Season 1 of Squid Game: The Challenge is over, and while Netflix was pleased enough to start casting for Season 2 immediately, controversy hangs over the game. After reports about people using condoms as chapstick and the producer calling out contestants after injury complaints, one popular contestant confessed he advanced in one game when he maybe shouldn't have.
Bryton Constantin, who Squid Game: The Challenge viewers may better know as Contestant 432, recently admitted that he was surprised he advanced in the cookie challenge. In a recently surfaced online Q&A, Constantin noted that he actually broke his cookie but was passed through to the next round for some reason (via The Tab):
The cookie challenge. I kind of lucked up, and my cookie broke, and I got passed, and I was really surprised.
What's hilarious to me is that Bryton Constantin fought to get the triangle, which is considered one of the easiest shapes to cut out in the game. To hear that he still failed after pushing so hard for it is pretty funny. However, as someone who has gone to bat with the hot take that Squid Game: The Challenge was better than the original series, the news he was advanced anyway is concerning.
Here's what we know about the next season of the scripted series.
There was nothing in the episode that indicated Contestant 432 failed, and he went on to the next round with his usual confidence and swagger. It raises questions about whether or not Squid Game: The Challenge altered the game for any other contestants. For those eliminated, it has to sting, considering no one was paid to play.
One has to wonder if Bryton Constantin was advanced due to his personality, as he stood out as a natural alpha and character amongst the hundreds of Squid Game: The Challenge contestants. Did they move him forward to keep the ongoing rivalry and storyline going with other players? If so, then it's rather strange that he was eliminated in the Warship game, which was the very next major challenge.
With the allegation out there that contestants were advanced despite failing, I can't help but think back to my suspicion tied to the Squid Game: The Challenge finale. As awesome as it was, I suspected the games of chance could be easily manipulated by the producers in various ways to ensure Mai Whelan won. Again, it's just a theory I had, but after hearing this from Bryton Constantin, one does have to wonder. Hopefully, if any interference did occur, it will be resolved before we all tune in to watch Season 2 with our Netflix subscriptions.
Watch Squid Game: The Challenge on Netflix right now, and prepare for Season 2 of the scripted series. Even with all the controversy circling the reality series, it's still a great watch and one that I highly recommend to anyone looking to catch up on the best programming the 2023 TV schedule has to offer.
