This article contains spoilers for the first nine episodes of Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge.
The first batch of Squid Game: The Challenge dropped on Netflix on November 22, and after a five-episode binge, viewers were left on a cliffhanger knowing the mother-son duo of LeAnn and Trey was about to be broken up by a heartwrenching game of marbles.
But, did No. 301 and No. 302 know they sealed their partnership’s fate by choosing to enjoy a picnic together?
First, let’s rewind.
LeAnn and Trey descended onto the U.K.-based film set earlier this year and competed alongside each other for the $4.56 million grand prize. Out of the 456 contestants, LeAnn and Trey received more screen time than virtually anyone else through the first six episodes.
Over the moon about sharing the historic experience with his mom, the 25-year-old’s main narrative was him looking out for LeAnn, who was a 64-year-old retired newspaper editor at the time of filming. Through thick and thin, LeAnn and Trey played side by side while hundreds of others were eliminated in childhood games like “Red Light, Green Light” and “Warship.”
But, their storybook journey had its end written by “Marbles,” Squid Game: The Challenge’s fourth game.
Like the competition show’s inspiration, Squid Game, pairs of two faced off in a head-to-head duel with the loser being eliminated from Netflix’s newest franchise. “Marbles” was used to sever close bonds in the scripted series, and it accomplished the same thing in the reality show.
Like Squid Game, the twosomes were chosen by the remaining players.
Baited by a picnic for two, the competitors quickly formed their duos, which included LeAnn and Trey joining forces. But, to their horror, the picnic basket included a bag of marbles, and the writing on the wall was illuminated.
After the picnic, the hopefuls battled it out in Marbles, and half of the roster was sent home. In LeAnn and Trey’s case, it was the latter who emerged victorious. Trey was later eliminated during “Glass Bridge,” however.
Entertainment Weekly caught up with Trey after episodes 6 through 9 were released on the streaming platform in late November. In the interview, Trey said the picnic came out of nowhere, and they didn’t have ample time to analyze the situation.
A picnic wasn’t used to determine the teams for Marbles in Squid Game. So, he and his mom decided to stick together.
“I never really considered pairing up with anybody different for that,” Trey said. “The instructions were sprung on [us] so suddenly and we didn’t really have much time to think about it. If we had more time to think about it, I think we may not have paired up together.”
But, as they stood in line awaiting their basket, it dawned on them that there was potential they just derailed their joint effort of making it to the end of Squid Game: The Challenge. But, they met it with optimism.
“Waiting in line for this blanket, we were like, ‘This might be Marbles.’ I was like, ‘If it is, that’s fine. One of us goes through no matter what.’ She was, on the other hand, very against us pairing up in that moment. But part of my decision-making was I don’t want my own paranoia to influence me having this really nice once-in-a-lifetime experience with my mom. I just wanted to do it so I could spend more time with her.”
Putting on his “reality TV producer” hat, Trey also looked at it as almost poetic — he and his mom dueling in Marbles after they spent the entire time protecting each other as kin. “Also, from a sort of meta perspective, I felt as though we played the whole game together, so it would only make sense if we played Marbles together,” Trey said. “That’s not strategic at all, but it sounds dope when I say it out loud.”
Trey said that when it was confirmed one of them would have their opportunity dashed that day, he was “devastated.” Before the game began, they had a back-and-forth about how to tackle the challenge — should one of them forfeit and allow the other to continue onward?
Well, they ultimately decided to go toe to toe in a dart-like contest which had them throwing marbles at a target drawn in the sand. Once their 10 marbles had been tossed, Trey had tallied the most points, and he moved on while his mother was “shot.”
It made a great TV moment, and although neither of the Plutnickis left the United Kingdom with a seven-figure check, their loser-go-home match was one for the books.
