The true, soul-crushing meaning behind one seemingly innocent scene in Netflix’s Squid Game will blow your mind.

People were sure Squid Game was going to pack a gut punch this time as well. After waiting for a second season for so long, the fans literally gobbled up each and every episode this season had to offer in no time, along with all the heartbreaks they brought.

The lollipop scene in Squid Game | Credits: Netflix

Perhaps the most soul-crushing moment comes in the second episode of the season. Here is the real meaning behind the lollipop scene.

Breaking down the lollipop scene in Squid Game Season 2

In Squid Game season 2, episode 2, life’s cruel randomness takes center stage through the story of Na-yeon and No-eul. The show never explains why Na-yeon, a young girl at the amusement park, is passed over for a lollipop while others around her happily receive theirs. There is no agenda there, it just happens. This small moment reflects a much larger truth about the show’s greater themes: luck, or the lack of it.

Just when it seems Na-yeon has been forgotten, No-eul, played by Park Gyu-young, steps in. She’s the only employee to notice Na-yeon’s disappointment and offers her a piece of candy, displaying a rare act of kindness in an otherwise insensible world. For Na-yeon, No-eul becomes a small beacon of hope.

Park Gyu-young in Squid Game Season 2 Episode 2 | Credits: Netflix

But life doesn’t let hope linger for long. As No-eul soon quits her job to join the Masked Men, leaving behind the pink bunny mascot costume for something much more sinister. For Na-yeon, the figure who brought her a moment of joy disappears into the ruthless system of the Squid Game, or perhaps, into the real world.

Peeling back the layers of the lollipop scene, the true meaning behind it!

But that’s not the whole story. On the surface, the lollipop scene seems like a straightforward moment about bad luck, but its deeper meaning cuts even sharper. To really twist the knife, let’s compare it to the broader themes of Squid Game.

The show from the beginning doesn’t shy away from showing the indifferences of the world, how some people are shoved into tougher circumstances than others, often through no fault of their own.

There’s no grand reason why the elites live in their ivory towers while people like Gi-hun are left to struggle to survive one day at a time. One can say it is just sheer dumb luck.

A still from Squid Game | Credits: Netflix

The players’ belief that they have a better chance in the Squid Game than in the real world reveals just how difficult it is for people without privilege to survive. Na-yeon’s simple bad luck with the lollipop thus revealed the fact that fate often hinges more on random chance than on merit or ability.

The lollipop scene simply states that sometimes in life things don’t happen for a reason, it’s just the way the cards fall, and you’re left to deal with the consequences.

This seemingly innocent scene does more than tug at the heartstrings. In just a few simple minutes, just how powerful the thought process behind Squid Game is, can make fans realize that there is no good or bad person playing the game, only those caught in the randomness of their circumstances, and desperate to break free.

Squid Game Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.