01x09 - Circle of Trust

[bunniefuu]

[tense music playing]

[Ashley] Mai is who she is.

Like, she can no longer hide

behind this facade

that she's been hiding behind.

This "sweet lady."

Like, she can't hide behind that.

[automated voice] Attention, players.

Here are the results of the test.

[Rose] Oh God.

[Roland] Jump on in, Ashley.

Mai, would you like to join us out here,

or are you vibin'?

[musical swell plays and rises]

[players exclaim]

[Roland] Even though she is not part

of the group,

I think Mai is awesome, and I'm so glad

that she's still in this game.

She's someone

that I can really trust in here.

[flickering]

[Amanda] Whoo!

- Oh my God.

- [Hallie] Wow.

[Sam] It's gonna be at nine.

[Rose] It's gonna be zero-nine.

[all exclaim]

Single digit.

[Ashley] I can't believe

I made it this far,

and I just hope that I can b*at out

these other eight people,

you know, to make it to the final.

Mai tried to take me out,

but it didn't work, so, you know,

I feel even better.

And, you know,

I'm ready for whatever is to come.

We lost some great people today, guys.

We lost some great people today.

- [button beeps]

- [powering down]

[bank chimes digitally]

[ominous music plays]

[automated voice] The current prize fund

now stands at $4,470,000.

The money has never felt real to me

until now.

And it's like something

I would dream about before,

but now it's like,

"No, there's a serious chance."

Oh man. Today was brutal.

We all got us through it.

- [Sam] Yeah.

- We all threw that die.

Yeah. Our Our own choices kept us civil.

True.

I don't think any of us

would have gotten this far

without this close little group of us.

I'm also feeling that every time

I've thought that I could trust everyone,

someone just snaps,

and shows a side of them

that I didn't think was there.

Seeing how 287

nominated player 278 for elimination

kind of opened my eyes

that maybe I should just be being, like

[smacks lips]a li

a teeny bit more careful around her.

[suspenseful music plays]

[Amanda] I still can't believe

what happened.

It's crazy. Like, she's walking around,

not talking to me, as if I nominated her.

Yeah.

And then everybody's

walking up to her, "Oh, Mai, hi."

And she's still playing

this little lady role.

Bitch, you ain't fooling me.

I ain't fooled not one lick.

[musical swell plays and rises]

[ominous tone plays]

[Mai] I work for

the Department of Homeland Security.

I'm an adjudicator. Um

What an adjudicator does

is, uh, they review F1 visas

for non-immigrant students who want

to come over to the United States,

uh, to attend the universities.

In the beginning,

when I started the job in 2013, um, I

My main goal is, you know, to help

as many, you know, immigrants as possible,

because I I was an immigrant.

Um, so I came over in 1975,

so the feeling of displaced

and not having a home,

I can, you know,

feel their their struggles.

But sometimes, you know,

I can't let emotion

get a b get the best of me.

So I, you know We, you know

I have to, you know, set that apart

to make my job successful.

[Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" plays]

I was gonna always nominate myself.

Mai had a time where she just felt

like she needed

to play her game for herself,

and we cannot fault her for that.

- [Phill] Yeah.

- Only person that can do that is Ashley.

[Phill] Yeah.

I'm really proud of all of us.

- I am too.

- [Phill] Seriously.

[sniffles]

[whispers] I I love Mai.

I think she's lovely,

but I just didn't really understand

that decision at all.

We all decided what we were doing.

But I knew she was gonna do that.

[Mai] Even though I lost my good friend,

who's been there through thick and thin,

I have to strategize the next game.

But I feel, um, alone.

[sobs] It's hard, you know,

in that dormitory.

And I can't trust anyone in there.

I know I have to overcome

what I'm feeling

[inhales sharply]

and to be strong

for myself.

[ominous ethereal music plays]

[chiming bells play on speakers]

[automated voice] Attention, players.

This is your wake-up call.

[gentle intriguing music plays]

[sighs]

Good morning.

[Amanda] Oh, top nine!

Do you ever braid your own hair?

Uh, I tried. Yeah.

But not, you know,

as good as doing someone else's hair.

Oh, got you.

It's hard.

It's funny because,

like, when we all came in,

it seemed like there were, you know,

a group here, a group here, a group here.

- But now we're all connecting.

- Yeah, last night

Last night I was kind of thinking

we're lucky because, like,

you and I were a pair.

- Roland, um, Mai, they're a pair.

- [Sam] Mai.

Um, Ashley is kind of with us.

- [Sam] Yeah.

- Obviously, I wish that others were here.

But, for right now, you know,

I I wouldn't have it any other way.

This is definitely, I think,

the best outcome that could've happened.

Having that sort

of mutual chemistry and trust

with with, sort of, your "teammates,"

I think is very special,

and something that's often overlooked

in situations like this.

Even if we are technically

all "against" each other,

I think that, as as humans,

we're built to work together,

so, you know, having people

that you can depend on is very special.

[pulsing spacey music plays]

- Oh, Sam.

- Yeah.

Come here for a minute, please.

[Mai sighs]

Uh, I need to talk to you.

- Is that okay?

- Yeah, yeah.

All right. Can we go in, like

up the stairs or something?

Yeah.

[Mai] I want to set the record straight

about why I chose

to eliminate his friend 278

so that way, you know,

he he doesn't see me

as a, uh, a thr*at.

How are you?

Emotionally exhausted,

'cause Ashley is my good friend.

And when you nominated her,

I didn't I didn't feel

any animosity towards you.

- I understand it's a game.

- Mm-hmm.

But I think we're all just agreeing on

a a game of civil decency.

Mm-hmm.

And I think that was everyone's rationale

with the self-nomination

because it very quickly

could have devolved into chaos.

I've been in the navy for 20 years.

It's all about camaraderie,

looking out for one another.

And when I stood on the Glass Bridge,

I thought I knew Ashley

until she showed me

that she lack of teamwork.

Standing there,

not taking a risk for anybody,

and everybody who just takes over

to make that decision for her.

To me, that is selfish,

and I just wanted you to understand

that it's not that Ashley

that I don't like.

It's It's the character

that makes me look at her,

"Will Will she have my back if

in a situation of life and death?"

Right.

So I just want to understand that, um

where I'm coming from.

I've been trying to play this game

in a way that I would be proud of

and that I would act in the outside world.

As long as we keep our eye

on our hearts and our humanity.

- Yeah.

- Because we all have that good core.

And that's that's all we have

to keep our eyes on.

Player 287 has me uneasy.

I've witnessed her making decisions

that I personally wouldn't have made.

Decisions that seemed

like they came out of left field.

I think that the game has gotten to her,

and so I need to be

a little bit smarter about her.

Do you think she's open

for me to talk to her?

- She's always open to communication.

- Okay.

She will listen. We just have to all own

our decisions, like she said.

- Yeah.

- Oh my gosh, these benches hurt.

[Mai sighs]

I see 278 as being not a team player.

But in my head,

I'm strategizing what's gonna be next.

And with that in mind, I need to apologize

without being too suspicious

'cause I have to save my ass.

[keyboards clacking]

[light-hearted music plays]

So say you're at a social place,

and you see, like, a nice-looking girl,

um, and you wanna go up and talk to her.

Do you have any smooth pickup lines

that you would use?

Yeah, I do this really smooth thing

where I, like, just, like,

don't go up and talk to her.

[both laugh]

[Hallie] I came into Squid Game

to meet people,

and I think that I'm also really enjoying

getting to know

the other players in the top nine.

And hopefully, they see the same in me,

and none of us come across

as any sort of thr*at.

- [Roland laughs]

- Um, that's pretty good.

That's pretty good. Honestly.

[musical rise plays]

[ominous tone plays]

[Hallie] I had a good childhood,

but I felt like I spent

a lot of time trying to prove myself

or prove that, you know,

I wasn't the pushover.

Growing up, I had my twin sister.

I would say

that my twin is my best friend.

We're complete opposites

in personalities, in hobbies, in demeanor,

um, but that still doesn't stop

the rest of the world from comparing us.

So, I love the girl,

but we've often been pitted

against each other, which sucks.

[musical swell plays]

[ominous droning music plays]

- Hi, Ashley.

- Hello, Mai.

- Can I talk to you, please?

- Yes. Yes.

- Come on.

- Okay.

Let's go talk.

- [Ashley] Dun-dun-dun! [laughs]

- It's okay.

[Ashley] What's up, Mai?

- I want you to know

- Mm-hmm.

- [Mai] I love you as a person.

- [Ashley] Mm-hmm.

[Mai] I don't know what happened up there,

but what I see

- Okay, specifically, what did you see?

- Hold on. Hold on.

In the Glass Bridge,

when you didn't take a risk,

I didn't see you move, I was like

[Ashley] What did you see?

That you didn't jump.

I jumped.

I turned around, after I passed,

I said, "Okay, y'all, I made a jump."

"I ain't moving no more. Everybody,

we need to work together as a team."

Right. Okay.

So it was shocking for your ass

to say that I'm not a team player.

I don't know what you saw or didn't see.

- But your girl was out front.

- Yeah.

- I know.

- And I took that chance.

Maybe my misperception.

- Something. Like

- I should have talked to you first.

- But, you know

- You could've talked to anybody.

- "Did she jump?"

- No, no. I wanted to talk to you first.

- But you didn't, Mai.

- I know.

I deeply apologize for that.

- Okay?

- Thank you. I received that.

- Okay.

- Thank you.

Thank you for talking to me.

I appreciate that.

- We good?

- [Ashley] We good. We good.

I receive your apology,

you get what I'm saying.

I'll give you this hug real quick,

real nice. I'll play nice.

But I see you.

My eyes are open to you, girl.

I know who you are.

You're playing your game, you know.

All right. Now stop being awkward in here.

I know.

[both laugh]

[musical swell plays]

[creepy choral music plays]

[buzzer plays on speakers]

[Phill groans]

Oh, let me just sleep.

- [Amanda] I was cozy then.

- [Roland] Me too.

[Amanda groans]

[doors whirring]

- [Sam] It's a game.

- [Ashley] Oh, a game?

[square guard] Attention, players.

It is now time for the next game.

Follow the staff into the game hall.

["The Blue Danube Waltz"

by Johann Strauss plays]

[stressful musical swell plays]

- [Amanda gasps]

- [Hallie] What is this?

[Roland] Oh, my gosh.

- [Amanda] That's so strange.

- [Sam] Oh, I don't like this.

[Roland] Looks like there's

a little gift in the middle.

[automated voice] Attention, players.

[ominous music plays]

Please choose a seat.

[sighs heavily]

Six players will be eliminated

in the next game

Circle of Trust.

You will all be blindfolded.

If you are tapped on the shoulder,

please remove your blindfold,

take the gift box,

and place it on the desk

of the player you wish to eliminate.

[Hallie moans]

[automated voice] That player

will leave the game

unless they can guess

who gave them the box.

If they guess correctly, they are safe,

and the player who gave them the box

will be eliminated instead.

[sighs]

[Amanda] There could not be

a worse game than this,

because we're getting

to know each other more,

making it more trickier to eliminate you.

But the closer to the end I'm getting,

the more I know I need to break away

from being emotional with people

because it will come

when I need to eliminate someone.

[sighs] This is so messed up.

[gentle music plays]

[automated voice] Players,

put on your blindfolds.

[sighs]

[Mai] I think it's a circle of distrust

more so than a circle of trust.

So I have to be on my best game

and, um, to trust no one,

because I am a lone wolf in there.

[music intensifying]

[automated voice] With that,

let the game begin.

[dramatic musical flourish plays]

[Mai] Oh my goodness.

I can't be the first person

that that the guard picks.

[ominous tone plays]

[sparing, stressful music plays]

[Mai] Who am I gonna pick?

I have to strategize

what's the best game plan

without everyone getting suspicious,

um, because Ashley and I

have our differences,

so it's too obvious.

But my dear friend Roland, I I

[bitter tone plays]

People will think

that it wouldn't possibly be me.

[clock ticking]

I love the guy,

but also I have to save myself first.

[automated voice] Players,

please remove your blindfolds.

[serene music plays]

[musical swell plays and rises]

[exhales heavily]

Interesting.

[automated voice] Player 418,

to save yourself from elimination,

you must guess correctly

which of your fellow players

placed the gift box on your table.

Would anyone care to fess up?

No one's got anything to say?

[suspenseful music plays]

- Nothing, Phill?

- Nothing, man.

Mai?

Who's gonna do your hair?

That's a fact. All right, she's good.

But that was also pretty

pretty pre-planned,

it kind of sounded like.

No, what, um I'm saying is that

- I trust you. I trust you.

- Okay.

[chuckles] What?

Wha [laughs]

Would you betray me

at this point, Elliott?

- You're my son.

- This early?

- You're my son, man.

- I respect that.

That'd be a bold move

if one of you two took me out this soon.

All right. All right.

I feel like I'm close

with all of you guys.

[tense pulsing music plays]

Hey, man,

I was in your position yesterday.

I ain't in no rush

to put a box on nobody's desk.

If you did have a box,

whose desk would you put it on first?

- Mai.

- [Roland laughs]

- Ashley!

- [Roland] That'd be a little obvious.

- So?

- [Roland] Yeah, that's fair.

I feel like in the zone,

she would go for Mai.

You'd go for me?

- [Roland] No, I wouldn't.

- [Mai] Oh.

- You're my dawg.

- I know. You're my buddy, bud.

[pulsing music intensifies]

Definitely not equally close

with all of you,

which is fair.

Everyone's got their homies.

[Rose] Don't risk it.

Don't risk it? What's "it"?

Picking you?

Yeah.

[dramatic percussive music plays]

I think the player

who gave me the gift box is

player number 051.

[ominous tone plays]

I was just shocked.

I love you, Roland.

Love you too, Mai,

unless you placed it on my desk.

Oh! [winces]

[Mai] I feel bad that I picked Roland,

but I have to do what I have to do

to move forward.

[automated voice] The next player

to be eliminated is

player 418.

[Roland] Dang.

[melancholic music plays]

[Ashley] I honestly think 287

put that damn present on Roland's desk.

You know, she's sneaky,

and she'll s*ab your ass in the back ASAP.

- [flickers]

- [Hallie sighs]

[sobs]

[automated voice] Players,

put on your blindfolds.

[dramatic musical flourish plays]

["The Barber of Seville"

by Gioachino Rossini plays]

[Hallie] I know I need to get out

of this desk quietly as possible.

And I also know I need to pick someone

who would never suspect me.

Amanda has always spoken out

about standing behind

the girls in the group.

I know she won't suspect me.

[anxious, minimal music plays]

[Amanda] I've got to look around the room.

What do I remember before?

[dramatic musical flourish plays]

I need to look at Mai's jacket

because it was tucked in earlier,

so I need to have a look at that.

Can you sit up, please, Mai?

- Stand up?

- Sit up.

- Huh?

- Just sit up.

Oh, sit up.

[Amanda] Be an easy one, wouldn't it, Mai?

Any guesses?

I don't.

[Amanda] 355, I think I could trust them.

- You okay, Sam?

- It's bright in here.

You okay, Phill?

But Phill's hair is different.

- [chuckles]

- So-so.

Nice to see

someone sees me as a thr*at though.

[Amanda chuckles]

I think the player

who gave me the gift box is

[musical swell plays and intensifies]

player 451, Phill.

[gentle intriguing music plays]

[automated voice] The next player

to be eliminated is

player 019.

[ominous tone plays]

[Hallie] I might be feeling guilty

about my decision

to put the box on Amanda's desk

[flickers]

but by the same token,

I think $4.56 million

may soften the blow a little bit.

[tender music plays]

[dramatic musical flourish plays]

[Elliott] In these top nine players,

I do honestly believe

my biggest thr*at is Mai.

In every game,

she's always come out smelling of roses,

and some of us aren't really sure how.

So I'm gonna go for Mai.

And hope that she thinks it's Ashley.

[growling, ominous music plays]

[Mai] In my profession as an adjudicator,

I analyze people.

I read people's faces.

Their eye movements

and the way they sit,

if they are fidgety,

and, uh, how they looked at me,

you know, to compile a result.

I'm confident, uh, to play in this game.

[sighs heavily]

It is a very, very hard decision.

[Ashley] This is a crazy opportunity,

you know, and I'd be a damn fool

not to take advantage of it.

I'm definitely trying to look guilty.

[suspenseful music plays]

[Mai] I know we had our differences,

and I know you have a strong character,

but I don't think it's you.

Sam.

You have everything going for you.

We had our chat

and it could be you.

Elliott.

I think that, uh,

it might be you.

Phill.

I just got to know you.

- And it's been a pleasure.

- It has.

So I have made my decision.

Uh, I think the player is

[music intensifying]

Because he has been looking around

with a guilty look.

[tense music plays]

[automated voice] The next player

to be eliminated is

[music intensifying]

player 429.

[Ashley] Oh!

[Elliott] I had an idea that maybe Mai

wouldn't suspect it was me

and maybe one of the other players.

It was great to meet you all.

But ultimately I failed,

and she succeeded.

[Hallie] She's really intuitive.

She's a smart lady.

Mai has a good head on her shoulders.

[flickers]

["Summer" from The Four Seasons

by Vivaldi plays]

[Ashley] Mai is so smart,

and this is a wake-up call for everyone.

[dramatic musical flourish plays]

[ominous tone plays]

[Rose sighs] This is hard, you know.

I have friends,

but, like, I don't have alliances.

I'm choosing player 451.

I've been very friendly with him,

but, uh, I haven't

really gotten close to him.

[musical swell plays]

[dark pulsing music plays]

[Phill exhales steadily]

[Sam] My heart sinks.

It's such an awful feeling

to see the box on Phill's desk.

I'm afraid.

[clicks tongue softly]

[Phill] So,

one of you has tried to eliminate me.

I have my suspicions.

[musical swell plays and rises]

Rose.

We never got to know each other too well,

and I feel like it's kind of my fault.

I could've approached first,

and I'm sorry.

Ashley.

You're a good person.

Thank you.

There can be only one decision today,

and I think the player

that gave me the gift box

is someone

who had to make a difficult choice

through no fault of their own.

[music intensifying]

I believe it was Rose, player 051.

[dramatic musical flourish plays]

[intriguing music plays]

[automated voice] The next player

to be eliminated is

player 051.

- Oh!

- [Sam gasps]

Yeah.

Bye, Rose.

[stressful music plays]

[flickers]

[sighs]

[Sam] Two more rounds.

I'm just hoping

I don't get drawn or get the box,

and then my place

in the final three will be cemented.

[dramatic music plays]

[mouthing silently]

[Ashley] This game is savage.

I'm definitely not putting

my present on Mai's desk

because she's gonna guess me right away.

I will have to put my present

on someone's desk

who I'm, you know,

a bit more familiar with.

[music intensifying]

So I put the present on Phillip's desk.

We're pretty cool,

'cause no way

he would ever guess that I did it.

[dramatic tone plays]

[clicks tongue sadly]

[suspenseful music plays]

Here we go again.

Sam, my dude.

You've been talking

about us hanging out after.

Maybe it was all fake.

Hallie.

It must be hard not being the person

with the most beautiful hair in the room.

And Ashley.

Friend turned foe, perhaps? Could be.

Or was it Mai?

So sweet. So gentle.

I have made my choice.

[ominous tone plays]

I think the player

that gave me the gift box

is someone that had to make a decision

that they did not want to make.

And I believe that this is a good person.

But I think the player

that gave me the gift box is

[music intensifying]

player 278, Ashley.

[ominous tone plays]

[sweeping, suspenseful

classical music plays]

And it's not personal.

[automated voice] The next player

to be eliminated is

player 278.

[Phill gasps]

Bye, Ashley.

[Ashley sighs] I did not

wanna hear those words.

I was trying not to look

all worried and shifty.

You know, I will never win my Oscar.

- Came so close, but not close enough.

- [flickers]

[sighs heavily]

Please don't do that to me again.

- [Phill laughs]

- [sighs]

[Sam] My mind melts

that Phill has done it again.

He's like a superstar

at Circle of Trust at this point.

This is incredible.

[automated voice] Attention, players.

This is the final round.

[gloomy music plays]

[ominous musical flourish plays]

[tense droning music plays]

[sighs]

[sighs, chuckles]

[Hallie inhales sharply]

I knew it was coming.

I feel like it could be any three of you,

because you guys

aren't gonna pick each other.

It'd be risky for you to pick someone

sitting right next to you.

But you're very agile.

You're very athletic.

So I wouldn't put it past you.

And as Mai once told me,

you have a very innocent face.

But I know that you also

wouldn't put it on Sam's desk.

And I know that you know

that they're not gonna pick each other.

So, if you had put it on my desk,

your chances of not being guessed

are a little bit better.

[music intensifying]

[ominous tone plays]

It's so hard because Mai is shaking.

I'm always shaking. I'm always nervous.

Because this is the end.

This is the chance for the final three.

We're all nervous.

[Hallie] Player 016

is immediately nervous talking.

He's tense.

But then Mai is shaking like a leaf,

and in the past few days,

I've developed kind of a distrust of Mai.

I think that 451

is appearing to be the calmest.

Nah, I can't read them.

[clock ticking]

[breathes deeply]

It's been real, guys. [laughs]

I think that the player

who gave me the gift box

[clock ticking more and more intensely]

is player 287.

Mai.

[gentle arrangement of Beethoven's

"Fifth Symphony" plays]

[automated voice] The final player

to be eliminated is

player 355.

Bye.

[Hallie] I'm just kicking myself.

I let the events earlier this week

get in the way

of what my gut was trying to say.

- [Sam sighs]

- [flickers]

[Hallie] And I wish

that I could turn back time

and be in that top three, but I can't.

That was the hardest decision

I've had to make in this whole game.

And it sucks.

I didn't have the heart to pick Sam.

He's been too good of a friend to me

this whole time.

So then that means

it's between Hallie and Mai,

both of whom are very sweet.

[Mai sighs]

In that moment, I had to make a choice,

and so I went for Hallie.

[Mai sobs]

[automated voice] Players,

the game is over.

[tender classical music plays]

You will now return to the dorm.

Please follow the staff.

[Sam, softly] It's okay.

Take the middle.

[door opens]

Oh my gosh.

This is so surreal.

[Sam] It looks like

the water level rose or something.

How are you feeling, Mai?

My heart stopped for six sittings.

- Yeah. It wears on you.

- Yeah. Literally.

How How many times

did you have to give someone the box?

Um, one.

And you, just once?

Just once.

I chose Hallie.

Roland, I wasn't expecting

right off the bat.

- [Phill] No, me neither. That was tough.

- Who was Who do you think put

[Phill] I genuinely have no idea.

- Did you?

- Hmm?

Did you put the box on Roland's desk?

Whose box did you put on the desk?

It was, uh Um, who'd I put on the desk?

'Cause Elliott put it on yours

I put it on Amanda.

- Oh, you put it on Amanda's desk.

- [Phill] Wow.

[buzzer plays on speaker]

Come on!

- My gosh, that was loud.

- [Mai] Loud.

- I hated that. Come on, you guys.

- [Mai] That was very loud.

[tense music plays]

[square guard] Attention, players.

Here are the results of the sixth game.

- [groans]

- Oh, man.

[counter ticking]

- [Mai] That is a lot of people.

- [Sam sighs]

[ominous tone plays]

[square guard] Six players

were eliminated.

Wow.

[device beeps]

[whirring and clanging]

[bank chimes digitally]

[Sam] It's no longer a game of trust.

One of us has to be a winner.

[bank chimes digitally]

[Sam] All bets are off.

[eerie flute music plays]

[square guard] The prize fund

now stands at $4,530,000.

Players 016, 287, and 451,

you are the finalists.

sh*t.

[creepy choral music plays]

[Mai] The game

is all about self-preservation.

I have to do what I have to do to survive.

[Sam] I will definitely do

everything I can to win.

[Phill] You just don't know

anybody in here.

Money changes people sometimes.

[ominous tone plays]

[dramatic tone plays]

[tense pulsing music plays]

[sweeping classical music plays]

[square guard] You are the winner

of Squid Game.

[ominous theme music plays]