Squid Game's Han Mi-nyeo makes it through the marble round – but if she had no one to play with, why was she allowed to live? Also known as Squid Game player 212, Mi-nyeo is a breakout fan-favorite in the popular Netflix drama, which pits 456 players against each other in a series of playground-inspired death games. Throughout Squid Game, the feisty Mi-nyeo makes it clear that she’ll do anything she can and has to in order to survive and get the 45.6 billion won grand prize.
Mi-nyeo’s erratic behavior is exacerbated by the gangster Jang Deok-su, who promises to stay with her till the end, but betrays her shortly after. As the players are told to pair up, Mi-nyeo finds out the hard way that there is an odd number of players left, resulting in her being the odd one out. In order to not get eliminated, Mi-nyeo begs the others to pair up with her instead, but it doesn’t work and she is dragged away by the guards. However, after the marble game, in which a handful of Squid Game’s main cast of players die, the surviving players are surprised to find that Mi-nyeo is still alive, and continues to be eligible for the grand prize.
The simple explanation for this is that Squid Game’s organizers want to maintain the illusion that the players are equal. When nobody pairs up with Mi-nyeo, it’s mainly because of the uneven number of players left, and their disdain for Mi-nyeo is just secondary. If Mi-nyeo managed to find a partner, which would leave someone else without a partner to play with, then that player’s survival would’ve been ensured instead. Killing Mi-nyeo just because she didn’t have a partner to play with wouldn’t be congruent with the Front Man’s claims that Squid Game is about fairness and equality.
Moreover, being eliminated just for not having a partner would’ve been an underwhelming death for such a beloved and interesting character. In the end, Mi-nyeo’s death and final sacrifice sees her fulfilling her promise to Deok-su – that she would kill Deok-su if he ever betrays her. When Squid Game organizers decided to let Mi-nyeo live after the marble game, it also allowed the show to set up Mi-nyeo’s satisfying final revenge against Deok-su, which is one of Squid Game’s most memorable moments.
In short, Mi-nyeo was spared after the marble game not just because it’s the fair thing to do, but also because the show had a much more awesome death planned for both Mi-nyeo and Deok-su. Their shared death is certainly a fitting tribute to the two most volatile characters to wear the Squid Game player uniform.