Squid Game: The Challenge, finale review: ruthless winner sums up a brutal contest
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As a study in emotional torture, Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix) is easily equal to the 2021 Korean drama from which it is adapted. This brutal reality show has, across 10 episodes, funnelled hundreds of contestants into games of chance and betrayal, characterised by ever more extreme levels of psychological brutality. It has done so while honouring the aesthetics of the original Squid Game – from the candy-cane colour scheme to the masked guards with circles and squares on their faces.
*Spoiler warning: the winner of Squid Game: The Challenge is revealed below*
Unfortunately, the series, filmed over 16 days at Wharf Studios in East London, ultimately eliminates itself in an underwhelming finale. Last players standing, Vietnamese grandmother Mai Whelan – aka number 287 – and Hawaii scuba-diving instructor Phill Cain – 451 – slugged it out for a $4.56 million prize via a game of rock, paper, scissors. The logic was presumably to end on a note of childhood simplicity – a coda connecting to the original Squid Game, which was named after a playground challenge.
But if this final twist succeeds as a clever clogs commentary on the franchise’s Lord of the Flies essence, as television it is far too dull. Mai and Phill are required to play over and over in front of a safe containing their potential winnings. Each victory allows them pick from a collection of keys – one of which will unlock the safe. The problem is that there is a limit to how many times you can watch two adults play rock, paper, scissors. Even with $4 million at stake.
Mai finally walked away with the dosh. She is sure to make for a divisive champion. In the real world she has had her struggles, from moving to the United States as refugee in the 1970s to a being cut off by her family after she fell pregnant aged 19. On screen, though, she has been stony-hearted and has never tried to present herself as someone in there to make friends – a path taken by other hopefuls (including Phill). Mai has been in it to win it – and viewers can admire her honesty and applaud her victory, while wishing she had been a mite less pitiless. Had she done so though...
However, the true winner is Netflix. At a time of increased fragmentation in streaming – nowadays, not even a Star Wars or Marvel tie-in is a sure thing – Squid Game: The Challenge has given Netflix an old-fashioned hit. It notched up 20.5 million views in its first week, 11.4 in its second (another season is already green-lit, if you fancy applying).
The lesson all those viewers will have learned is that, ultimately, there’s no beating the law of the jungle. Of the three players still in the running at the start of the finale, Mai was by far the most ruthless. She hadn’t hesitated before stabbing a pal in the back in a previous game of trust. She had also demonstrated her ruthlessness in a “roll the dice” elimination test, where she had nominated another player for potential expulsion (everyone else had selflessly named themselves as the one who would exit).
The 55-year-old’s scorched earth approach contrasted with Phill, who had adopted a low-key strategy. As had the last of the three finalists, artist Sam Lantz (016), who was shown the red buzzer in a pre-rock, paper, scissors test around a fancy dining table.
Phill and Sam had both kept their heads down through previous rounds, where 456 competitors were reduced to three. They were careful to become neither the high-fiving alpha in the room nor the whiny punchbag. For their troubles, they passed through to the final without creating a ripple. Meanwhile, the more cold-blooded Mai had racked up enemies – particularly Ashley, player 278. She had made no secret of her determination to win – or to eliminate Ashley. In the end, it is she who carried the day and won the cash. As commentary on the things you have to do to succeed in the world, what a chill it leaves as the final credits roll.
