Top 10 Most Tragic Moments in Squid Game

WatchMojo

Prepare for an emotional rollercoaster as we dive into the most heart-wrenching moments from Netflix's "Squid Game". From tragic losses to gut-punching sacrifices, these scenes will leave you emotionally shattered and questioning humanity's depths.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the heart-wrenching Squid

00:12Game scenes that got the tears flowing and left us in shambles.

00:17Spoilers ahead for the first two seasons.

00:25Number 10.

00:26The Red Light, Green Light Massacres

00:28When Squid Game first hit Netflix in 2021, viewers were hooked by the complex characters

00:33and bizarre games, starting with the seemingly innocent Red Light, Green Light.

00:47But like the unwitting players, we were beyond shocked by the ruthless method of elimination

00:52and the number of casualties.

00:53We knew what to expect in Season 2, and Ki-Hoon, aka Player 456, acted as their experienced

00:59leader and hype man.

01:15But a rogue beast sends people running and panicking, resulting in more carnage.

01:19To really drive home the cruelty, Ki-Hoon and Hyun-Joo, aka Player 120, help an injured

01:24man across the finish line, only for one of the guards to kill him anyway.

01:32Both chaotic scenes are as harrowing as they are memorable.

01:36Number 9.

01:37Sang-Woo Exits Squid Game

01:38When we finally come to the eponymous Squid Game, it's down to Ki-Hoon and Sang-Woo.

01:47The childhood friends were allies for much of the other games, though the latter was

01:50really only looking out for himself.

01:53Ki-Hoon overpowers him but tries to convince him to leave together, alive and empty-handed.

02:07After he betrayed Ali, pushed a guy off the glass bridge, and killed Seb Yeok, no one

02:11expected Sang-Woo to make a sacrifice for someone else.

02:19Instead of trying to gain the upper hand or go back home, he takes his own life.

02:23Ki-Hoon wins the 45.6 billion won, but after the trauma he endured, including holding his

02:29dying friend, he doesn't feel victorious.

02:36Number 8.

02:37The Night Riots

02:38As if playing life-threatening games isn't scary enough, the players also have to survive

02:42a riot in their dormitory.

02:44It starts with Yeok-Soo, player 101, killing another contestant for rightfully accusing

02:48him of taking extra food.

02:53Once everyone realizes that taking each other out isn't against the rules, they plan an

02:57attack at night.

02:58What the players don't know is the food shortage was orchestrated to weed out the

03:02weakest.

03:09There's another special game in the season 2 finale, except it's the Os who voted to

03:13play another game, attacking the Xs who voted to go home.

03:23More casualties mean more prize money, and they'll have a better chance of winning

03:27the next vote.

03:28Each riot is equally brutal and devastating.

03:37Number 7.

03:38In-Ho's Reason for Competing

03:39At the end of season 1, Jun-Ho finally comes face to face with his missing brother.

03:45However, it's not a happy reunion.

03:50In-Ho, aka the frontman, shoots Jun-Ho in the arm, sending him falling into the ocean.

03:55In season 2, In-Ho swaps his black mask for a teal tracksuit, entering the game as player

04:001.

04:09He has a somewhat honest talk with Kyu-Hyun, telling him about his wife's acute cirrhosis,

04:13for pregnancy, and how he was fired for accepting a loan.

04:31In-Ho played the games in hopes of winning enough money for a liver transplant.

04:35While the story is true, it happens years before the events of season 1, along with

04:39his wife's death.

04:40Sadly, the loss also hurts his familial relationships.

04:58Number 6.

04:59Hyun-Joo's Backstory

05:01One of season 2's best new characters is Cho Hyun-Joo, aka Player 120, a former special

05:06forces staff sergeant who immediately proves herself a skilled and essential player.

05:20She opens up to her small team, explaining why she joined the games and voted to play

05:24another one.

05:33After coming out as transgender, Hyun-Joo lost family members, friends, and even her

05:38career, all just because she wanted to be her true self.

05:41She's there to take home enough money for gender-affirming surgery and start a new life

05:44in Thailand.

05:49Watching Hyun-Joo witness the death of her sister-like friend, Yong-Mi, is painful.

05:59But we're relieved that she survived the season.

06:03Number 5.

06:05Russian Roulette

06:06In season 2, we learn that Gi-Hoon pays the loan shark, Mr. Kim, to lead searches in the

06:10subway looking for the salesman recruiting new players.

06:20Unfortunately, Mr. Kim and his associate Woo-Suk are captured by the mystery man and forced

06:27to play rock-paper-scissors minus one.

06:30However, the salesman puts a deadly twist on the classic game by adding Russian roulette

06:34to the mix.

06:45It's absolute torture for the two friends to play against each other, knowing one of

06:49them won't survive.

06:55In the last round, Mr. Kim doesn't make a move, disqualifying himself and saving Woo-Suk's

07:01life.

07:05Although we may not know these characters as well as others, this scene is no less cruel

07:10and gut-wrenching.

07:11Number 4.

07:12The Death of Sae-Byuk

07:14Ask any Squid Game fan who their favorite character is and they'll likely say Sae-Byuk,

07:18which is why her death is so infuriating.

07:24After making it across the glass bridge with Gi-Hun and Sang-Woo, they are the last three

07:28contestants.

07:29But once they're barely off the bridge, the glass explodes, hitting them with shards.

07:39Sae-Byuk sustains a fatal injury but keeps it to herself.

07:42Later that evening, she and Gi-Hun promise to take care of each other's families if they

07:46win.

07:47In her last moments, she tells him she wants to go home.

07:55While Gi-Hun pleads for help from the guards, Sang-Woo decides to end her life as she's

07:58already dying, shattering our hearts.

08:00We're still not over it!

08:03Justice for Sae-Byuk!

08:04Number 3.

08:05Young-Suk's Daughter's Illness

08:07Season 2 introduces No-Eul, a North Korean defector currently working at an amusement

08:11park.

08:12Before we hear about her traumatic history, we see her brighten a little girl's day,

08:16stopping to give her a lollipop during the parade.

08:21Later, she learns that Na-Yeon, the young daughter of theme park artist Kyung-Suk, is

08:27suffering from blood cancer.

08:33No-Eul had to leave her own infant daughter behind when she left the North and all of

08:37her wages go toward finding her.

08:41While she joins the game as one of the pink guards, Kyung-Suk becomes a player to pay

08:45for the treatment Na-Yeon desperately needs.

08:48It's heartbreaking to see these two parents risk their lives to save their children.

08:52Hopefully, both make it out alive.

08:59Number 2.

09:00Gi-Hun's Mother Dies Alone

09:01When we first met Gi-Hun in season 1, he's unemployed, living with his elderly mother

09:06and gambling away all their money.

09:20After she ends up in the hospital, a doctor tells him that she has complications due to

09:24untreated type 2 diabetes and is at risk of needing her feet amputated.

09:28However, they don't have health insurance or the money to afford medical care.

09:38This harsh reality motivates Gi-Hun to go back to the games and he wins more than enough

09:42money to pay for treatment.

09:44But he comes home to find that his mother died alone while he was away.

09:48Being so close to finally helping his ailing mother only for her to be gone is a total

09:52gut punch for him and us.

09:56Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

09:59Jong-Bae's Death, Friend or Foe

10:02Gi-Hun is forced to see another friend perish.

10:14The Fate of Player One, One Lucky Day

10:17Gi-Hun learns the dark truth about his Gun-Boo.

10:29Mother and Son, Various

10:31Season 2's adorable duo that had us all stressed and crying.

10:43Jun-Hee's Fear, One More Game

10:45Kyung-Ja lovingly consoles the terrified mother-to-be.

11:16Season 1's sixth episode is arguably the most emotional episode so far, and that goes

11:25for both seasons.

11:34In their fourth game, all participants get into teams of two and play a marbles game

11:38of their choice, but the pairs didn't know that only one of them could survive.

11:47From the husband and wife duo to Ji-Young's sacrifice for Sa-Byeok, the entire episode

11:52is one devastating moment after another.

12:01Poor Gi-Hun feels guilty that Il-Nam was eliminated, though we find out the real story later.

12:06But perhaps the most tragic death of them all is Ah-Li, the incredibly sweet man who

12:10actually won, but was too trusting of his supposed friend, Sang-Woo.

12:23We understand Sang-Woo wanted to live, but his trickery was the ultimate betrayal.

12:28What moments left you devastated?

12:30Did they make the list?

12:31Let us know in the comments below!

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