Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Mingle forces the contestants to rebuild their groups every time the platform stops and a number is announced. Players left outside, or shut into rooms with the wrong number of people, are killed. Yong-sik is pulled into safety without his mother, who survives elsewhere. Young-mi is separated from Hyun-ju's group, and Myung-gi takes the available place before she can return. The locked door leaves Hyun-ju helpless as her friend is shot.
In the final pairing round, Young-il kills a man inside a room to leave only himself and Jung-bae, who witnesses the act in horror. The survivors return to a dormitory divided between the O voters who want another game and the X voters who want to leave. Jun-ho's team investigates a hatch on an island, but an explosive trap kills members of the search party. Back inside, the next vote ends in a tie after Young-il chooses to stop, requiring another ballot the following day.
Both camps try to protect their numbers before the repeat vote. Thanos and Nam-gyu corner Min-su in the bathroom and demand that he change sides. Myung-gi intervenes, calls other X voters to help and turns the intimidation into a confrontation between the two groups. Thanos also threatens Jun-hee, provoking Myung-gi further. Their fight becomes a struggle for breath as Thanos pins him down. Myung-gi draws a fork and drives it into Thanos's neck, turning the argument over votes into another deadly conflict.