Squid Game Recap: Friendly Fire
Yay for trauma bonding? Every five-member team still here has just faced death together, which can be a really quick, effective way to build camaraderie. But the closer you are to somebody, the more a perceived betrayal can hurt you. The central vote in this character-driven episode challenges the relationships that our players have been building, forcing them to consider how well they actually know each other. As a result, “One More Game” spends a lot of time just letting people talk about why they’re here and what they want to do if they make it out.
Before we start unpacking that, though, we still have a couple more teams to follow around those rainbow tracks. First up, our crew of leftovers. Mother-son duo Yong-sik and Geum-ja know exactly which personal enemy to mention to push each other to win their minigames, but it’s Hyun-ju who undeniably carries this team to victory. She’s a smart, kind leader. But she also knows when to literally slap Seon-nyeo the shaman back to her senses. “If you give up, I will kill you before your gods do,” Hyun-ju says. She’s got the last leg of the race, and my heart rate spikes when she spends a few of the precious remaining seconds asking everyone to turn around. But she quickly kicks the jegi five times, allowing her team to cross the finish line just in time. The crowd goes bonkers! In-ho’s so ecstatic that I barely recognize him. Yes, these are five players no one wanted on their team, but it’s human nature to root for the underdog.
Gi-hun’s team goes last. Dae-ho, Jung-bae, and even a pregnant Jun-hee clear their minigames easily. But In-ho burns time with a top that he actually chucks backward at one point. In-ho starts hitting himself, but Gi-hun yells that no one is blaming him and tries to calm him down. In-ho redeems himself by lunging forward when Gi-hun is about to miss the jegi on his fifth kick, dragging him forward so that he makes contact. Their team celebration is abruptly cut short by the sound of the group on the opposite track getting gunned down.
After this game, there are 255 players left. The individual payout is now 78.8 million won, or more than $50,000. We already know that won’t be enough to cover everyone’s debt. But before it’s time to vote, our teams have some time to just sit together and talk.
Thanos tells Nam-gyu to treat Min-su better and to start calling Player 380 noona, a much more respectful word than the one he’s been using: bitch. The bar is in hell, but I’m pleasantly surprised that he’s reining Nam-gyu in. Still, Thanos and Nam-gyu are aligned as ever in wanting to continue the game, and Nam-gyu especially makes it clear to Min-su that voting otherwise would be a betrayal.
Seon-nyeo has ditched the underdog team, but everyone else is hanging out together. Young-mi calls Hyun-ju unnie, which feels significant because it’s a respectful, affectionate, and gender-affirming way to address a woman. Hyun-ju also explains to the group that she wanted people to look away during her turn since she hasn’t finished physically transitioning yet. While Geum-ja might not have the most tactful wording, it feels like she’s starting to come from more of a place of curiosity than transphobia. The expectation on this team is that everyone will vote to end the game and then come over so Geum-ja can treat them to a home-cooked meal.
Gi-hun’s group is in good spirits, though there are a couple of hiccups during their debrief. Dae-ho says he’s so good at gong-gi (stereotypically seen as a girly game) because his mom only let him play with his sisters while he was growing up. When asked why he joined the Marines, his smile falters, and he says his Vietnam War vet of a dad wanted him to be more of a man. He changes the subject so quickly that I wonder how much of his military gusto is authentic and how much is a performance of masculinity. Also of note: In-ho introduces himself with the fake name Oh Young-il, which shares a surname and a 001-related meaning with Oh Il-nam, the creator of the games. Is Gi-hun putting it together yet? This feels like a very clear hint.
There’s no question about how Gi-hun wants his team to vote, of course. Dae-ho quips to Jung-bae that a Marine knows when it’s time to retreat, and Gi-hun assures his teammates that he’ll help them once they get out.
The vote happens in ascending player order this time. In-ho kicks things off by voting X. When the balance seems to be shifting toward the O side, Gi-hun is about to start monologuing to the crowd, but In-ho beats him to it. Although he was making the opposite argument the night before, In-ho’s now fully channeling Gi-hun. Jeong-dae eventually cuts in to start a “one more game!” chant that proves more effective, because the final tally is 139-116 in favor of continuing the games. There are a few surprises: Hyun-ju, Yong-sik, and Jung-bae all chose O. And reactions to these votes vary: Geum-ja snaps that Yong-sik shouldn’t call her Mom anymore, while Dae-ho reassures Jung-bae that it’s okay to come out of hiding.
Everyone has some explaining to do. Jung-bae says that creditors are harassing his ex-wife and kid, while Yong-sik reveals that he has 100 million won of secret extra debt. If he doesn’t pay it back, his collectors will take his organs! (Poor guy doesn’t know that if he loses here, he might lose his organs anyway — especially after we see two soldiers ambush No-eul, cutting her face with a knife and threatening to chop her fingers off and possibly sexually assault her if she interferes again.) Hyun-ju offers the lengthiest justification. She tells her team that she lost her job in the army and was ostracized by everyone after she started transitioning. She dreams of using the money from one more game to finish transitioning and start a new life in Thailand, which Yong-sik confirms is home to a lot of attractive trans women. “You’re beautiful too, unnie,” Young-mi says, causing Hyun-ju’s lip to tremble. Geum-ja can’t go quite that far but says that Hyun-ju looks fine (and punches Yong-sik for suggesting that she ever said otherwise).
Ultimately, the established friendships and alliances hold firm. Although In-ho tsks that Jung-bae didn’t live up to the “twice as righteous” meaning of his name, he also points out that Jung-bae’s vote wouldn’t have made a difference. Maybe because there was such a big gap in the votes, everyone can tell themselves that they don’t have to blame the people they care about.
There is one betrayal that isn’t between teammates, though. Thanos confronts Myung-gi in the bathroom for daring to try to leave. When Myung-gi insults Thanos’s intelligence and reminds him of a humiliating moment in his rap career, Thanos is ready to start a fight … until In-ho and co. walk in, likely reminding him how it felt to get his ass kicked in front of everyone last time.
Violence is on other people’s minds, too. Gi-hun builds a barricade to protect his allies at night, while Geum-ja impresses Yong-sik by having a sharp hairpin to protect herself on a bathroom trip. She has to reveal her bladder issues first, but “Mr. Triangle” opens the door and lets her leave with Jun-hee and Hyun-ju. Jun-hee puts on a tough front on the way there but ends up sobbing in a stall as Geum-ja comforts her.
Back in the sleeping area, Jung-bae wakes up for the night watch and asks Gi-hun why he returned here. Gi-hun says he wanted to end the game but admits to feeling a little lost now about what else he can do. It’s a heavy thought, and Jung-bae decides to switch topics. He tells Gi-hun that when they were on strike together, he was going to take management’s offer and leave the factory they were occupying. But according to Jung-bae, he stopped because Gi-hun was crying like a little bitch for his mom in his sleep (I’m paraphrasing, but honestly, not by that much). The old friends start bickering, and Jung-bae is happy to finally see the Seong Gi-hun that he knows — not a tormented billionaire but a childish cheapskate. Gi-hun pettily says that drinks are on Jung-bae when they get out of there. In-ho listens as they laugh.
Meanwhile, the rescue team is ready to start searching on two boats. They should hurry because Nam-gyu and Thanos are already popping pills in preparation for the third game, Mingle, which involves a merry-go-round surrounded by doors. It’s basically musical chairs, except instead of sitting down, players will have to run into a room with the right number of people. Of course, that number will keep changing, meaning that it’s time for another test of our hard-won alliances.
Parting Shots
• We start this episode on a circular track where people celebrate their victories as they step over the blood of everyone who failed. I thought it would be a reach to suggest that this might be a commentary on the way capitalism traps people in a cycle and desensitizes them to exploitation in the system. But then we ended the episode with a game that spins everyone in a circle to the song “Round and Round,” so …
• Now that we know Hyun-ju was in the army, it’s pretty clear that her character was influenced by the story of South Korea’s first known trans soldier, Byun Hui-su. In 2021, Byun was found dead in her home at age 23. She had been discharged from the military the year before for having gender-affirming surgery in Thailand. The army’s reasoning was that the loss of male genitals constituted a “disability.” Byun appealed the decision, tearfully pleading for a chance to serve her country again, but it wasn’t until after her death that a court ruled that her discharge was illegal.
• Amazing reveal that Player 380 lied about her age. Hope we see more of her and Min-su’s friendship!
• The strike that Jung-bae and Gi-hun reminisce about, which was also mentioned last season, was directly inspired by the 2009 Ssangyong Motors strike. (Just last year, the Korean Supreme Court handed down a ruling that reduced the amount of money that the Korean Metal Workers’ Union owed Ssangyong in a damages lawsuit over the strike.)
• Winner of the episode: Geum-ja, for her remarkably quick pivot to allyship, given that Yong-sik was still apologizing for her line of questioning at the top of the episode. Now she’s out here preemptively educating Jun-hee before she can say anything that might offend Hyun-ju on their bathroom break. Talk, Valentina!
• Loser of the episode: Thanos. How can you threaten someone and accidentally suggest that the best-case scenario is one where you’d be dead? Just embarrassing.