NetflixThe Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 finale had it all – an emotional sacrifice, an epic showdown, and an unexpected twist that changed everything. But some viewers think it’s a little too perfect, sparking speculation about whether it’s scripted.
One of the reasons Squid Game became such a pop culture phenomenon is because of the simplicity of its concept: desperate contestants taking part in simple children’s games with deadly twists.
But reality is far harder to predict, a predicament we’ve seen in spinoff Squid Game: The Challenge. With 456 contestants, it’s a little tricky to know who to root for, but it always comes together at the end.
Still, the Season 2 finale’s dramatic beats have some viewers questioning whether these moments were organic or orchestrated. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Was Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 finale scripted?
NetflixAs a reality competition series, there’s been no suggestion that the Season 2 finale was scripted – and the cast and contestants previously reinforced that they weren’t acting or following predetermined outcomes.
Earlier on in Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2, Mingle became so emotionally wrought that the players staged a mutiny and refused to take part in the last round.
They unwittingly paired up, and the producers decided to hand them a bag of marbles each, ready to go into the next challenge.
After an influx of accusations that the protest was staged, executive producer Tim Harcourt told Entertainment Weekly, “I think people have imagined that we pivoted a lot more than we did.
“The intention always for the last round was for there to be an even amount of pairs for everyone to run to a room, no one would be left outside. And then the intention was that the guards were going to put that box of marbles through the window of the doors of everybody’s room.
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Netflix“So we didn’t actually pivot in that, but psychologically it is incredibly interesting. When that last number was called out and everyone found their pairs, which is what we always intended to do, they rebelled and held hands in their pairs.
“We quickly figured we can still do what we want to do, just not into their rooms. We’ll just come onto the stage with the Front Man leading the guards to hand out the marbles, so we just literally pivoted to how those marbles were delivered.”
This was reinforced by the five finalists in a conversation with Who Let Us Out. Player 72, Perla, said, “ I want people to know that us holding hands is not scripted… We were always supposed to play Marbles out there.”
The only thing that we don’t see is how long everything took. In a separate interview with Screen Rant, Perla highlighted the first Season 2 game – The Count – as an example.
“I know that The Count, it’s like the first 13 minutes from the time we’re starting and the buttons pressed, but in reality it was like eight hours,” she explained.
The same can be said about the finale, which sees Player 398, Trinity, sacrificing himself in the last test.
His decision means Player 302 (Dajah), Player 183 (Steven), Player 17 (Agnes), and Player 72 (Perla) head into the final game: Red Light, Green Light.
Agnes is eliminated first, followed by Steven, leaving just Perla and Dajah. Although it’s neck-and-neck, another big twist unfolds when the next red light is called: Dajah injures her ankle and falls to the ground, making Perla the winner of Season 2.
Finale twist leads to new theory
NetflixDespite the fact that the show is unscripted, due to the way these events play out, some fans believe it’s fake – and one even has a theory about what really happened in those last rounds.
“Maybe I’m crazy, but I swear the Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 finale was scripted. Right?” they wrote on X/Twitter. “I wonder if they filmed the final game and got a winner, but it was boring. So they ‘reenacted’ it with the same winner, but with more dramatic eliminations.”
Others believe the moment Trinity self-eliminated in the final test was scripted, including this person who commented, “I feel like it was pre-decided that he’d do that. Like something happened with the producers. It’s just too bizarre otherwise.”
Another added, “Steven literally said ‘you’re gonna self eliminate and tell everyone aren’t you?’ I’m convinced they pre-scripted this.”
Netflix“Of course it was,” wrote a third. “We already have evidence of producer manipulation. This was no different. Just like that chick having that injury at the finish line.”
One viewer suggested there was a “design flaw” in Red Light, Green Light, asking, “What would have happened if the last two players got caught moving at the same time and eliminated? Would nobody get the money?”
However, another pointed out, “They probably explained it off camera and didn’t want to waste unnecessary time talking about it on the show. If I had to guess, a do over would make the most sense.”
And then there are those who aren’t buying any of it. “That has to be one of the most scripted finales in the history of reality competition TV,” said one, with another adding, “LOVEEEE the winner but a serious conversation needs to be had on how scripted that whole finale was.”
Although the Season 2 finale may feel almost too dramatic to be real, there’s nothing to suggest there was producer interference. When $4.56 million is up for grabs, people don’t always act how you might expect them to.
Read more about the winner of Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2. You can also check out all the Squid Game challenges so far (ranked by difficulty) and the new shows coming to Netflix this month.