Squid Game Behind-The-Scenes Video Explores The Most Brutal Tug Of War Game Ever

It's been nearly two months since "Squid Game" debuted on Netflix, and we still can't get enough. It'll be a while before we've all collectively recovered from the devastating reveal of episode 6, "Gganbu," and mourned the lives of the fictional characters lost over the course of the games. But to help ease the pain, Netflix has released some behind-the-scenes footage to provide an inside look at how they made "Squid Games" look so thrilling, and get to see the personalities of some of the actors on the show.

The new video features a compilation of clips from throughout the series, with show creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk offering his expertise to the cast and crew. Everything from how Dong-hyuk instructed actors to react to the deaths during the dalgona candy carving scene to the impressive way they pulled off the exploding glass platform are shown without the final visual or sound effects. Between takes, the camera allows some of the performers to show more of who they are outside of their characters. If you weren't already in love with Jung Ho-yeon — the actor who plays player 067, Kang Sae-byeok — these videos will make sure of it.

Most notably, the behind-the-scenes featurette explains how expertly crafted the Tug of War challenge was, including moments like Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) almost falling off of the platform. Check out the video below to see how it all went down.

For obvious reasons, the Tug of War competition wasn't actually played on a platform high enough off the ground to kill anyone who fell off of it. But to keep things as realistic as possible, the actors all had to legitimately pull on the rope. When the actors' feet slide across the platform, they're not acting, they're genuinely being pulled by the rope and trying to keep their balance. Movie magic can do a lot of things, but we've not quite developed the technology to fake Tug of War.

The camera stays on the actors as they sweat, scream, and act their freakin' hearts out. Even surrounded by blue screens and with cameras in their faces, you can't help but be captivated by all of their performances. Lee Yoo-mi, the actor who played player 240, Ji-yeong, at one point giggles after a "cut" call saying, "My hands are shaking." We even get a glimpse at Gi-hun's near-fall off the platform, safely rigged with a wire to prevent the actor Lee Jung-jae from actually falling off, and allowing the space to make the near-fall look as dramatic as possible.

Perhaps most interesting is watching Dong-hyuk direct the death scenes during the dalgona scene. Rather than play triggering sounds of gunfire, Dong-hyuk merely yells "BANG!" through a megaphone, and the field of actors all flinch as if they've just heard a gun go off. It's a true testament to all of the actors, extras included, and to Dong-hyuk for keeping a safe set for all involved.