Squid Game: The Challenge's Most Devastating Eliminations So Far

Contains spoilers for "Squid Game: The Challenge" Episodes 1-9

Considering that it's based on "Squid Game" — the South Korean drama where 456 players compete to the death to win a giant cash prize — it's unsurprising that the "Squid Game: The Challenge" features dour moments. An adaptation of the award-winning show — minus the life-or-death aspect, of course –, Netflix's reality competition series pits 456 players against one another. When it's time for elimination, squib packs on contestants' costumes explode. (So, still, a little dark here.)

Some eliminations, though, hurt more than others. Sure, during the first handful of episodes, it's a little hard to tell who's who while the eliminations happen; after all, 259 people were eliminated during the first game, Red Light, Green Light. Still, some players seemed set to go all the way, only to fail in the most devastating ways. So, who broke our hearts already?

One of the sadder — and grosser — eliminations came in the second episode of "Squid Game: The Challenge." In "The Man with the Umbrella," Spencer, aka Player 299, almost brought the game to a screeching halt by refusing to cave when his team was saddled with the tricky umbrella shape in the Dalgona candy carving game. (If you've watched "Squid Game," you know how horrible the odds are to win this challenge with this shape.) Things only get worse for Spencer! In a confessional, he admits he's sensitive, is maybe too close with his mom, and even gets into the weeds about some late-in-life bedwetting. (Honestly, why this poor unfortunate soul joined the cast of "Squid Game: The Challenge" in the first place is an enormous question mark.)

Spencer, like his team, is stuck carving an umbrella out of candy. Of course, Spencer fails, cracking his candy. But he then stress-vomits into his mouth multiple times, resulting in a scene viewers probably won't be able to "unsee" for a long time. When Spencer inevitably curls into the fetal position to await his exploding-squib fate, it almost feels like a relief ...

Pretty early on in "Squid Game: The Challenge," players are forced to make savage choices regarding their fellow players — and most of these happen in the dormitory, where the contestants are subject to "tests of character" randomly. Though it's technically one of the official games, the Jack-in-the-Box game in Episode 5 happens in the dorm, resulting in a heartbreaking elimination.

Five players are summoned to open boxes and receive various results — from instant elimination to gameplay advantages to being able to axe others. The saddest moment comes when Phalisia, player 229, opens the box that lets her knock off three people. Phalisia is brutal and efficient, but it doesn't make it hurt less. First, she picks off Player 130, Jakoben, who won the advantage from a box moments beforehand. Then, with some regret, she goes for Rick, Player 232, a kind physician whom everyone loves, and his surrogate in-game son, Stephen, Player 243.

At the end of Episode 5, the remaining players sit down for a picnic ... only to discover that there are two sets of marbles hidden at the bottom of their baskets. This is a huge bummer for anyone who remembers the original show's Marbles game, where pairs of two have to compete against one another and eliminate their opponent. Why is this a bigger problem in "Squid Game: The Challenge?" Two players competing against one another here are mother and son: Player 302, LeeAnn, and Player 301, Trey.

Trey defeats LeeAnn, but he's miserable about kicking his mom out of the game. LeeAnn tells her son to keep fighting. Close friends Ashley (278) and the aforementioned Phalisia have to face off, and they're gutted when Phalisia loses. Other pairs have heartfelt conversations about how they would use the prize money, like Jada (097) and Mai (287), and when Mai beats Jada, she encourages Jada to thrive when she goes home. The Marbles game was never going to be fun. "Squid Game: The Challenge" made sure it was especially somber.

After the Marbles game, players embark on yet another horrifying game seen in the original series — Glass Stepping Stones. While the players don't fall to their deaths here, they do fall through and are never seen again from that point again. Within this challenge, we lose two truly excellent players: Trey and "Coach" TJ (182).

A perversely adorable claw game involving teddy bears kicks off the proceedings, where players get a bib indicating their order in the stepping stone game — though the twist is that they have to give the bib to another player. TJ is gifted Number 1 — which is basically a death sentence — while poor Trey gets Number 3. TJ goes down right away while Trey gets a proverbial stay of execution, making it safely across one tile before taking an absurd leap of faith across the aisle and falling to his in-game death. This sequence is really hard to watch, but it's also awful to see two power players exit without a bang ... or even a whimper.

Episode 9 of "Squid Game: The Challenge," titled "Circle of Trust," features a game of the same name ... and it's unbelievably harsh. In a sort of take on the kid's game Mafia, players blindfold themselves and remove them if one of the guards taps their shoulder: The chosen player places a wrapped gift box on the desk of one of the other contestants. Everyone then takes their blindfolds off and the player who received the gift boxes guesses the giver. If they're correct, the giver is eliminated. If they're wrong, the recipient goes home.

Mai, one of the shrewdest players in the game, is forced to go first and decimates her friend and ally Roland (418), knowing he'll never suspect it. Player 355, Hallie, takes a similar approach, knowing that her ally Amanda (019), architect of a women's coalition within the game, would never guess a fellow girl. Then, Hallie triumphantly and incorrectly guesses the identity of her "benefactor" and goes home. This was a tough episode with so few players left. When the dust from the Circle of Trust settles, only three remain: Mai, Phill (451), and Sam (016).