Last week in Squid Game: The Challenge, the reality TV version of the popular Korean drama ended with a picnic set up for pairs of people who have a kind of affinity for each other. The happy scenario turned into a tense one when all of them found marbles in their picnic basket. The Marbles meant the two partners would end up competing against each other. People had chosen partners based on the allegiance and friendship they had formed over the time they had spent in the dorm. The fact that they never anticipated a game would be formulated to pit them against each other made this come as a shock. The participants who have stayed in the game for this long should have seen this twist coming up.
Squid Game: The Challenge is known for turning a good scenario into a strained one to the point where the partners feel awkward being around each other. The idea that either member of the pair could be the reason for the other’s elimination leaves them wracked with guilt and they will probably have to find a way to formulate a truce so that there will be no animosity while exiting the game. As a rule, more elimination would mean more money in the suspended orb in the middle of the dorm.
Trey and his mother were in the most vulnerable position because the reason they chose each other as partners for the picnic was obvious, but one of them being instrumental in the elimination of the other makes the premise emotional. Neither of them would want to be knocked out of the game, especially the mother, who had come so far at this age. Both mother and son were in shock at the sight of the marbles in their picnic basket, and they were slowly preparing themselves to get eliminated from the game.
The game was simple and involved no hard-and-fast rules like the other ones in the show. Here, the participants were taken to a city-like structure with many alleyways and asked to come up with a game that suited them. The elimination would happen as per the rules they themselves set for the game. We assume this was done to find a middle ground without much friction between the partners. This was further done to make sure the partners spent as much time with each other as possible leading up to their elimination. Each team of two was given twenty minutes to devise a game that would eliminate one of them by the end of the countdown. If neither of them can find a winner or a game in the given time frame, both will be eliminated from the show. The rules are simple, but the game gets complicated because the people involved in it know each other very well and would be skeptical.
Every pair in the game utilizes throwing marbles either into a tumbler from afar or into a shape created on the sand. The game was this simple. Most of them were able to ace the game, but only one of the two would move ahead. Only one of the pairs in the game came to a definite conclusion about what the game should be for them to decide on the winner. It did not make sense because another pair was squabbling for the entire twenty minutes, and there was no end to their lack of mutual trust. Since the rest of the pairs were busy and dispiritedly trying to find an end to this game, the conclusion was not surprising. Most of the pairs end up having to face the same fate, and it is disheartening to watch them lose a friend they found in the dorm. Such is the nature of the games in this show. The tears were genuine, and many were upset about winning the game they made for themselves.
Trey and his mother especially had the toughest time because both eagerly wanted to win the game by being a part of it till the end. Since the show made sure that would not happen, the mother-son duo was trying hard to make sure there was a definite end to this travesty. Trey’s mother ended up losing the game of marbles, and Trey remained distressed till she was eliminated from the game.
Around 18 players were eliminated in the game of marbles, and most of them had to leave with a heavy heart. The remaining 32 players had to face another dorm test, and there was no end to further eliminations. The next test had one of the players volunteer to be the captain of the game. The said person, upon becoming the captain, was given immunity and an advantage in the next game. The test involved the captain revealing the name of an ally and joining him. This was followed by the ally choosing another person to be on their side. A chain of allies will form until eleven players are left behind, who will be eliminated.
Marbles game was rather crude because many of them had lost a diligent game partner, and of these, many now ended up losing a spot on the show as well. This game was strenuous, like many others, and brought out another side of the players. At one point, women decided to choose only other women as their allies, a game plan the men did not see coming. Sadly, this streak was broken by a woman who wanted to stand out from the others. This test went on until the last obligation was fulfilled, which was eleven members staying back without any allies and being thrown out of the game. The nature of this game was cruel, but it was necessary to understand who were genuine allies and the extent to which anybody could be trusted. This game ended with further elimination, followed by more money in the orb. As the show progresses, there will be further players that will lead up to Squid Game: The Challenge finale.
