Mai from Squid Game on The Challenge: The One Regret She's Holding Onto

Mai Whelan, the winner of Squid Game: The Challenge Player 287, has one regret from her time on the competition show.

The producers of Squid Game: The Challenge recreated many of the iconic games from the original Netflix series, but they also made additional tests and adjustments to ensure that the players wouldn't have to rely solely on their physical abilities.

Warships replaced Tug of War, and rock, paper, scissors replaced the final Squid Game. While it divided viewers, many challenges depended on luck or allegiances, leading to Mai being declared the winner of Squid Game: The Challenge and the $4.56 million prize. Although she's thrilled to be the champion, Mai has one major regret.

Squid Game’s Mai has one major regret from The Challenge

During her post-win interview with Netflix's Tudum, Mai expressed her lingering discomfort about having to betray her close friend Roland (Player 418) in the Circle of Trust game during the penultimate episode.

In this game, players sat in a circle and wore blindfolds. A player was randomly selected to quietly remove their blindfold and place a present on the desk of another player. If the player with the present couldn't guess who gave it to them, they were eliminated. Mai chose to target her "dear friend Roland," confident that she could get away with it.

She added: “I love the guy, but also I have to save myself first.” 

Netflix

Mai told Tudum that if she saw Roland at that moment, she would apologize to him, calling the decision to eliminate him the most difficult one she had to make in the competition. She went on to explain that she chose Roland because he trusted her a lot, and she had taken care of him like a mother in the game. She didn't want him to be eliminated, but she felt she had no choice if she wanted to avoid suspicion herself.

Mai acknowledges feeling guilty, but understands the necessity of making tough choices to survive in the game. "It's a solo game, and at this stage, you have to make tough decisions."

One decision she doesn't regret is nominating Ashley (Player 278) for elimination in the dice test. Ashley earned a reputation as one of the "villains" in Squid Game: The Challenge after defying the team's rules in Glass Bridge, resulting in the elimination of fan favorite Trey (Player 301).

In the subsequent dorm test, the players only needed to roll a dice – if they rolled a six, they were eliminated. They had the choice of nominating themselves or another player, and although everyone opted to nominate themselves, Mai – who went first – chose Ashley because of her behavior on Glass Bridge.

Netflix

Mai expressed her stance on the dice test, stating, "I remain firm in my decision... We were the only ones who comforted her at the end of Glass Bridge, and I was let down by her behavior because she seemed like a very resilient individual.

Squid Game: The Challenge is available to stream on Netflix now. You can check out more of our coverage below:

Editor's P/S

As a Gen Z fan of Squid Game, I was thrilled to hear about the new spin-off series, The Challenge. I was even more excited when I learned that Mai, one of my favorite characters from the original show, would be competing. Mai's journey on The Challenge was nothing short of remarkable. She faced numerous challenges, both physical and mental, and she always came out on top. Her determination and resilience were truly inspiring.

However, I couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment when Mai revealed her one regret from the competition. The fact that she felt guilty about betraying her close friend Roland in the Circle of Trust game shows that she is a compassionate and caring person. While I understand that she had to make tough choices to survive in the game, I still wish she could have found a way to spare Roland. Despite this one regret, I still believe that Mai is a deserving winner of The Challenge. She proved herself to be a strong and capable competitor, and I am excited to see what she does next.