Netflix
SPOILER ALERT: Only read if you have seen the first five episodes of Squid Game: The Challenge on Netflix.
Anyone who watched the exciting reality show version of Squid Game on Netflix was undoubtedly touched by the plight of Spencer Hawkins, aka Player 299 – the poor guy whose team competed in the Dalgona Cookie Challenge Had to get out umbrellas.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hawkins said that his decision to join Squid Game: The Challenge was actually based on the fact that he was a cancer survivor, and not because he was obsessed with the South Korean thriller, which debuted on Netflix in 2021.
“I wasn’t a die-hard fan,” he admitted. “The main reason I signed up for the show was because I was recovering from cancer a few years ago and it made me much more conscious about the things I wanted in my life, which were deep human connections and unique experiences. This show gave me the opportunity to meet new people and hopefully win money to take care of the people I care about.”
But when he became leader of a team that had to take on the cookie challenge — in which players had to cut a circle, triangle, star or umbrella out of a honeycomb cookie without destroying the whole damn thing — Hawkins became terrified and plagued with nausea.
“It was a challenging day,” he said. “Once the decision was made as to which cookie shape each of us would get, it took a few hours for the different groups to line up, and so I had to be separated from my line for a while before I could even get back to them. During this time, I tried to get into the mental space to prepare for the game by drinking a lot of water while trying to keep spit in my mouth so that I was physically exhausted while feeling all the emotions. And then it’s finally time to get into the room, and there’s not much energy left.”
Hawkins admits that seeing the pain on his teammates’ faces made him sick. “Difficulty for myself is something I can deal with. But when it comes to difficulties for others, that is my responsibility,” he said. “It’s a weight that doesn’t really go away. It was like seeing friends who were hurting, because that’s how I ended up seeing everyone else there as friends. I felt physically ill.”
Hawkins was ultimately eliminated from the competition when he broke his cookie. “I was very close. I mentioned that I rushed it a bit and that is an understatement. With about five minutes left, I was left with the little hook inside the umbrella. And I held it up and I could see how close I was, but the nervousness that I had at that point, I just couldn’t take it anymore. My hands shook a little too much and I fell apart. You have to prepare to win and now you realize: “I didn’t win. And not only did I not win, but other people didn’t win because of me.” I was sad, but I met people and had the pleasure of speaking to some of them as we drove back to our hotel afterwards, and I’m grateful for this experience.”
Hawkins also spoke about participating in the Red Light, Green Light competition, which is now the cause of two contestants’ threats to file a lawsuit over injury claims. The players claimed they suffered hypothermia and nerve damage while shooting in frigid conditions in Britain.
Similar to the old schoolyard game Red Light, in Green Light players must avoid the attention of a menacing robot doll.
“In my first pose, I stopped mid-lunge, so I expected to be able to hold it for a while and then start running again. But no, I definitely kept this up for many minutes, my legs shaking when I finally had the chance to move. From then on, every time we came to a red light, I tried to just stand up straight. One of my best friends in the game just ran as fast as he could, then dove and fell on his face, and that was his strategy. I could imagine a few people using that as their strategy. They wouldn’t have to worry about movement if they just lay on the floor.”