It isn't just retail that is going to get destroyed -- the option-sellers may not have enough capital to hedge effectively. A lot of parties are going to be harmed by this; it is an expensive tuition payment to the school of hard knocks.

The most interesting technical thing about this fracas is the fact that WSB has managed to play the options-sellers off against the shorts to set this off. The kids have temporarily played the adults off against one another and caused an explosion.

In the end, the savvy and the lucky will have more capital than in the beginning, and the un-trained and unlucky are going to be very sad. In the meantime, food-fights are fun while the food is flying.