Squid Game (2021) - Hwang Dong-Hyuk

  

(Spoilers ahead, duh)

The main viewpoint in the show comes from Seong Gi-hun (No. 456) as he competes against 455 others by playing classic playground games in the hopes of winning 45.6 billion won and to escape their overwhelming debts. 

 

The order of the games is as follows: 

 

1.     Red Light, Green Light

2.     Picking the shape out from the honeycomb 

 

*Unofficial game – players being pushed to the point of killing each other in the night* 

 

3.     Tug of War

4.     Competing to get your chosen partners set of 10 marbles (players decide their own rules) 

5.     Getting across a glass bridge by deciphering which panels are tempered and which are just glass. 

6.     The Squid Game 

 

Throughout the show we are introduced to other characters in the game and given glimpses into their motivations and reasons for playing. Each character fits into their roles nicely i.e Ali is the nice guy, Sang-woo is self-servicing but clever, Gi-Hun is our incredibly lucky main character etc.

 

 We are also introduced to the detective Hwang Jun-Ho who believes that solving the mystery of the game will allow him to find his long missing brother. Technically he’s not wrong but his brother IS the front man who then kills him (probably not the outcome he planned for).  

 

In the end Gi-hun wins the game after Sang-woo kills himself and the unsuspecting old man (Oh Il-nam) was the mastermind all along. 

 

Opinions to steal: 

 

-       The show tried to be too clever making its clues so open which made a few of the twists quite predictable (clues will be included in a future post so you can pretend you’re a proper fan) 

 

-       The games being ones played on a playground adds a sense of innocence and false confidence which is nicely contrasted by the constant murder. 

 

-       The ending is incredibly frustrating. 

 

Relevant trends (TikTok): 

 

-       People making their own honeycomb shapes

-       Jokes made on how people would fare in “Red Light, Green Light”