In the first four episodes of Squid Game: The Challenge season 2, the players realized one thing: that it was better to keep a low profile and not step into the limelight. But the strategy changed over the next four episodes as they needed to take initiative, form bonds, and play their game very tactfully. Also, because the number of players decreased after every game, players who hadn’t done much, who hadn’t taken the lead, got exposed, and they had no choice but to express themselves. So let’s find out what happened in episodes 5 to 8 and who survived till the end.
What was the motive behind playing marbles?
In the previous episode (i.e., episode 4), we saw that the players had decided to stand in groups of two and stop playing Mingle. It was a really ugly game that brought out the worst in people. Even if a player didn’t want to hurt another person, they were forced to do so. Everybody wanted to win, but nobody wanted to be this ruthless in their approach. But the game runners had another trick up their sleeve that the players probably didn’t see coming. Now the players were standing with people they had a good bond with or were related to. Perla was standing with her brother, Zoe was standing with her father, and so on. The game runners decided to pit them against each other and make them compete in a game called Marbles. The game was pretty simple: the players had to choose any game they could play with marbles, create their own rules, and decide a winner. The game really played with the players’ emotions, and it was pretty hard for them to bid adieu to their loved ones. But every pairing needed to choose a winner before the time lapsed even if they felt horrible doing so. I believe that through a game like Marbles, what the game runners wanted to show the contestants was that their every reaction was going to have a consequence that could either be bad or good. They showed courage and unity while playing Mingle, and ideally they should have been rewarded for doing so. But instead, they were put in a much more difficult situation, and they were made to realize that they were not in control of what happened next, as the game runners were always a step ahead of them.
What task was given to the monitors?
It was announced that the players would have to select 3 monitors among themselves. Player 98 wanted to be the monitor, and he was quite disappointed when he didn’t get the opportunity to. He stopped talking to the others and just went to bed. He knew at that moment that he would be sidelined in the future games, and so he really needed to buckle up since he had absolutely nobody who supported him. Players 327, 410, and 230 were chosen as monitors, and they were asked to select 3 players who they wanted to be in the elimination round. Obviously, Player 98 was the first choice, and Players 437 and 417 were chosen additionally to team up with him. That’s when the game runners told the players that even monitors would have to play the elimination round, and that they would have to compete against the three players they had chosen. The game was simple: one player from each team had to sacrifice their position and put their number badge in the black box. So whoever put their number badge in first would save their team members and eliminate all the members of the other team. The team that consisted of the monitors was able to do that first, and so they were able to survive the elimination. Obviously they lost player 230, i.e., Max, the one who put his number badge in the black box.
Players 327 and 410, Kate and Isaiah, respectively, were asked to choose another monitor, and they went and selected player 409, Claire, for the job. Claire was given the power to eliminate one player of her choice, and in an unprecedented move, she chose Isaiah. The reason behind it was that Isaiah went to Kate and Claire just before the task and told them that he was going to be ruthless in his approach from thereon. I don’t think Claire would have chosen him had he not gone there and overshared with her. Player 410 ended up facing the consequences of his own actions, and so he had nobody else to blame other than himself.
What happened between Steve and Perla in Slides and Ladder?
The two monitors, Kate and Claire, were given the responsibility of making teams of two for the next game, Slides and Ladder. Player 346 went unpicked, but there came a twist, and he was given the chance to take another player’s place. Player 346 took Trinity, Player 398’s place, and so the latter was by default considered to have qualified for the next round. Slides and Ladders was a simple game where the teams had to roll a die and move forward on the blocks. The catch was that every slide had two openings, where one could take you down, while the other could get you eliminated. Nobody knew which opening led where, so the players had to rely entirely on luck. Also, there were blocks with question marks on them, where a player had to pick up a card and do whatever was written on it. The highlight of the game was the clash of ego that happened between Steve and Perla. Perla and her teammate reached the block where they had to pick up a card. They got the power to make a team go to the next block that had an unused slide. Perla could have chosen anybody, but she chose team red, i.e., Steve and Kevin. Kevin got eliminated as he took the wrong slide, and after that Steve went after Perla all guns blazing. Perla didn’t like Steve’s attitude, and she blamed him for coming after her. If you ask my personal opinion, I believe Perla was a bit hypocritical in her approach. She wanted players to take her intent and motive into consideration. She said that she felt bad about eliminating a person, and unlike Steve, she wasn’t taking revenge on anybody. But I don’t understand how it matters if you cry or show sadness, because at the end of the day you are playing to win. Even Kate got hurt when she was sent down by Perla, and so she could have also blamed her for the same thing. I understand that Steve did target Perla, but he lost his teammate, and anybody would have felt angry at that moment. So, Player 183, i.e., Steve, literally came on everybody’s radar after the game, and he knew that there were a lot of people who were against him.
Why did Dajah get angry after the Circle of Trust?
The next game was called Circle of Trust, in which the players had to sit in a circle and put on a blindfold. The guards then walked around them and tapped on the shoulder of one particular player. That player had to remove his blindfold, take the gift box, and place it on the table of whichever player they liked. Then, the player with the box on their table was asked to guess who might have placed it there. If they guessed correctly, the person who had kept the box was eliminated; if not, they themselves were eliminated. Dajah, player 30, got really angry at player 183, Steve, as she realized that he was the one who had eliminated her friend, Faith. Now this is why I called Perla hypocritical at the beginning. Perla teamed up with Dajah, and together they made it pretty clear that they would go after Steve and eliminate him if they get a chance. Dajah also took it upon her ego, but she wasn’t blamed like Steve was during Slides and Ladder. But unlike Steve, Dajah wasn’t judged because she had people who supported her and who validated her stance.
Who Got Eliminated In Shuffleboard?
The last game of Squid Game: The Challenge episode 8 was called Shuffleboard. The players were asked to make teams of three, and there were no surprises when Dajah and Perla decided to team up and take Trinity, Player 398, as their third member. Vanessa, Kate, and Steve formed another team, but a twist came when they were told they were going to compete against one another and not the other team. The players had to slide their puck on the ground and land it as close as they could to the finish line. If their puck crossed the finish line, they were eliminated, and if their puck was the farthest to the line as compared to the other players, then also they had to face a similar ordeal. Kate and Trinity lost the game from their respective teams, and so they were pitted against each other.
Kate lost to Trinity, and unfortunately she was eliminated after making it to the top six. Finally, Vanesa, Steve, Trinity, Perla, and Dajah proceeded to the next round. They were given tuxedos to wear for a lavish dinner that was organized for them. They knew that they were pretty close to winning the prize money, yet one mistake could take it all away from them in a whiff. It would be interesting to see how Steve tackles the growing opposition, if he is sidelined by Perla and Dajah, or if he finds allies in Vanessa and Trinity, who were pretty strong players themselves.
