- 7/7/2025
Prepare for emotional devastation as we relive the most gut-wrenching moments from "Squid Game"! From the shocking Red Light, Green Light massacres to heartbreaking sacrifices and betrayals, these scenes left viewers traumatized. We'll count down the moments that defined this brutal survival series, showcasing the darkest sides of human nature when pushed to extremes.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most soul-crushing
00:08moments from Squid Game that sent us straight to therapy.
00:1320.
00:23The Red Light Green Light Massacres When Squid Game first hit Netflix in 2021, viewers
00:28were hooked by the complex characters and bizarre games, starting with the seemingly innocent
00:33Red Light Green Light.
00:44But like the unwitting players, we were beyond shocked by the ruthless method of elimination
00:48and the number of casualties.
00:50We knew what to expect in Season 2, and Giyoon, aka Player 456, acted as their experienced
00:56leader and hype man.
01:12But a rogue beast sends people running and panicking, resulting in more carnage.
01:16To really drive home the cruelty, Giyoon and Hyun Joo, aka Player 120, help an injured man
01:22across the finish line, only for one of the guards to kill him anyway.
01:29Both chaotic scenes are as harrowing as they are memorable.
01:3219.
01:33Sae Mi Is Betrayed
01:39From the moment actress Won Ji-yeon walked into Squid Game as Sae Mi, fans knew they were
01:43in for the presence of a baddie.
01:45Sae Mi's unshakable personality endeared her to the audience at once.
01:49She was steady as a rock and developed an unexpected bond with Min-Soo.
01:52Unfortunately, the boy hardly had a spine.
01:55Despite Sae Mi asking Min-Soo to team up with her for the mingle game, he goes with Thanos
01:59and Nam-gyu instead.
02:01Soon after, Nam-gyu ends up stabbing Sae Mi to death right in front of Min-Soo.
02:06It was painful and downright offensive to see this brilliant character killed in such an
02:14unceremonious way.
02:15Unable to save Sae Mi, which Min-Soo didn't really try to do either, he is plagued by guilt
02:21until his last breath.
02:22Sae Mi...
02:23I'm sorry...
02:24I'm sorry...
02:25I'm sorry Sae Mi...
02:26I'm sorry...
02:27I'm sorry...
02:28I'm sorry...
02:29I'm sorry...
02:30I'm sorry...
02:31I'm sorry...
02:32Sae Mi...
02:33Let's go with me...
02:35I'm sorry...
02:36I'm sorry...
02:37I'm sorry...
02:38I'm sorry...
02:39I'm sorry...
02:40I'm sorry...
02:41I'm sorry...
02:42I'm sorry...
02:43I'm sorry...
02:44I'm sorry...
02:45I'm sorry...
02:46I'm sorry...
02:47I'm sorry...
02:48As a pregnant young woman facing near-certain death, Player 222 was arguably the most heartbreaking
02:53character in all of Squid Game.
02:55In a moment of deeply human vulnerability, Joon-hee isolates herself in a bathroom, sobbing quietly
03:00as the horror of her reality dawns on her.
03:03She is on the brink of bringing new life into the world, which itself is scary enough,
03:07but she could also lose her own life at any moment, thus failing to protect her child.
03:12When Gyeom-ja, an older lady, shows her genuine care in this moment, she can't help but break
03:17down.
03:18Gyeom-ja holds and comforts Joon-hee, promising that she and her baby would be okay, but all
03:22the mother-to-be can do is weep in fear.
03:25I'm sorry...
03:26I'm sorry...
03:27I'm sorry...
03:28I'm sorry...
03:29I'm sorry...
03:30I'm sorry...
03:3117.
03:32Sung-woo Exits Squid Game
03:35When we finally come to the eponymous Squid Game, it's down to Gyeon and Sung-woo.
03:39So any kind of violence is allowed?
03:41Sure.
03:42There are no restrictions.
03:43The childhood friends were allies for much of the other games, though the latter was really
03:47only looking out for himself.
03:49Gyeon overpowers him but tries to convince him to leave together, alive and empty-handed.
03:54I'll go.
04:01I'll go home.
04:03After he betrayed Ali, pushed a guy off the glass bridge and killed Sae-byeok, no one expected
04:08Sung-woo to make a sacrifice for someone else.
04:11Instead of trying to gain the upper hand or go back home, he takes his own life.
04:20Gyeon wins the 45.6 billion won, but after the trauma he endured, including holding his
04:25dying friend, he doesn't feel victorious.
04:3216.
04:33Jungbae's Death
04:34When Sung-gi-yoon joined the game for the first time, seeing a familiar face, Sung-woo,
04:44seemed like a blessing.
04:45The second time around, he finds his good pal Jungbae in the crowd and is instantly horrified
04:50at the implication.
04:51He tries to protect him, but when they ride into battle together, staging a coup against
04:55the guards, they're betrayed by Ogyong-il, aka the frontman.
04:57Jungbae is shot as a lesson to Gyeon, a warning against playing hero, and the last word he
05:04utters is his friend's name.
05:06That was the moment when things got personal for player 456, who wailed in despair over
05:19yet another devastating loss.
05:21At this point, we were begging for the man to catch a break.
05:25If you thought watching hundreds of people foolishly put their lives on the line for money again
05:37in season 2 of Squid Game was frustrating, imagine how Gyeon must have felt.
05:50Poor guy was in the trenches, trying to get the participants to follow his instructions
05:53for Red Light, Green Light 2.0.
05:55When he tried to convince them to end the game during the first vote, he faced even greater opposition.
05:59First, they doubted him.
06:01Then, when he revealed he had won before and was the only one to survive out of 456 players,
06:06they wanted to use him to win.
06:15Not once did they heed his warnings, and so, what could have been a turning point
06:19became the gateway to yet another tragedy.
06:21No. 14. The Night Riots
06:33As if playing life-threatening games isn't scary enough, the players also have to survive
06:38a riot in their dormitory.
06:39It starts with Yeok Soo, player 101, killing another contestant for rightfully accusing him
06:44of taking extra food.
06:45Once everyone realizes that taking each other out isn't against the rules, they planned an attack at night.
06:54What the players don't know is the food shortage was orchestrated to weed out the weakest.
06:58There's another special game in the season 2 finale, except it's the O's who voted to play another game,
07:09attacking the X's who voted to go home.
07:11More casualties mean more prize money, and they'll have a better chance of winning the next vote.
07:23Each riot is equally brutal and devastating.
07:33No. 13. Inho's reason for competing
07:35At the end of season 1, Junho finally comes face to face with his missing brother.
07:39However, it's not a happy reunion. Inho, aka the frontman, shoots Junho in the arm, sending him falling into the ocean.
07:51In season 2, Inho swaps his black mask for a teal tracksuit, entering the game as player 1.
07:56He has a somewhat honest talk with Gi-hun, telling him about his wife's acute cirrhosis, her pregnancy, and how he was fired for accepting a loan.
08:11Inho played the games in hopes of winning enough money for a liver transplant.
08:31While the story is true, it happens years before the events of season 1, along with his wife's death.
08:36Sadly, the loss also hurts his familial relationships.
08:41I have no one who killed him and killed him.
08:46I have no one who killed him and hurt his brother.
08:50I have no one who killed him.
08:54No. 12. GYUMJA KILLS YOUNG SICK
08:58When this duo first appeared in Squid Game, we knew they were destined for tragedy.
09:06After GYUMJA helps Junhee give birth during the sinister hide-and-seek game,
09:09they acquire the keys to exit and are steps away from escaping the bloodbath.
09:13That's when Young SICK finds them.
09:15As a seeker, he must kill a hider to survive, and his only options were Junhee or his mother, GYUMJA.
09:21The latter was ready to sacrifice herself for him, but Young SICK targeted Junhee.
09:34In a last-ditch attempt to save the new mom, GYUMJA stabbed her son with her hairpin and took her own life afterward.
09:40In that dire moment, she chose her found family over her own blood, and it broke us into a million pieces.
09:46No. 11. HYUNJOO'S BACKSTORY
10:05One of season 2's best new characters is Cho Hyunju, a.k.a. Player 120, a former special forces staff sergeant who immediately proves herself a skilled and essential player.
10:15She opens up to her small team, explaining why she joined the games and voted to play another one.
10:25She opens up to her small team, explaining why she joined the games and voted to play another one.
10:30After coming out as transgender, Hyunju lost family members, friends, and even her career, all just because she wanted to be her true self.
10:46She's there to take home enough money for gender-affirming surgery and start a new life in Thailand.
10:50Watching Hyunju witness the death of her sister-like friend, Yung-mi, is painful, but we're relieved that she survived the season.
11:06Protect our girl at all costs.
11:08No. 10. RUSSIAN ROULETTE
11:10In season 2, we learn that Ki-yoon pays the loan shark, Mr. Kim, to lead searches in the subway, looking for the salesman recruiting new players.
11:18How did you do that?
11:19I looked at the line of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8.
11:27Unfortunately, Mr. Kim and his associate Woo-Sook are captured by the mystery man and forced to play Rock, Paper, Scissors, Minus One.
11:35However, the salesman puts a deadly twist on the classic game by adding Russian roulette to the mix.
11:50It's absolute torture for the two friends to play against each other, knowing one of them won't survive.
11:55In the last round, Mr. Kim doesn't make a move, disqualifying himself and saving Woo-Sook's life.
12:10Although we may not know these characters as well as others, this scene is no less cruel and gut-wrenching.
12:16No. 9. Myung-gi's death
12:18Give it up for the winner of the Deadbeat Dad Olympics.
12:21During Sky Squid Game, Myung-gi chooses to sacrifice his daughter to survive.
12:25However, director Hwang Dong-yuk revealed that he intended to save her if only the lunchbox hadn't eliminated himself.
12:51He was even willing to die at Joon-hee's hands during hide-and-seek to protect her.
12:55However, Myung-gi can trust Gi-Yoon, who attacks him, seemingly proving his suspicions right.
13:00So, the younger man resorts to delusional ideas like doubting Gi-Yoon and Joon-hee's relationship to justify his wicked decision to himself.
13:07Ultimately, Myung-gi dies in vain.
13:09Actor Im Si-Wan does such a phenomenal job of portraying Myung-gi's pathos that you can't help but pity him.
13:24The bloodsport corrupted him, but he was no supervillain.
13:27No. 8. The Death of Sae-byeok
13:36Ask any Squid Game fan who their favorite character is, and they'll likely say Sae-byeok, which is why her death is so infuriating.
13:42After making it across the glass bridge with Gi-Yoon and Sung-woo, they are the last three contestants.
13:50But once they're barely off the bridge, the glass explodes, hitting them with shards.
14:00Sae-byeok sustains a fatal injury but keeps it to herself.
14:03Later that evening, she and Gi-yon promise to take care of each other's families if they win.
14:08In her last moments, she tells him she wants to go home.
14:11While Gi-yon pleads for help from the guards, Sung-woo decides to end her life as she's already dying, shattering our hearts.
14:22We're still not over it. Justice for Sae-byeok.
14:25No. 7. Hyun-joo's Death
14:36If she had been half as selfish as some of the other players, she would have left a winner.
14:40However, her courage made her a fan favorite.
14:42Despite finding the exit during Hide and Seek, she goes back to save Joon-hee, who had just given birth, and Gyeong-ja.
14:48Before they can walk away, Yoong-gi stabs Hyun-joo in the back like the coward he is, seduced by greed.
14:54No one had expected one of the strongest characters on the show to die so abruptly, but it proved once again that in the game, humans are just numbers no matter how strong.
15:11Hyun-joo isn't grieved for longer than a few moments because the show must go on, and that's what broke our hearts the most.
15:16Hyun-joo broke our hearts the most.
15:25No. 6. Joon-hee Gives Up
15:28During Jump Rope, Player 222's baby is turned into a participant and must cross the bridge.
15:41Hyun holds her and crosses over, planning on going back to help and injure Joon-hee.
15:45However, because he's surrounded by narcissists who sold their souls to a piggy bank, he can't.
15:50Myung-gi, being the terrible father he is, couldn't be bothered to carry the literal mother of his child across either.
16:03Not seeing a way out, Joon-hee gives up on the game and falls straight down to her death.
16:08What is truly miserable about this scene is how Joon-hee doesn't try to make it through on her own.
16:12Sure, logic says she would have died anyway, but giving up wasn't noble.
16:16It was human, and that's why it hurts.
16:19It was human, and that's why it's not the same.
16:21It's the same.
16:22It's the same.
16:23It's the same.
16:24It's the same.
16:25It's the same.
16:26Number 5.
16:27Gyeong Se-yuk's Daughter's Illness
16:29Season 2 introduces No-ul, a North Korean defector currently working at an amusement park.
16:34Before we hear about her traumatic history, we see her brighten a little girl's day, stopping to give her a lollipop during the parade.
16:40Later, she learns that Na-yeon, the young daughter of theme park artist Gyeong-suk,
16:48is suffering from blood cancer.
16:55No-ul had to leave her own infant daughter behind when she left the North, and all of her wages go toward finding her.
17:03While she joins the game as one of the pink guards, Gyeong-suk becomes a player to pay for the treatment Na-yeon desperately needs.
17:09It's heartbreaking to see these two parents risk their lives to save their children.
17:14Please help me.
17:16My daughter is a lot of pain.
17:18Number 4.
17:19Gyeong's Mother Dies Alone
17:21When we first met Gyeong in Season 1, he's unemployed, living with his elderly mother, and gambling away all their money.
17:27No money?
17:28No money?
17:29No money.
17:30No money.
17:31I've never had to leave her.
17:32I've never had to leave her.
17:33Oh, my God.
17:35What's the money?
17:36I've never had to pay for one month.
17:40After she ends up in the hospital, a doctor tells him that she has complications due to untreated type 2 diabetes,
17:45and is at risk of needing her feet amputated.
17:47However, they don't have health insurance or the money to afford medical care.
17:58This harsh reality motivates Gyeong to go back to the games, and he wins more than enough money to pay for treatment.
18:03But he comes home to find that his mother died alone while he was away.
18:07Being so close to finally helping his ailing mother only for her to be gone is a total gut punch for him and us.
18:14What?
18:15Number 3. Turning on Baby 2-2-2
18:27Just when you think you've seen the worst of humankind, director Hwang Dong-hyuk takes his Squid Game characters deeper into hell.
18:33In the final round of the bloody game, players must sacrifice at least three contestants to win.
18:38With Joonhee's baby now taking on her player number, 2-2-2, the participants target the child at once.
18:43Joon is the only one defending her with his life, while Myung-gi tries to strategically divert attention from her.
18:55Meanwhile, the other contestants offer the most diabolical arguments for why the infant doesn't deserve to live.
19:00These people are the embodiment of evil desperation, with malice that's nothing short of sociopathic.
19:05However, they would probably, hopefully, never act this way in real life, and that's precisely why it's tragic.
19:12It's only why it's tragic.
19:21Number 2. The Marble Game
19:31In their fourth game, all participants get into teams of two and play a marbles game of their choice, but the pairs didn't know that only one of them could survive.
19:38From the husband and wife duo, to Ji-young's sacrifice for Sa-byeok, the entire episode is one devastating moment after another.
19:51Poor Gi-hun feels guilty that Il-nam was eliminated, though we find out the real story later.
20:01But perhaps the most tragic death of them all is Ah-li, the incredibly sweet man who actually won, but was too trusting of his supposed friend, Sung-woo.
20:11Sung-woo.
20:20We understand Sung-woo wanted to live, but his trickery was the ultimate betrayal.
20:24Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
20:31You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
20:35If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
20:41Number 1. Sung-yoon dies
20:43The curtain falls on Squid Game with the ultimate sacrifice.
20:54Player 456, Sung-yoon, exits stage, leaving Joon-hee's baby alive and victorious.
20:59Not even for a second did he waver in his resolve.
21:02He couldn't be there for his own daughter, for Sae-byeok, for Joon-hee, but he was going to protect the baby even if it cost him his life.
21:09That was the moment his entire existence had been leading up to.
21:12Rather than fear, his eyes shone with purpose, defiance and conviction.
21:16Right before plunging to his death from the final Sky Squid Game tower, Sung-yoon illuminates the central truth of the story to the frontman.
21:23He can play God all he wants, but humanity, flawed and glorious, will always prevail.
21:29Which Squid Game moment do you wish you could unsee? Tell us in the comments.
21:33I get it. Some goodbyes take time.
Recommended
0:16
|
Up next
22:43
39:42
1:08:48
1:05:00
26:20
12:59
11:26
11:59
12:11
10:14
11:12
11:22
27:54
20:20
14:08
13:56