Sae-byeok slams her into the wall, shouting at her to play again and take a real shot because she doesn't want her new friend to just give up her life like that. Turns out there's nothing to be done; Ji-yeong remains firm in her decision, and the guards force Sae-byeok to leave her at gunpoint, though the one that executes Ji-yeong allows her to say farewell.
The Leader: Gi-hun is seen by this as default after the tug-of-war, where he encourages his alliance to not attack anyone in the barracks and instead form a barricade, with shifts to watch over the sleeping members. Even Sang-woo defers to this strategy, agreeing it makes more sense to ensure everyone gets some rest. Other players took notice of the fact that he dangled off the edge of the platform but kept his footing and his nerve; Player 062 tells Gi-hun that he was awesome, and turned down a few other offers to team up with him for the fourth game. This no longer applies after the fifth game, given the dwindling numbers.
Let's Get Dangerous:
- The old man has been a formidable player by staying calm during each death game, and oddly cheerful. Then tug-of-war happens, revealing that the players are chained to the rope and have to pull their opponents off an elevated platform, where a guillotine will slice the rope and make the losers fall. His team is full of underdogs, with himself, three women, and not-very athletic men excluding Ali. As they prepare to face their deaths, he stops smiling tells them it's not over yet. Il-nam explains that in tug-of-war, there are strategies you can use to ensure that you have the best team, even if it's not the strongest: have a strong leader in front, a dependable player in the back, alternate everyone else, put the rope under your armpits and lean back for the first ten seconds. It actually works until the opposing team gets a second wind and pulls back with sheer desperation and brute strength. Mi-nyeo later tells the old man that he was amazing and made her feel powerful with the leaning back strategy.
- Credit to Mi-nyeo, she is a Drama Queen and a compulsive liar, but she knows how to pull her own weight, literally. She figured out how to discreetly use her cigarette lighter during the dalgona challenge and cut out the star easily. During the tug-of-war she follows Il-Nam's instructions without hesitation, and later listens to Sang-woo despite screaming that his advice sounds like suicide. Her final moment is taking out Deok-su on the glass bridge, as well as herself, when he's about to doom everyone by refusing to move forward, and he spends his last moments begging for his life.
Pet the Dog:
- When Sang-woo reveals the third clause, that the players can vote to end the games, the Square Guards acknowledge they have to honor the contract and set up an appropriate station. They also say that if the players vote to end the games, 100 million won each will be sent to the families of the dead, ensuring that their deaths at least won't be a waste. Given the old man votes to end the games, the guards honored that agreement and say the surviving players can still compete in round two later, if they wish.
- It's revealed that Il-nam was the creator of the games, and he entered to have one last bit of fun rather than wait for his tumor to kill him. He voted to end the games when the group vote came up in "Hell", because he felt that the players need a fair chance to enter, or leave if they wish. Sure, he thinks that the poor are "trash" but it wouldn't be right to make 100 scared people stay since it would go against his philosophy of fairness. Anyone who returns would lack the excuse that they didn't know they would be forfeiting their lives. Much later, when he learns that Gi-hun hasn't spent the prize money in a year and is prepared to spend Christmas Eve alone drinking in the cold, Il-nam invites him via a flower-lady to his heated penthouse, to encourage him to not feel guilty or waste away. Rather than leave Gi-hun with the memory of a friendly old man, Il-nam revealed his true self to save his gganbu's life, pointing out another man who was drinking on Christmas Eve that had succumbed to the elements.
- Deok-su is a murderous gangster with no regard for human life and will throw away anyone that he deems useless to his goals. He also returns Mi-nyeo's cigarette lighter after the dalgona game when she lends it to him discreetly, thanking her for saving his life. It's his only decent moment.
- The Front Man is a monster. There is no doubt about that with how he runs the games, and especially when he engineers a riot to cull the "weak players", something that even alarms Il-nam who shouts for it to stop. Jun-ho is naturally wary of him and is prepared to fire on him if necessary while undercover. He also doesn't kill Mi-nyeo when she doesn't have a partner for the fourth game, allowing her to rest in the barracks and sit out the death match. The players are shocked, even if she's hurt on principle that no one wanted her. In the season one finale, when Gi-hun is declared the winner by default, he gets medical treatment for Gi-hun's impaled hand and escorts him back to his hometown in a limo. While gruff, he advises Gi-hun to think of the experience as a dream. Later, when Gi-hun dials the number on the business card, the Front Man refuses to accept him for the 2021 games, ordering him to get on the plane and go see his daughter. That makes more sense with the revelation that the Front Man was also once a winner.
- One nameless guard respects Ji-yeong's Heroic Sacrifice when she throws the marbles game and forces Sae-byeok to win, saying that her death will mean more than her life knowing she's helping Sae-byeok reunite with her little brother. He gives Ji-yeong a moment to thank Sae-byeok for playing with her and say goodbye, before executing her.
Pragmatic Villainy: Deok-su votes to end the games when given the chance. His reasoning makes sense when he talks with a lackey about the piggy bank; it's really stupid to stay on the island with a lot of money just out of reach and a high chance of getting killed. Deok-su says that their gang should follow the convoy of trucks that will inevitably return, overpower a driver, and stage a heist to steal the piggy bank. While he has to abandoned that plan after said lackey betrays him to a Filipino mob that are mad at Deok-su for his debts, Jun-ho comes to the same conclusion and follows the trucks solo.
Reality Ensues:
- Gi-hun tries doing a sensible thing after the group vote allows everyone to go home. He goes to the police while still traumatized and tells them about the horrific events that he and Sang-woo suffered. The cops do take a report and his information down which they later relate to Jun-ho, while dialing the number on the business card, but they don't believe him. As one puts it, 456 people were knocked out, transported to a strange place, ordered to play a lethal version of Red Light Green Light, and then released after voting to go home? Gi-hun himself admits that the story is hard to believe.
- Something that the Front Man mentions when he and the Square Guards corner Jun-ho on the deserted island. Jun-ho shouts that he is police and they're under arrest, saying he already called for backup, which he did. The Front Man acknowledges the call might have gone through, but emergency services in real life don't come the minute you call them. Police have little incentive to be efficient.
Rebellious Prisoner: The games in general scare the players who decide to return after the group vote to end the games. When they come back for round two, they face the constant threat of death from the guards or their competitors, and gradually break. Player 66, however, is one of 14 that doesn't return. When the Guards clarify after round one that everyone has to compete for the great prize, he outright says he doesn't care about the money and wants to see his family. Player 66 insists the Guards can't keep them prisoner because the law will track them down via their cellphones. During the group vote, he calls out those that are voting to continue the games, asking how they can live with themselves; only the Guards separating him and an obnoxious fellow player 322 at gunpoint can shut this guy up.
Sequel Hook: With season two having received the greenlight, no pun intended, there are a lot of options, both in early episodes as well as the season one finale:
- Gi-hun walks off the plane that would take him to see Ga-yeong and maybe a new life. He promises the Front Man over the phone that he will not forgive them for the people they killed, or the pain he suffered.
- With the Host officially dead and gone, the Front Man has free reign to design the 2021 games as he sees fit, with no interference. He will likely have more safety measures against intruders this time.
- The Salesman is still on the street, recruiting players with rounds of ddjaki for the 2021 rounds of the game. Gi-hun runs to confront him but is too late, as the man smiles and waves to him from a departing train.
- We never actually saw Jun-ho's dead body when he fell into the water from the deserted island. The Front Man also aimed for the shoulder when he had a clear shot to the head, and asked his brother to surrender. Not to mention he sent the images and videos that he took to his boss, and even if they didn't send, smartphones save images up to remote clouds and servers. Someone could still find that data and use it to further their investigation, and the chief was trying to locate his distress signal.
- Heck, the Front Man's backstory. Somehow he went from being a winner of the game to the person running it five years later. His family also didn't notice that he went missing back in 2015, meaning that he was covering his tracks well.
- The VIPs mention offhand that countries have their own version of the games, but South Korea has the "best" one. Horror of the implications aside, that is a potential storyline that could be explored.
So Long, Suckers!: Gi-hun sees the Salesman playing ddjaki again with another unlucky player. The Salesman sees him and quickly makes his exit after giving the business card. G-hun runs like hell, but he doesn't reach a departing train in time; the Salesman smiles and waves to him from the window.
This Is Gonna Suck:
- One unlucky player has this reaction during the "Red Light, Green Light" Game after the timer runs out and he's forced to freeze a few feet from the finish line. He looks at the doll with a resigned expression before turrets mow down those left on the field.
- Several players have disappointed reactions when learning they chose difficult shapes for the dalgona challenge. When Gi-hun realizes he has to cut out an umbrella intact, he stares into the camera with the Vertigo Effect and says, "I'm fucked."
- Sang-woo suspects that the third game will require strength; he's not impressed when realizing their team has three women and an old man. Gi-hun points out that girls may be useful if they're doing jacks or jumprope, games that strong men may not necessarily now. Then the teams are led to a large room with two platforms high in the air, and the head Pink Guard reveals that the challenge will be tug-of-war. Sang-woo's face falls as he hates to admit he was right. Cue the rest of his team having this expression as they look back at each other, including the normally-stoic Ali. Mi-nyeo gives an uncharacteristic, "Damn it. All men" when she sees their opponents in the second round.
- Team 7 in tug-of-war all share this expression when they have to go up against Deok-su's team. They know they are dead, especially their leader.
You Bastard: Episode 7 reveals that VIPs have been watching the games remotely from a screen. They've been placing bets on who's going to win and who will die, much as television viewers might when watching survival horror. Hey, wait a minute...