Squid Game: The Challenge
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This recap covers episode nine, Circle of Trust.
Circle of Trust picks up shortly after the conclusion of the dice game.
Were down to nine players, with the pot at $4.47 million.
Which shes not wrong about, by the way!
In many senses, Mai (287) is a terrifying player.
(Or internal strategic assessment.
For her, it seems to be a mix.)
No wonder she feels isolated.
No wonder she leans harder into brutal action.
Did I see the same thing as everyone else?
Or am I a victim of magical reality-television editing, which extravagantly inflated something that was only vaguely there?
I have to wonder.
We know from the previous exposition that Sam is close to Ashley too.
Roland buys into Mais sweetness and believes he can trust her; they are shown to bond as well.
The targeted player is then given the opportunity to identify their executioner.
If theyre wrong, theyre out.
If theyre right, the executioner is out.
On and on it goes until were down to the final three.
Mai gets tapped first.
Dear sweet we ball!
Roland, who delightfully fist-bumps his way through what is obviously a deliberation phase prompted by the producers.
He accuses Rose on the basis of their lack of familiarity and is cut from the game.
I feel bad that I picked Roland, she says in the confessional.
But I have to do what I have to to move forward.
Was this the only card she could play?
Going for Ashley would be too obvious.
Its a brutal move.
Hallie is tapped next.
She targets Amanda, working off the assumption that shed continue in her solidarity with the womens coalition.
Elliott is made to select next.
Here we get even more insight into how everyone else views Mai.
What happens next provides part of the answer: Cuz shes a killer!
Despite Ashley trying to draw attention to herself, Mai correctly deduces her attempted executioner.
She targets Phill on the basis of not knowing him all that well.
With a finger-pointing flourish that recalls Hercule Poirot (or Phoenix Wright?
), Phill correctly susses out Rose using the same rationale.
He fist-pumps, quietly, in celebration.
Next on the block is Ashley, who decides not to target Mai due to their mutually recognized beef.
Now down to four, were not shown the last person selected to play the final hand.
The executioner was Phill, who practically walks out the MVP of the Circle of Trust.
We have our final three: Mai, Phill, and Sam.
But were not done yet, as we have one last beat.
Back in the dorm, Mais game continues.
Perhaps she didnt want Sam and Phill to see her too much as a killer.
But boy, is it far too late for that.
