Squid Game “O X” Photo-Recap: Fork This

We’re in it to win it now!! Even with a greedy grandpa and a rapper with illogical retribution demands, this season’s crop of players were a lot gentler than season one, which had gangsters and… well, gangsters. So I honestly thought we might skip the midnight brawl altogether. It didn’t seem like the idea had crossed anyone’s mind, you know? 

WELP. I was mistaken in that regard because sweet, adorable little Yim Siwan just STABBED THANOS IN THE THROAT WITH A FORK. Baaaahahahahahahha, here we go! 

All of our favourites in one room! It’s nice in any show when we get to know and love characters separately and then they come together during a murder game, you know? 

The third game was Mingle, where our lovable group(s) of misfits had to get into safe-rooms with the assigned number of people. And wouldn’t you know it, as soon as they forcibly grabbed the shaman, our two favourite groups ended up together. 

Thanos once again shared his drugs with his lackey, and the two of them danced through the game, condemning his pal to death with a silly kick and then later asking where he is. 

Does anyone have insight on what drugs he might be taking? Korea isn’t the most reliable in terms of drug portrayals (I once saw a woman in a K-drama go insane from a pot brownie instead of just giggling at Pengu reruns while eating a family sized bag of jujubes, as is custom). But this one seems… accurate? I don’t know, please tell me. It doesn’t seem to be a hallucinogenic, but maybe it’s something that makes him very chill and detached from reality? I will never say the drugs are an excuse for his behaviour, though I do wonder if he really understands what he’s doing when he’s on them. Is he just so removed from reality that it seems like an actual game? Does he recognize that he’s taking lives? 

Anyway!

I mean, of course they ditched the shaman. Of course they did. What did she think they would do? Those are the rules of the game! Plus, she would—ONCE AGAIN—be dead without Hyunju. Ugh, this lady. I long for her brutal demise! 

Meanwhile, Fake 001 let them go as a team of four and they had a nice reunion when he appeared still alive. (Did the guards help him cheat?? But HOW? It was a circle! People would have noticed? Or did he really just make friends?) Honestly loving how much this show is making us question how much is real and fake with this handsome trickster.  

Yiiiiiiiiiiiikes. This moment was hard to watch. They had to split into teams of three, so the adorable squad broke off into twos, but as they were looking for a third, two guys grabbed 007 and dragged him to a room with them, leaving his mother alone. One could argue it wasn’t his choice, but he didn’t exactly put up a fight. Luckily our two princes swooped in to save her, and Fake 001 was like, “Wow, what a shitty son,” and Mom was like, “NUH UH!” and they left it at that. 

Oh, and Adorable Little Bean betrayed Cool Lesbian by going with Thanos and his lackey, and when they came out of the doors, he was SO happy to see she was alive, and she shook her head all, “You think you know a guy… you met two days ago in a murder game.” And now they’re not cute little besties anymore. *frown*

I joke, but guys… this was sad. Not because I was necessarily attached to Little Sister as a character—we all knew she was going to die. I was sad for Hyunju who just lost potentially the first person in her life who called her pretty, the first person who accepted her without question, and to top it all off, it was partly her fault. She voted to stay in the games, she was part of the reason Little Sister was there in the first place. And though she tried her very best, she just couldn’t keep her alive. 

Naturally she turned her anger towards the person who survived instead, but I watch the episodes multiple times to make these recaps, and I can confirm, they would NOT have made it if Hyunju went back for Little Sister. YouTuber was right, if she’d tried, they’d all be dead. 

Fake 001 tried VERY HARD to keep Bestie alive during this game, including straight-up murdering a man to usurp his room. Bestie seemed taken aback, but also, what were they going to do? SOMEONE had to die, and Fake 001 just made the decision. I love how grey this show is! 

Look. I recognize that the fact that this socially inept dumb-dumb is played by Yim Siwan has made me like him more than I should. That’s on me… *sigh* … that’s on me. His plan for their happy-ever-after was disappointing, but also not the worst thing said or done in these games, so for the sake of our collective crush (don’t lie to me or yourself), let’s just move on.

Third time’s the charm death sentence! Vote #3 was an even split between the Leavers and the Stayers, with all of our main characters switching to Team Leavers except Thanos and his lackey. Fake 001 was once again the last vote, and though Bestie was nervous about him because of his slight murder tendencies, he came through and voted to leave. 

Welp, since there was a tie, they had 24 hours to mull it over (in between murders). 

Meanwhile, Hot Cop and his Merry Band of Mercenaries (on tour this summer) were creeping around the island with a drone (which the Fishy Fisherman didn’t understand, I’M VERY SURE, FISHY FISHERMAN) and found a hatch (OMG do you think Desmond is inside??) (this joke is brought to you from 2005). 

Sigh. I know I have an episode left to watch, but I would love for these fellows to actually do something. I was SO excited when Gihoon and Hot Cop teamed up—it was all my little heart desired. But for what? So Hot Cop can float around the sea doing nothing?? I was so ready for them to go down that hatch and meet Desmond actually DO SOMETHING. I don’t know, maybe they’ll eventually be very cool and I’ll eat my hat (just looking for an excuse to eat that hat, to be honest, it looks chewy). But for now they’re just back on that dumb boat with that fishy fisherman. 

The debate started out jovial, but very quickly dissolved into being downright mean as Gihoon ominously opened up his kimbop to find a fork. (You probably already know, but important to note: kimbop is not eaten with a fork, it’s either cut up and eaten with chopsticks, fingers, or just by biting it like a burrito.) That is not a fork for eating. That is a murder fork. 

Consider my pears clutched!! I was legit shocked by this. Thanos and his lackey were harassing our Sweet Little Bean in the bathroom, when YouTuber came to the rescue and called his gang all, “When you’re an X, you’re an X all the way, from your first cigarette to your last dying day…” and then Thanos was all, “Why is he singing?” and he and the Os all shrugged at each other and started trying to murder them.

And then YouTuber STABBED HIM IN THE THROAT WITH A FORK. I will not be over this for a while. This was such a fun moment. I thought Thanos might make it into season three, but alas. Thank you, T.O.P., for your delightfully over-the-top (heh) performance.

And that was that! I am now very worried for Junhee. Lackey knows that 333 cares about her, and I’m scared he’s going to target her as retribution.

And that’s the thing… 333 really DOES care about her, in his own selfish way. He’s such a great example of how complicated humans can be. He stepped in to defend a weaker player, he made sure his pregnant ex didn’t die in Mingle, and he voted to leave once he knew she was there. Buuuuuut, he’s also a bit of a shit. He seems to only think about himself in a lot of ways. He’s clearly a terrible boyfriend, and his financial gains and losses are murky. Oh, and the murder, I guess.

He’s not a bad person, but he’s also not a good person, and I think that describes most of the characters on this show. (STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT, THIS IS NOT ABOUT MY CRUSH!) Anyway, I’m betting he dies for her by the end.

Speaking of death, I was only one third correct in my death predictions last recap!! I thought FOR SURE Bestie was going to bite it during this game after that heartfelt chat with Gihoon. And when the son was dragged away from his mom, I was convinced that was it for her. But nope! Only our sweet Little Sister (and a BUNCH of others) died this episode, though now I’m even more scared for bestie. He saw Fake 001 kill a guy and even tried to tell the others. Is Front Man going to kill him to maintain his cover???

Gah! Stop making me feel things, show! (Never stop)

SOME STUFF

• Noeun let them take a player alive. **sad trombone**

• Shaman told Gihoon that his destiny was tied to Junhee because she’s pregnant. Was she talking out of her ass, or is this some horrible foreshadowing about him dying for her, or HER dying and him raising her child? 

• Speaking of, she has to go into labour, right? I mean… it’s Chekhov’s Pregnant Woman. 

• Sometimes I think Front Man gets lost in the excitement of the games and then remembers that he’s there to be shit and decides to sew seeds of malice and mess with people’s relationship. He wasn’t necessarily wrong about the mom and son, but shit, Fake 001, we don’t say that stuff OUT LOUD. 

• Everything about the shaman makes me yearn for her death, and I hope it’s long and painful and drawn out. The fact that she cursed the adorable group after they saved her life TWICE. Then convinced that other woman to vote to stay. Ugh, kill her, show. Please. 

• If the shaman hadn’t convinced that lady to stay in the games, do we think Fake 001 would’ve voted to stay? That was kind of a lucky happenstance for him, he gets to continue his ruse while pretending to be one of the gang. But if she HADN’T… what was his next move? 

• The more Marine brags about being a marine the more I think Marine is not actually a marine. 😦

• Because of the comedy rule of three, I have to mention Desmond one more time. 

OKAY THANKS FOR COMING! I am both excited and terrified for the last episode.