Netflix’s Squid Game has quickly become an international hit thanks to its intriguing plot, well-written characters, and unforgettable lines. The best quotes from the show stay with viewers long after they’re done watching the violent competition.
From the VIPs’ callous comments to the players’ poignant statements, there are a lot of memorable lines that could have only come from characters involved in the brutal contest. These quotes highlight the participants’ drive to survive each round, as well as the overseers’ twisted reasoning for creating and running the games.
“I’m Good At Everything, Except The Things I Can’t Do.” – Mi-nyeo
While Mi-nyeo isn’t the smartest character on the show, and she’s far from being the most likable, she does impress at points. In episode 3, fans get a chance to see how strategic she can be under pressure.
The player says this line when she’s trying to convince Deok-su to let her join his group. She’s immediately rejected by the gangster because he sees her as a liability who can’t contribute anything to the team. In the honeycomb game, Mi-nyeo proves him wrong by tossing him a smuggled lighter that helped him survive the round. This is one of the few instances where she shows she’s surprisingly good at manipulating others to get what she wants.
“I Don’t Have A Home To Go Back To. In Here, I Stand A Chance At Least. But Out There? I Got Nothing Out There.” – Player 322
In the episode “Hell,” the players have had enough of the wild competition and beg the guards to let them out. Sang-woo points out that they can end the games if the majority vote to do so. Unfortunately, several of the participants are convinced to stay after they see the prize money.
Some players become upset over how other participants are voting to stay. Someone from the crowd implores others to “think about what just happened out there,” referring to the deadly first game they all just experienced. Player 322 retorts with this line, which is likely what a lot of the other participants were thinking. The prize money is their last shot at a better life and they’d rather die trying to win than risk going back to the outside world empty-handed.
“This Is Hell. What Are The Rules In Hell?” – Deok-su
The fifth round is one of the hardest levels in Squid Game, as players have to cross a bridge of glass panels that can either break from or support their weight. Deok-su watches other players fall to their deaths in episode 7 and when it’s time for him to choose a glass panel, he turns around and forces other participants to go first.
He’s the first to realize that nobody actually has to follow the numbers assigned to them for this game. Much like the previous rounds, most of the “rules in hell” are arbitrarily decided and can be bent. Deok-su could’ve kept pushing people off of the platform if Mi-nyeo hadn’t stopped him.
“Good Rain Knows The Best Time To Fall.” – VIP
The last episode of the show, “One Lucky Day,” no longer hides the VIPs and The Front Man’s enjoyment of watching the violent competition. They can’t keep their eyes off of Gi-hun and Sang-woo’s final round together, where the two have to kill each other in a game they used to play as kids.
As the competition intensifies, one of the VIPs makes this callous comment when the rain starts to fall. It highlights how for them, the players’ hardships and emotional turmoil are all a form of entertainment. It doesn’t help that another VIP responds to this quote by saying “it sounds so romantic.”
“You Have A Reason To Leave This Place, But I Don’t.” – Ji-yeong
No one expected one of the most heartbreaking deaths on Squid Game to be the demise of a minor character on the show. Ji-yeong was only introduced in the fourth episode as a seemingly apathetic player with a snarky attitude.
In the sixth episode, fans learn about Ji-yeong’s tragic past and experiences with her abusive father. She has become close with Sae-byeok at this point and fulfills her promise of doing anything she can for her friend to survive. Ji-yeong courageously loses the game on purpose because, unlike Sae-byeok, she has no dreams or ambitions in the outside world and has no reason to keep going. Fans were likely choking back tears like Sae-byeok was as she walked away from the smiling Ji-yeong who was thanking her for being her friend.
“You Don’t Trust People Here Because You Can. You Do It Because You Don’t Have Anybody Else.” – Gi-hun
Before the special game or riots in episode 4, the likable character Gi-hun starts going around the dorm reminding his teammates to go to Il-nam’s bed when the lights go out. He walks up to Sae-byeok and tries to convince her to do the same, only to have her tell him that she doesn’t “trust people,” especially those who “end up in here.”
Gi-hun retorts with this powerful line, which seemingly gets through to the untrusting Sae-byeok. She has only relied on herself for most of her life, having to do everything on her own to get her family out of North Korea. This moment marks the beginning of her friendship with Gi-hun who she eventually learns to trust, so much so that she would even ask him to care for her brother before her death.
“Do You Know What Someone With No Money Has In Common With Someone With Too Much Money? Living Is No Fun For Them.” – Il-nam
The most shocking twist in the show happens in the last episode when Gi-hun learns that it was his old friend and “gganbu” who was responsible for the entire competition. He’s filled with anger as he stands next to Il-nam, who didn’t die in the fourth game because of him after all.
Il-nam tries to explain the origin of the contest to the perplexed Gi-hun, telling him about how difficult his life is as a rich person. He continues by saying “no matter what you buy, eat, or drink, everything gets boring in the end.” Gi-hun only becomes angrier because of this confession and the misguided philosophy behind the competition. Il-nam’s final words give him the motivation he needs to snap out of his two-year rut and fight back against the enigmatic Front Man and the VIPs.
“We’ve Already Come Too Far To End This Now.” – Sang-woo
When Gi-hun and Sang-woo play the titular squid game in the final round in episode 9, things intensify quickly as the two childhood friends stab, punch, and kick each other. They stop for a moment when Gi-hun realizes they’re fighting in the same location where the first round took place. It dawns on the protagonist how “so many people played” with them, “but now they’re dead.”
This is a horrifying moment of realization for Gi-hun, but for Sang-woo, it’s just a fact that should encourage them to keep going. He reminds Gi-hun that everyone is dead except for them, which is exactly why they can’t end the game now. It’s a scene that shows viewers how vicious Sang-woo can be and how determined he is to do whatever it takes to win the prize.