“I definitely don’t feel like I floated through the game,” Sam Lantz tells EW.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the season finale ofSquid Game: The Challenge.
“I’m so proud my favorite character!
Sam Lantz.Netflix
Maybe I’ll get to meet her one day.”
SAM LANTZ:Looking at it now, I see it was a one-in-three chance of being eliminated.
Don’t push until the end.
Sam, Phill, Mai.Netflix
I definitely don’t feel like I floated through the game I did my work under the radar.
I became friends with everyone.
It was all strategy.
What was your reaction when her button was gray, and it came down to you and Phill?
They had developed a closer relationship.
Now it’s me."
It never even crossed my mind for any real period of time that Phill should go.
It definitely did [cross my mind].
How did it feel when your button turned red?
Well, to quote [Player 229] Phalisia, my stomach was in my ass.
It was an awful feeling.
It was an awful feeling again to watch it, having it all yanked away from me.
What was your reaction when you found out Mai won?
Obviously, Phill’s my buddy, so I would’ve loved it if they had won.
I mean, I would’ve loved to have won it, but …
[Laughs] Of course.
I knew she had not put it on Amanda’s desk.
But it really didn’t matter.
I had no vendetta against her.
Yeah, I was close with Roland, but they all have to leave for one person to win.
Why did it seem like Mai got more heat than Ashley from the rest of the players?
There is a lot of emotion, a lot of pressure, a lot of stress.
you could’t all just helter-skelter on the bridge people will get hurt.
So there had to be an excessive amount of communication whenever a player moved.
None of us really saw what Mai was seeing.
She did take a jump.
My one thing is, ifweare not mad, why are [fans] mad for us?
We are projecting this feeling of love.
That’s not fair to the other people that played the game.
That’s not fair to Ashley she played the game.
Mai didn’t have to jump, she had [No.]
20 [in the Glass Bridge order].
She and I were both in a very lucky situation.
Nothing’s going to come of this negativity, these death threats, this hate.
We’ve learned lessons, we’ve all grown so much.
None of us are bitter, none of us are angry.
They were serious threats, and that’s a compliment more than anything.
What are you most proud of, looking back on your entire season?
The same thing helped me get as far as I did.
Because you’re able to be something for someone that that person didn’t have growing up.
I mean, I didn’t have a lot of representation growing up.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Squid Game: The Challengeseason 1 is now streaming on Netflix, andwill return for season 2.
