Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Player 001 approaches Gi-hun as another desperate contestant and asks for advice about the next game. Gi-hun expects dalgona and promises to share what he knows. In-ho wins the group's confidence and breaks up Thanos and Nam-gyu's attack on Myung-gi. He tells Gi-hun that his pregnant wife needs expensive medical treatment, presenting the contest as his remaining chance to save his family.
Dae-ho bonds with Jung-bae over their claimed Marine service, while Geum-ja recognizes that Jun-hee is pregnant. Myung-gi learns that Jun-hee intends to keep their child despite the collapse of their relationship. Among the guards, No-eul's practice of finishing wounded contestants threatens an organ-trafficking operation that depends on living bodies. The masked officer confronts her, but she refuses to help keep victims alive for the harvesters, placing herself at odds with the men controlling it.
The second round overturns Gi-hun's prediction. Teams of five must tie their legs together and finish a six-legged pentathlon, with one member handling each childhood game along the course. Gi-hun joins Jung-bae, Dae-ho, Player 001 and Jun-hee; Hyun-ju joins Geum-ja, Yong-sik, Young-mi and Seon-nyeo. The first teams struggle through the stations and are shot when time expires. Their deaths let the waiting contestants study the obstacles, but offer no guarantee of survival. Hyun-ju encourages a frightened Young-mi as their own turn begins.