Review: SQUID GAME ~ The Nerve-wracking, Seat-edge Show that is Taking over the Internet

Playing the games we played as children to earn millions of money would be a snap, right? WRONG. Well, the well-known bubbly childhood games have taken a twist of  “life-at-stake” games in the Squid Game.

Squid Game. By now, you would have heard of this name. It has been blowing up on the internet since its release on September 17. It became the first Korean drama to hit the #1 spot in the USA and later in many countries. Sources say that it might be on its way to becoming the highest-grossing Netflix series ever. 

Synopsis

In an interview with Korea Times, director Hwang Dong Hyuk stated,

“Korea’s old children’s games, which were used in my series, are simple and old, but I saw the potential to make them appealing worldwide.”

In the interview, he even said that the two reasons for the popularity of the series would have been due to the simplicity of the games and engaging subplots.

Lee Sung Jae as Sung Gi Hun	Park Hae Soo as Cho Sang Woo
This divorced chauffeur is trying hard to make his ends meet while also staying off his mother’s (Kim Young Ok) earnings. He needs the prize money to save his diabetic mother and also claim custody of his daughter.	Gi Hun used to send this neighborhood kid off. He later entered the celebrated Seoul National University’s Business School, bringing pride to their entire colony. He enters the game because of being indebted with billions of money.
Wi Ha Joon as Hwang Jun Ho	Oh Young Soo as Oh Il Nam
The smart guy with excessive fan edits. He is the police officer who follows the squid game organizers in search of his missing brother, Hwang In Ho, who disappeared years ago.	Player No. 001, suffering from a brain tumor, seems to spend the last years of his life playing the games and therefore appears to be enjoying the games.
Jung Ho Yeon as Kang Sae Byeok	Kim Joo Ryung as Han Min Yeo
An escapee from North Korea who takes care of her brother and wants essentially to save her mother from the North.	A pretentious person who tries to be on the winning side by using her tactics and words. She makes sure she gets what she wants. She despised being betrayed the most.
Heo Sung Tae as Jang Deok Su	Anupam Tripathi as Abdul Ali
A brawny and tough person who tries pulling off a trick with his criminal boss and ends up completely broke. He doesn’t think twice about doing anything in order to win.	An immigrant worker from Pakistan, who is unpaid for his labor, is in need to protect his little son and wife.

All of the actors did an amazing job with their acting. The story, too, had me connect with their past so much that it made me more emotional than at normal times. No wonder their social media followers skyrocketed after the release.

While waiting at a metro station to board a train, Gi Hun is greeted by a mysterious man (Gong Yoo), who invites him to play a Korean traditional game ddakji (딱지) with a prize in money of 100,000 won for every time he wins. Considering it is just a child’s play, he proceeds and keeps losing, along with 100 grand per loss. By the time he defeats the man, he is only left with 100,000 won. He then invites Gi Hun to play more such games and win money. Initially, Gi Hun is surprised but later realizes that the guy knows too much of his personal details, leaving him curious. He also receives this small business card with different shapes.

All of the other players were lured into the game in a similar way.

Taking place at a remote unidentified island, Squid Games are a series of six games that are played along for a period of six days. The prize money increases by 100 million won every time a player is eliminated. The current games were off at the year 2020 with a participant count of 456 with a prize in money of 45.6 billion won.  

The rules for participation are:

1. A player is not allowed to stop playing.

2. A player who refuses to play will be eliminated.

3. Games may be terminated if the majority agrees. 

By elimination, one might think they might be sent home or will be stopped from participating in further games, right? Well, our players think so too. What they didn’t expect was for the sniper to eliminate them for real. Yikes!

The games were always the ones played during childhood, but they are never revealed before the game and leaving the players to guess if it would be an individual, duet or multiplayer game. They also had to guess if it would be patience-testing or strength testing. Their choices would decide their fate. 

Red Light Green Light (무궁화 꽃이 피었습니다), Sugar Honey Combs (설탕 뽑기), Tug-of-War (줄다리기), Marbles (구슬치기), Cross the bridge (징검다리 건너기) and Squid Game (오징어 게임)  were the games played in order.

(Further part of the article contains major spoilers!)

Then WHY were the squid games created?

In the last episode, when we are revealed that it was Player 001 behind all of this, he says that the Squid Games was all his idea, and he created it along with his other rich friends made for the purpose of entertainment. 

Being in possession of surplus amounts of money, everything in his life seemed bland and uninteresting. And so, he decided to play rather than watch for this edition to relive his childhood excitement in his last moments.

The major theme of the show is a survival game targeted towards a group of bankrupt individuals desperately in need of money.

Upon reaching episode 9, I got flashes of the American movie Escape Room, in which it is revealed towards the end that the entire purpose of the games was to entertain people.  

In the first episode of Squid Game, we see Gi Hun betting his money over horse games. We later realize that the players of Squid Game, too, are being placed bets over by the group of VIPs. 

Concept of humanity

In episode 9, the old man asks Gi Hun if he believes in humanity while betting over the life of an old man freezing to death on the streets.

In episode 2, he is the one who points out that the torture outside of the game is worse. 

From his dialogues, we can see that Il Nam always believed in the brutal, inhumane side of humanity. He even experienced betrayal through his partner Gi Hun in the marble game, who cheated in order to win. 

Perhaps by creating a brutal game, Il Nam wanted to put traitorous people against each other who experienced traitorous experiences in the outside world. At least in this world, they had a chance to earn money after experiencing brutality.

But winning after all the blood-shed be worth it?

Gi Hun lives life with guilt and despair even after winning a huge sum of 45.6 million won. What’s the point of it all if someone’s life is being destroyed?

The contrast between the colors blue and red

While Gi Hun was playing ddakji, and while boarding the mysterious van too, he had a blue cap on his head. But at the end of the series, he dyed his hair red.

Even the players wore a bluish-green tracksuit while the guards wore red.

I loved this division of colours which would be indicative of the power of control one would be having. When Gi Hun entered the game, he was innocent (blue), but as the game proceeded, he was winning at the cost of others’ lives and therefore painting him red. 

The slow-motion scene in episode 7 caught my attention. The breaking glass soon turned into drum sounds, and I think that particular moment depicted that while the players were getting hurt, the spectators would be celebrating their bets.

^{Picture credits: jurnalgarut}

All of the sets were colorful, like a child’s mind. They were aesthetically very beautiful if not for the consequences of losing there. 

The rooms of the players, on the other hand, were plain white. Even though the walls contained the clues for the next game, it was very difficult to notice. 

All in all, the series was a thrill ride that had everyone biting their nails while wondering what would happen next while also revealing some amazing twists. This 9 episode long show will have you finish it in a day.

There are many motives for a Season 2 to be scripted as we could see Gi Hun enter the games again to reveal the order of happenings inside the game.

Trigger warnings: Once again, a discretion for people uncomfortable with gore content. As this drama contains a heavy amount of gore, I would advise you not to watch it if you are uncomfortable with it.

What thoughts did you have after watching this series? 

Would you have entered these life-threatening game series? 

Let me know in the comments below.

_{Edited by: YW (1st editor) & Cookie (2nd editor)}

thriller
netflix
korean drama
wi ha joon
park hae soo
squid game
heo sung tae
lee sung jae
jung ho yeon
oh young soo
kim joo-ryung
anupam tripathi
lee yoo mi
kim young ok