*Spoilers Ahead!*
Basis of the Story & Character Study:
Would you like to play children’s games for billions of Korean won? Make sure you don’t get eliminated! Squid Game is arguably the most popular TV show on the planet at the moment. It was released about a month ago, and 132 million people have seen it since. The Korean show is about 456 contestants that sign up to play a series of children’s games for a massive sum of money. First, a man in a suit approaches a potential contestant in public (usually a subway station) and asks if they want to play a game for 100,000 won, which is about $80 dollars USD. If you win at least one round, he would have given you the money and a card with a phone number.
Our main character, Gi-hun, calls the number and is instructed to be at a certain place at a certain time. As he is waiting in the streets, a van pulls in front of him just when he isn’t looking. He gets in the car and is heavily sedated, causing him to fall asleep, so he does not know where he is going. He wakes up along with the rest of the 455 participants in a large room with white walls and bunk beds. Only a few minutes later the games begin and they have no idea what they’re in for.
Character Rundown:
Sae-Byeok (067) – A teenage North Korean refugee who steals for her survival.
Gi-hun (456)– Our main character. A poor middle-aged man gambles all his money away with a complicated relationship with his daughter and ex-wife.
Ali Abdul (199)– A man from Pakistan who moved to South Korea in search of a job. Also, a total sweetheart.
Oh Il-nam (001)– An old man with dementia with secret ties to the game.
Sang-woo (218) – A manipulative, fraudulent businessman in severe debt.
What Critics Are Saying:
Why has the show gained such popularity? There is a multitude of opinions, and all parties have valid ideas. Currently, “Squid Game” has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.2/10 on IMDb, and 4.6 stars on Google. Critic Alan Sepinwall from Rolling Stones says, “For the most part, writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s mix of high and low elements like that works incredibly well,” and Judy Berman from TIME Magazine wrote, “A twisty, fast-paced, action-packed show whose episodes end in killer cliffhangers-in other words, the ultimate binge bait.” Although the majority agree that “Squid Game” is an amusing, suspenseful, and overall interesting show, no series is perfect, and many critics disagree with these positive reviews.
Some believe the show revolves around an overused idea that we’ve seen many times before: the lower class risking their lives in a series of life-threatening games for the amusement of the rich, and others don’t like the show because of its overly-gruesome content. Comparing “Squid Game” to “Joker,” Daniel D’Addario from The Variety wrote, “Murder is fetishized as a way to raise the stakes in a hazily political conversation without proposing a solution. In both ‘Joker’ and ‘Squid Game,’ the concept of economic equality floats thickly in the air before the killings start, with ‘Squid Game’’s broad cross-section of the modern Korean underclass ultimately explored more as avatars of unluckiness or unfairness than as characters”, and New York Times’ Mike Hall shared his thoughts on the show’s graphic content by writing, “And what that also accomplishes, of course, is to provide cover for the violence, which is more than mildly sickening in its scale, its graphic presentation and its calculated gratuitousness. Well, before the hero, Gi-hun (Lee), was playing the titular game in the final episode with a steak knife sticking through his hand, I’d had enough.”
I, personally, agree with many of the arguments stated previously, but the unique twist on a well-known basic plot, with the children’s games and creative set design, and erratic character relations made this show an incredible binge.
Theories:
Because of how popular the show got in recent weeks, people have started coming up with theories for why things happen and for what could happen in future seasons. Here are some of the most popular ones.
- At the beginning of the show, when the man in the suit askes Gi-hun to play ddakji, a paper throwing game, he had the option to play red or blue. The theory is that if you choose red you are the workers and blue you are the players. The evidence is that in episode one, Gi-hun chooses the blue and in episode 9, the man in the suit challenges someone else and they choose blue as well.
- At the end of the show, the policeman, Hwang Jun-ho, was shot in the right shoulder which is nowhere near his heart. Although he fell off the cliff, they never showed his dead body on screen as the other characters. The theory is that he faked his death, escaped, and will come back in season two (maybe as a player).
- When the VIPs showed up, one of them mentioned that Korea had the best one. This made fans speculate that there are other games around the world. The theory continues stating that it’s possible that the American version was “Hunger Games” and the Japanese version was “Alice in Borderland.” What if all of these were connected and the VIPs traveled around to watch and bet on them?
- Another one is that the old man, Oh Il-nam, is Gi-hun’s father. This gets supported because one-day Gi-han says that he doesn’t like regular milk and needs to have chocolate milk which makes the old man ask Gi-hun if he was spanked a lot as a child because his son, who was just like him, was. Also, during the marble game, the old man and Gi-hun both agreed that the set looked exactly like the neighborhood they used to live in. The theory says that he did all of that just to find his son because he knew that his ex-wife needed help and Gi-hun was the only way that he might be able to save her.
- There’s a highly supported theory that all of the character deaths were foreshadowed earlier in the series. Player 101, Jang Deok-su, was being chased by debt collectors so he jumped off a bridge and he died by falling off the glass bridge. Player 067, Sae-Byeok, put a knife to the throat of the broker and she died because the workers never officially said, “Player 067, eliminated” which has left fans to think that she might still be alive, somehow.
What would be in an American Squid Game?
The globally-known “Squid Game” is gaining popularity worldwide, but what would be in an American Squid Game? Here’s what we think:
Game 1: Simon Says – Everyone is scattered around the room and an animatronic Barbie doll is playing as “Simon.” She calls out actions, and if you do it when she doesn’t say “Simon says…” then you are eliminated.
Game 2: Dodgeball – Those remaining from the first game are split in half for a large game of dodgeball. The timer is set to 5 minutes and in those 5 minutes, players are free to throw the ball at anyone across the room (no one in your own section). Those playing cannot cross the border in the middle, and if you are hit with a ball, you are automatically out.
Game 3: Capture the Flag – Those remaining from the second game are split into two teams to capture the flag. The goal of the game is to capture the opposing team’s 3 flags and whichever team captures their opposing team’s flag is safe and the other team is eliminated.
Game 4: Kickball – Those remaining from the third game get into teams of ten for games of kickball. Two teams are picked at random and must play against each other. You play a total of 5 innings and whichever team loses is eliminated. This continues until all teams have played.
Game 5: Potato Sack Races – Those remaining from game 4 are split into groups of two by their own wish (they choose partners). Every team is put against each other to hop in a sack across the designated field at the same time. The team that reaches the finish line first wins, and everyone else is eliminated.
Game 6: Floor is Lava – The last two players are put in the center of a circular platform with water around it. They are to attempt to push each other off in order to win. Every few minutes the platform gets smaller and smaller making it more difficult to stay on. The last person standing wins.
0
0
Average Rating