I just had an interesting thought while drawing but I remember when everyone was bashing Sangwoo for only thinking about himself during the Marbles scene, but I don't think Ali was really thinking about Sangwoo either.
I should probably try to rephrase that, but technically he was, when he realized they were playing against each other, which meant one of them had to lose and die, and when he asked the guard if he can switch teammates, he still did care about Sangwoo and still was attached to him, but he was also trying to prioritize himself, because he has a family that still needs him, and he would risk anything for them.
But this is unlike during Red Light, Green Light, where he saves Gihun… I was thinking that maybe it was because it was instinctual, and he was physically very close to him at that time, which shows that bit of humanity that's still in someone compared to in an environment like that.
Additionally, I think the lights out scene showed that they had potential to have a great friendship. They were talking and sharing food, and if I remember, Sangwoo had allowed Ali to call him "hyung," which would make people think "Aww, so cute." But when you place these two against each other, that's where survival mode kicks in. And compared to his family, Ali had only known Sangwoo for a couple of days (they both knew that). And I believe one of the reasons why Sangwoo didn't just sacrifice himself for Ali instead of betraying him (because in episode two he tried to khs) is because he still had to get the money to take care of his mother.
So when Sangwoo introduces this “Oh hey I have a cheat code so we both can survive” concept, Ali—out of desperation—chooses to go along with it instead of holding a grudge against Sangwoo for lashing out at him. (Emphasis on the desperation, I don't want anyone thinking that I believe Ali is dumb.) This obviously then leads to Sangwoo lying and betraying him.
This is also one of the reasons why, as someone who has been hyperfixated on Ali for almost two years, I still can't bring myself to hate Sangwoo for getting Ali killed. He had prioritized himself out of survival instincts, but why should we act like Ali wasn't trying to prioritize himself too?
I might change my opinion, but that’s just what I think…
(I'm not hating on either of them, they're actually both in my top three favorite characters out of the entire three seasons… I was just pointing this out. They're both complexed in their own ways IMO.)
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