Episode 4 of Squid Game, Stick to the Team, marks a major shift in how players must survive—not just through the deadly games but through every waking moment in the dorms. With tension rising and desperation at its peak, the players are forced to adapt quickly to new dangers. In this episode, alliances begin to form, while new layers of the game’s operations are revealed—including a shocking black market scheme happening behind the scenes.
Hunger Breeds Violence
The episode opens with tension in the air as meals are distributed—but there’s not enough for everyone. Whether it’s intentional or not, five players are left without food. That moment sparks violence. One desperate player lashes out and kills another to claim their meal. The guards do nothing to stop it.
Instead, the rules become even clearer: if a player dies—whether during a game or not—the prize money increases. This revelation changes everything. It’s no longer just about playing children’s games to survive; it’s now about watching your back at all times.
With the dorm now a kill zone, players become restless. Sleep is dangerous. Trust becomes rare. Would you be able to lie down and rest knowing the person beside you might eliminate you before the next game even starts?
Secret Operations in the Shadows
As chaos builds in the dorms, another story unfolds quietly behind the scenes. A few guards, working off-script, are secretly transporting some “eliminated” players through an alternate route—one not headed for the incinerator. Instead, these bodies are being harvested for organs and sold on the black market.
A player with medical skills has been working with these guards in exchange for clues about upcoming games. It’s a terrifying reminder that the games aren’t the only danger. While the organizers project order and equality, corruption still seeps in, and some lives are clearly worth more than others—to someone.
This subplot is disturbing and revealing. It shows us that even within the confines of this so-called “structured” game, people are still finding ways to exploit the system for their own gain.
Team 4 Faces the Rope
The game in this episode is a deadly version of Tug-of-War. Ten players on each team. A towering height. A rope between them. The losers? They fall to their deaths.
Gi-hun’s team (Team 4) seems doomed from the beginning. They lack brute strength and are seen as the weakest group in the matchups. But Player 001, the elderly man, steps up with strategy over muscle. His childhood experience in the game provides a rhythm and technique to maximize their chances.
When their strength begins to falter, Sang-woo takes a gamble. He orders the team to take a sudden, unexpected step forward—throwing the opposing team off-balance. That calculated risk, combined with coordination and timing, gives Team 4 the edge they need.
They survive. But the emotional toll is real. Winning means watching ten other people fall to their death. There is no celebration. Only silence, shock, and heavy breathing.
Final Thought:
I couldn’t help but think: could I ever sleep in that dorm, knowing someone might attack just for food or money? The fact that players are now responsible for killing other players—either in a game or in the dorm—makes this whole environment even more hostile.
The black market twist is chilling. It reveals that while the Front Man maintains a strict order, not every piece of the machine is following protocol. And the Tug-of-War scene? Intense. I was holding my breath the whole time. What looked like a hopeless mismatch turned into a triumph of brains over brawn.
Still, every win is haunted by the bodies it costs. That’s what makes Squid Game so disturbing—you’re constantly being asked what you’d do if you were that desperate.
Coming Up Next: A Fair World
The game may claim to be equal for all, but this episode will push that idea to the breaking point. As violence erupts in the dorm and secrets start to spill, the truth about the game’s fairness—and its rules—gets even murkier. Don’t miss the next recap, as lines blur between survival and savagery.