Contestants who took part in the wildly gripping Squid Game: The Challenge show have come to the defense of one of the players.
Netflix's latest reality show has left audiences hooked as it offers a real-world take on South Korea's 2021 thriller, Squid Game.
The original show saw 456 desperate individuals take part in a series of sadistic children's games in an effort to be the last person standing and take home a life-changing amount of money. The twist? When contestants were eliminated from a game, they were also eliminated from their mortal coil.
After the show became the streaming platform's most-watched series of all time - and one of the biggest global talking points - it was only natural that Netflix would release a spin-off of the show. This time, Squid Game: The Challenge offers 456 contestants the chance to play the same games seen in the show for a whopping $4.56 million - the biggest lump sum prize in reality show history.
Oh, and rather than being "eliminated" from life altogether, contestants are able to safely return home if they're booted from the competition. Check out the trailer for the show below:
Viewers will tell you that the new real-life series stays true to the original show - with the contestants being put through their paces as they play many of the same childhood games, including the infamous Red Light, Green Light.
The game features a giant singing doll, and whenever she calls "green light" and turns away, players must attempt to move towards a finish line. However, when she calls "red light" and turns back, players must freeze - anyone caught moving is eliminated from the game.
But with $4.56 million up for grabs, you'd think that all the contestants would take the game pretty seriously and make sure they remained as still as a statue, right? Well, that's not how it appeared to unfold on our screens.
At one point during the game, Player 385 can be seen freezing in a squatting position. Immediately, she regrets her decision, as she's heard saying: "Why did I squat?"
Her voiceover then says: "I'm literally in so much pain. But I cannot move, I cannot move. Keep focused, you can do this. Don't be a baby, you can't give up now. I keep hearing the pop-pop around me. And every time it's never me."
Sadly, the pain becomes too much for Player 385, and she gives in and sits on the ground. "Oh my God, it hurts so bad. I give up. I can't do it," she says, as she's brought to tears by her elimination.
The whole scene lasts about 50 seconds, and many viewers were quick to take to X (formerly known as Twitter) to call out the player for giving up so fast when $4.56 million was on the line.
"Why would 385 quit like that lmfao she really couldn’t hold a squat," one person wrote, with a second adding: "What a pathetic person, lost the chance to completely change her life with the cash prize of $4 million just because she couldn’t hold a SQUAT, for more than 30 seconds."
"Giving up $4.6 million because you can’t hold a squat for 20 seconds. These people don’t have that dog in them," another added.
However, now many of the contestants of the show have spoken out about the making of the game, and revealed that all was not how it seemed.
Melissa Rimsza - who was Player 326 on the show - has created a TikTok account and is sharing several behind-the-scenes secrets from the show. Speaking of Red Light, Green Light, she revealed in one video: "Red Light, Green Light did not take five minutes like it looks like in the show. I think that the last round of people to make it through ended up playing for almost eight hours. I was playing for about four-and-a-half.
"But every single time that they stopped the clock - I mean, we were standing there for between 20 and 45 minutes, and I know because I counted the seconds."
Rimsza then adds: "So they showed that girl in the squat, and it's like, 'Ok, she can't hold the squat for like 10 seconds or whatever?' No, it was literally probably like 30-45 minutes that she had to hold that squat for."
This revelation also highlights why so many contestants chose to dive to the ground and lie down during the game - as lying on the ground for a prolonged period of time is much easier than trying to stand.
Not only did contestants have to endure minutes holding the same position, but Rimsza also noted that temperatures on the day of filming were freezing - an issue that has also been raised by other contestants on the show who are already threatening legal action.
The first five episodes of Squid Game: The Challenge are currently available to stream on Netflix, with the next four being aired on November 29.
The grand final will air on December 6, as the world learns who will go home with $4.56 million!
