If you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ve heard of Netflix’s Thrilling Korean show Squid Game. It’s the most-watched show in Netflix’s history, with 142 million households watching it in the first month of its release. Squid Game is the top-viewed series in over 94 countries. This critically acclaimed and loved series took ten years to be picked up by a network. And boy is the creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk glad it did at last. If you haven’t seen the show yet, Squid Game is about a secret contest where 456 players with debt problems had to play a series of children’s games. Why? In order to win a massive sum of cash. The twist is that if you lose, you also lose your life. Believe us, and it will keep you at the edge of your seat.
The show is thrilling, heartbreaking, and it’s inspired by economic struggles that people go thru, including economic inequality in South Korea. However, we are not here to talk about that. We are here to give you light on some of the things that you might have missed while watching Squid Game that will blow your mind. Some details might have been cut in translation. However, some were just there all along, waiting for you to rewatch it and find it. So sit back, and let us show you the way. If you haven’t seen the show yet, there are BIG SPOILERS up ahead. You’ve been warned.
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25. The first scene in Squid Game shows you who’s going to win.
The series starts with a flashback of our main character Seong Gi-hun (Player 456). He is a child playing the now-famous Squid Game, a traditional children’s game in Korea. If you pay attention, you can see that his childhood friend and future rival, Cho Sang-Wu (Player 218), is competing closely against him in the opposite team. You might look at it as just a literal explanation of the children’s game and nothing else. However, there is more to it than that. The creator foreshadows how this will end. Actually, it is something that he does a lot, but not many people notice.
The symbolism in this flashback shows that this game starts as a teamwork operation with Gi-hun bringing the victory for his team. Sang-Wu tries his best but, in the end, he ends up falling. Gi-hun’s success in the final battle, winning the jackpot, is just a small part of it. Even if everyone else died, Gi-hun made them win by honoring and taking care of their families with its prize money. Although he tries to be a team player, Sang-woo failed to do so on many occasions by playing to save himself. We are probably going to see what else he does to get justice and fairness to the rest of the fallen on season 2. But for now, let’s keep checking other facts.
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24. Their names show their personalities.
If you’re a non-Korean speaker, we know a few things we might have missed that are very easy to forget even with the subtitles on. While Koreans got the clues in the characters’ names, the rest of the world got lost in translation. For example, Kang Sae-book’s (Player 67) name translates to “river dawn.” Knowing how fearless but vulnerable and sometimes quiet the character is, the name makes a lot of sense. Are you ready for another secret from Squid Game that might blow your mind? Sang Wu’s status significance that makes his mother so proud is because he studied in one of South Korea’s most prestigious schools. It’s called Seul National University, which is in the Ssangmun-dong neighborhood. It’s such a big deal that his mother tells anyone that he studied, thereby naming her small shop with his name.
Han Mi-nyeo (Player 212) is also the loud and seductive (albeit obnoxious) player who almost got all she wanted. She has a lot of meaning behind her name. It translates to “One beautiful Woman.” The name suits her very well, judging by how she tries to get ahead of everyone by using her looks and femininity. And finally, player number one is the lovable old man with a terminal brain tumor. He reveals his name right before “dying.” His name is Il-nam, which translates to “number one man.” There is no coincidence for his name to actually mean number one. Why? Because in the end, he was the one who made the contest happen.
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23. The show revealed the front man long before the unmasking.
This one is interesting trivia in Squid Game. Only those who live or have knowledge of Korea’s cinema and celebrities might have noticed. The mystery of the man behind the mask, the front man, was something that most audiences wanted to know. However, we had to wait until the last episode for this revelation. When he finally took his mask off to show that he was Hwang Jun-ho’s lost brother, it was a big surprise. After all, everyone wondered what happened to him after he won the games in 2015. However, it’s even more interesting to know that the show already mentioned his name.
In episode 6, “Gganbu,” player 240 Ji-yeong is trying to spend her last moments talking with player 67 Kang Sea-byeok in the marble game. She quotes a line from the movie “Inside Men” where actor Lee Byung-hun wants to get away to the Maldives to drink Mojito. The actor Ji-yeong mentions is the same who plays the front man. He is a highly well-known actor from South Korea. So for many people, that final reveal was even more shocking than what non-Korean speakers got. So in the Squid Game universe, Lee Byung-hun has a doppelganger working in a very sketchy organization.
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22. An outtake made it in the show.
The first episode has so many hidden gems that it’s hard to choose which one we like the most; there are many exciting and foreshadowing moments that we’ll get to very soon. However, this one is so charming and cute that it needs to be talked about. As we go ahead on this list, we’ll see a lot of grim signs of what’s to come. And this one just shows that some people have this innocence and kindness that sometimes it’s missed in today’s society. This one was about the first interaction of player 456 Gi-hun and player 67 Sae-byeok when they crashed into each other. A very lighthearted exchange that later ended in a disaster for Gi-hun.
In the scene, Gi-hun is running from the mob that he owes money to. As he’s running away, he bumps into Sae-byeok while she’s walking casually with a cold brew in hand. When she falls, he goes back to her, grabs her now empty cup, and puts the straw in while giving it to her. The actor Lee Jung-jae who plays Gi-hun, explains that he did that without thinking, and the spontaneous moment was so great that director and creator Hwang Dong-hyuk used it in the show. Yet,if you notice closely, actress HoYeon Jung ( Saebyeok) is seen trying to hide her laugh. It’s a cute but straightforward moment that shows the playfulness of a character.
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21. The games were in front of their eyes all along.
One of the things that all contestants are trying to figure out is what are going to be the games that they need to compete in. This stressful situation made some players a bit creative to find out what’s next for them. Like player 111, doctor Byeong-gi is secretly working with a group of corrupted guards selling organs of dead contestants as a trade to know the next game and win the contest, with a bit of a snack as an extra. However, unbeknownst to the contestants, the answer to their questions was on the walls all along! To be fair, it wasn’t too evident in the first few episodes. as time went on, the answers started showing up in a very genius way.
In the massive room where all the contestants are waiting for the next game, if you look closely at the walls surrounding them, you will see some drawings that are hard to see because they are hidden behind 456 bunk beds. As players start getting eliminated, you will see the pictures of stick figures playing the games they’ve been challenged. In the last episode, “One Lucky Day,” you can see it right there for all to see while the final three players are eating their last supper. There was no need to theorize or go into the organ trafficking business. It’s a genius way the show provides the answers right in our faces, but we didn’t see them until it was apparent. We just wonder if Gi-hun, Sae-byeok, and Sang-woo noticed the drawings on the walls and wondered why they didn’t notice it before.
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20. There are secrets about the gift box and the coffin in Squid Game.
There is a lot of symbolism and imagery in Squid Game. However, this one will make you scratch your head with how insane it is. People found it interesting that every contestant that was eliminated – dead or not – was put in a black coffin. They had a pink ribbons and made their way to an incinerator. The show’s art director Chae Kyung-sun talked about it in an interview with Netflix Korea about why the design was chosen. He explained, “I imagined he’d think he gave the contestants a chance as if he’s a god. ‘This is my gift to you. Even your bodies being disposed of in the incinerator is a show of my mercy.‘” Player one Il-nam had a passion for the macabre and artistic for sure.
Did you think the coffin design looked pretty familiar? It is because earlier in the first episode, you got a glimpse of it. In the first episode, when Gi-hun is looking for a present for his daughter after losing most of it while escaping the mob, he ends in a claw machine. There, a kid helps him win a gift wrapped with a bow. It is almost precisely like the coffins. What is even a more significant coincidence about this gift? When his daughter Ga-yeong opens the present, a lighter shaped like a gun around magenta tissue paper is inside. A fascinating coincidence is knowing that magenta-wearing guards with guns are around the corner. Just like the lighter, it will burn everybody that fails the game. If only he knew what was about to come.
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19. Squid Game players 1 and 456 are not so different from each other.
There are many things to talk about player one, who made us fall in love, then broke our hearts, and then made us angry for the big twist at the end. However, when you think about it, no one has talked about, and it’s a social criticism as well as the similarities that player 456 Gi-hun and his “Gganbu” Il-nam have in common. You probably missed the first time and even the second time analyzing the show. Furthermore, that is that both players 456 and 1 have stolen to make it where they are in the end. They are the Yin and Yang of Squid Game.
For starters, the mastermind of all this and player 001 Il-nam, is a very wealthy man who made his money from being a financial tycoon, which means he “took” money from the struggling working class with high-interest rates in a time where the economy was struggling. On the other hand, you have Gi-hun, who steals money from his struggling mother to feed his addiction to gambling. Betting on horse races, or betting on who dies first in the squid games, sounds remarkably similar. They are both at the other side of the spectrum in wealth and also in their player number. Furthermore, they both like gambling at the cost of others; in Gi-hun’s case is the little money his mother was making and, in a way, the horses and jockeys at the race track. Moreover, for Il-nam, it’s the people participating in his game.
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18. The show reveals secrets about Gi-hun and his problem with umbrellas.
It’s always important to bring your umbrella on a rainy day. However, player 456 Gi-hun throughout the series always forgets how important it is to have one on hand when there’s bad weather. Before starting the second game and choosing the umbrella shape, he recalls a childhood memory saying, “My mom used to scold me for losing my umbrella all the time.” Moreover, it almost cost him his life in the game of dalgona, also known as ppopgi. There are also other instances where it was good to have one, like when he meets with officer Hwang Jun-ho when investigating his brother’s disappearance.
However, the one time that having an umbrella could have saved him from a heartbreaking moment was when Gi-hun visited his ex-wife to ask her for money. He ended up punching her husband outside in the rain when he offered the money he needed in exchange for Gi-hun to stop looking for his daughter. You can see that his daughter Ga-yeong was about to bring him an umbrella when she saw him punching her stepfather. That scene is also a mirror of the 6th game when he is negotiating to end this game with Sang-woo, where he again needs an umbrella. We are sure that having or not having an umbrella is not Gi-hun’s best friend.
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17. Two winners that lost everything.
Let’s talk about the tragic and heartbreaking part of the show that you don’t see many discussions about. Even with all the money Gi-hun and the front man won, both of them are not even remotely happy. Moreover, what’s even more interesting is that both decided not to touch the money and kept living with very little. Furthermore, they are not having a great time, to be honest. If you look at Gi-hun, after he came back, he lost his mother. It seems like while he was gone, she kept working with no treatment for her condition until one day her body failed, and he never had the chance to show her that he had money now to do what they dreamt of.
We don’t know much about the front man. Still, what we saw and judging from his brother officer Hwang Jun-ho, his brother wasn’t doing that well either, living in a small apartment, being behind rent, and just working for the same rich people that gave him a fortune is a bit suspicious. It seems like both men’s lives didn’t change much, except for having passed through the Squid Game trauma. We are sure that we will get more answers about what made Hwang In-ho go back in the first place when the show comes back for season 2.
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16. Check out the secrets of the seventh game in Squid Game.
Technically, the contest only has six deadly games in total to win the jackpot. Yet, if you look closely, the game didn’t end there, and judging by what Gi-hun found after he came back, things took a turn. Nevertheless, even with that, a year passed. He still was not done with all the trauma and loss that he suffered while in the games. Still, there is a seventh game waiting for him around the corner. When the flower lady gives him a rose with the invitation from his gganbu to go to the SKY building, that was more than an invitation; it was the notification for the last game.
You might still be wondering what game? When he finally gets to see Il-nam bedridden in that massive empty room, he talks about the drunk man outside that might die at any moment from hypothermia. He tells Gi-hun that he bets that the man will not get any help from anyone before midnight. However, if he does, Gi-hun will win. Furthermore, as we see, just before midnight, someone comes with a cop and helps the drunk man. Just as it struck midnight, Il-nam passed away, meaning that he lost the game, and it paid with his life. Sure, you could argue he was already dying. Nevertheless, the symbolism and the timing of his death tell us that everything is connected.
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15. The final episode of Squid Game is “One Lucky Day” for a reason.
The last episode of the season is called “One Lucky Day,” but as you saw, there was nothing that you might think, “Oh, how lucky of GI-hun.” He lost his childhood friend and saw many people die. Some of these people he had a connection with. Then, remember how he found his mom dead in their home? GI-hun learned that the game was just entertainment for a bunch of rich people. What if we told you that everything that just listed makes complete sense with the title of this episode? Because it does! And the show’s creator had some inspiration for the story and the title. Squid Game comes from a novel.
There is a 1924 Korean novel by author Hyun Jin-geon called, you guessed it, One Lucky Day. It’s about a rickshaw-porter that had a “good day” making money while his sick wife is back at home with their baby. To celebrate his day achievements, he goes drinking with some friends. But when he comes back home, he finds his wife dead. If it sounds a bit like what Gi-hun went through, then you are entirely correct. Sure, the episode is a loose translation of the novel. However, there is no coincidence that the episode and the book have the same name. It is just another thing that you wouldn’t know unless you are from South Korea.
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14. Is Player 456 now a VIP?
Our Squid Game winner Gi-hun barely made it alive out of the games, and when he got back home, life didn’t get any better. A year has passed, and we see that even though he is now a millionaire that can do whatever he wants and lives in the fanciest place possible, he decides not to use the money. And that’s when he gets a call to visit the bank; this is where he discovered that he is now a VIP. Interestingly, the bank manager used the word “VIP” when we already knew about the game’s VIP people. Is the bank involved in all this?
We think so, and here’s why. Oh Il-nam was a financial businessman, and it seems like he was the owner of a bank, mainly because the building where Gi-hun is, the Sky Tower, is economic. Hence, there is a possibility that United Bank, the financial institution where Gi-hun got his money deposited, is Il-nam’s. There is also the fact that it seems like the place didn’t think about him getting that enormous sum of money in his savings account was suspicious at all or investigated as a money-laundering scheme is very odd. Nevertheless, we are sure we’ll have more details about it when season 2 comes out.
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13. Speaking of the VIPs…
There is a lot of mystery surrounding the VIPs, the Westerners who arrived at the games to see the action face to face. We uncovered a few things about their involvement in the fun, so we are here to share with you what we found. To begin, these men were not part of the friend circle that Il-nam had to create the games. Or else they wouldn’t need any explanation about how the games works, like how they were asking in the last round. It means that the rumors about these games kept spreading around rich people’s circles until it made it there. This also confirms that the games are different depending on the region.
Another thing we noticed is that there are more games just like this one happening in other parts of the world. So this had become almost like a franchise, with many hosts and front men running the show. These people flew all the way there to watch the last few games live. Knowing that means there is a streaming network for the VIPs to watch the games on their TVs at home. This knowledge makes the operation for the games even more extensive and complicated. Many people are working behind the scenes to make this the VIP’s favorite past time. Moreover, knowing that these games have been going on since 1988 tells us many other VIPs are enjoying the show.
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12. Player 1 in Squid Game was safe all along.
You might think that someone already dying didn’t fear death when playing the games since it would be the last ones he would witness. However, it seems like he didn’t want to die in there just yet; this is why he was not killed in the marble games. He was the creator of the whole thing in the first place, so it makes sense that the guards would protect him. In the red light green light, it seems like the doll is not picking up his movement, and the dalgona game seems like he knew well enough to survive. And yes, the tug-of-war was extremely dangerous, and if player one’s team failed, he was going to fall to his death. Or was he?
First, he had the best technique for surviving it, no matter if his team didn’t seem that strong. Nevertheless, in the end, it worked for the best, and they came out victorious. Nevertheless, what if the technique didn’t work at all? Was he going to fall too? The answer is no. If you look closely at every other player’s wristbands, you will see that all of them have locks to ensure that none of them would escape the fall. However, when you look at his bands, there is no lock on them! So if his team actually failed the game, he could quickly get away and survive—sneaky Il-nam.
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11. The Squid Game symbols are everywhere.
This Korean child’s game map can be seen in many places throughout the series. One of the first ones we see is in the presentation card given to Gi-hun by the salesman. The guards also have either a square, circle, or triangle on their masks to identify their rank. However, there are other places that we are sure you saw but ignored it. Including the show’s logo at the beginning of every episode, with the magenta color to make it pop even more. But other scenes hid the symbols even more.
For example, in the red light green light game, you can see that the giant doll in the middle of the yard has the symbols as a hair clip, spoiling away the last fun. Or there is also the front man’s room elevator entrance which has marks all over it in a very artistic way. However, one of the most interesting things is during the last supper between the remaining three players. They are sitting at a triangle-shaped table in the middle of a circle made of square tiles. This represents that they are showing the world that they are risking it all until the last challenge.
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10. The red and blue tile has a dark story behind it.
The quick game that the businessman uses to entice and get the players for the game might be confusing to non-Korean people. We are sure many people missed this detail because of it. However, we are here to tell you all about it. Many theories compare the red and blue tile to the red and blue pill in The Matrix, and in a way, that is a good analogy. Nevertheless, there is something else that makes more sense, and it might be the answer. The blue and red tiles are based on a Japanese urban legend.
The story goes that if you are alone in a public restroom, a ghost called Aka Manto might show up and offers you to choose between red and blue toilet paper. If the person decides red, they’ll have a very gruesome and painful death. If they choose blue, the ghost will suffocate them to death. In this case, no matter the player’s color, there’s a high probability you will die in the games that go with the urban legend. Even the show’s director Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed in an interview that it is based on Aka Manto. The more you know.
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9. The iconic red light green light doll has been around for a while.
The story behind one of the most recognizable figures in the show is the big creepy doll used in the first game is very interesting and goes back to the 70s! The girl is very recognizable for many Koreans because she was one of the most famous figures in South Korea’s school books. Her name is Younghee, and her friend Chulsoo is the main character of a series of educational textbooks typical in the 1970s and 1980s. The stories always focused on bizarre and sometimes embarrassing childhood memories that bring nostalgia while educating about different aspects of life. That’s not all; the doll used in the show is a real attraction!
Just a few hours away from the North of Seoul, in Jincheon County, a carriage museum is the home of the doll used in the show. Yes, the massive doll is right at the museum entrance, and since the show aired, it has become a big attraction. The filmmakers behind the show borrowed Younghee and, after they finished, brought it back to the museum. People noticed that the once creepy doll has become even more bizarre because it seems like it lost a hand while in transportation. Sadly, it won’t be there for too long because it’s now under a private archiving process. So if you are in South Korea, you better go and snap a pic before she is taken away.
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8. There are even secrets in Squid Game about the music.
One thing that makes the show a bit unsettling is the music. The child-like songs, especially in dark moments, make some scenes a bit disturbing. However, there is one song that gives us goosebumps every time the show plays it. It’s the 1866’s Blue Danube by composer Johann Strauss Jr. The song is the unofficial anthem of Austria. The Danube river, which is the second-longest river in Europe, inspired the music. One thing that sticks out is that Strauss Jr. wrote it to lift the spirits of the people of Austria when they lost the war against Prussia.
The one song they played before announcing the next mortal game was to lift a nation’s spirits – sounds a bit ironic in Squid Game. Yet, it has a purpose. Think about it. After the first game, everyone was terrified of what was in store for the following games. Even if most of the people came back after, the majority decided to quit. So in a way, they play the song to keep the players’ spirits up, even if for most of them, it meant the end. It was even played after the last supper, in a moment that all three players were exhausted and tensed up from everything that happened in the earlier game, so we don’t think the song did its job here.
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7. Who called the front man?
Something that caught our eye and confused us is the call that the front man gets at the beginning of episode 7. In the scene, you see the front man being a little hesitant to pick up the call. However, when he does, his conversation with the mysterious person calling seems a bit suspicious. We can’t hear the other person’s voice. Yet, you see the front man saying, “I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the game, sir.” Then he continues, “the host is currently waiting for the VIPs to arrive.” You might think that he is talking with Il-nam, but the host is player one, so it can’t be him. Which brings us to the question: who is he speaking to?
The plot thickens, and we are confident that we will get the answer to it in season two, but we have a theory about whom he was talking to, and it seems like there is someone else that outranks player one and is the one controlling the networks of games around the world. It looks like a crazy idea, but it has a bit of logic. If Il-nam is about to pass away from the tumor, there has to be someone else to take the reigns, and even if having the front man sounds like the obvious answer, it seems like he is only a pawn in the big scheme of the Squid Games.
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6. The red cross that follows Gi-hun.
We overlooked this one the first time we watched the Squid Game, and now it’s blowing our minds. In many scenes with Gi-hun, you see a neon red cross from a church near the area while he’s in town. The first time we see the cross, he is carrying his daughter to her home. After that, we see it once again after going to ask his ex-wife for money, and he ends up punching the stepdad. Both times the cross is seen behind him. Another red cross from a religious man on the street after Gi-hun (now the victor) is dropped off in a limousine.
Minutes later, you see the neon red cross from the church while he’s walking to his home, where he finds his mother dead on the floor. This is the only instance where Gi-hun is walking towards the cross, and knowing there is no such thing as a coincidence in Squid Game, we are sure there is some symbolism in all this. In the real world, a red cross symbolizes humanitarian aid and protection in the face of a conflict and disaster. Maybe at the beginning, when you see him walking away from it, it’s the way of the showrunner to tell us that he has his back to any aid that the game might have. And then he is finally facing it; it’s a way of showing that help is needed and is on its way.
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5. Let’s share more clues about who player 1 is in Squid Game.
Player one betrayed us into thinking he was just a sweet old man with nothing to lose and wants one final goodbye playing his childhood games. But as we learn in episode 8, it was all a lie to play with our hearts. However, what if he gave us clues along the way that reveals his identity? Well, he did, and after knowing what they were, we will never see the show the same way again. For once, in the very first game, you could see him super happy hopping around and not even flinched seeing other people getting killed all around him.
If you think about it, he is the last vote to leave the game. We think he just did it because he wanted to see how many come back. (By the way, the answer is 93% of the players come back. The ones that didn’t are kept in observation). Even when some players started killing each other, he casually is on the top bunk beds screaming to stop the massacre, when people were calling for the guards to stop the craziness. Furthermore, even in the marble game, he is messing with Gi-hun’s head to “trick” him to cheat so that he can survive. He might know to mastermind his player status, but one character knew how to play the game.
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4. Han Mi-nyeo knew how to play the game the best.
Player 212 Mi-nyeo was the seductive manipulative contestant. Sure, it was annoying at times. But, she made her way through the ranks. Plus, she eliminated herself on her terms in the most epic way. She started as a scared woman who had a kid to take care of. This player wanted to get out of the game after witnessing what happened in red light green light. But then she came back with a plan. Player 212 would find who she thought were the most decisive players. And, she would intimate anyone who might ridicule or think of her as inferior. She was the only player who was not intimidated by player 101 Deok-su. So much that she often confronted him when he treated her like trash.
Not only did she laugh at Deok-su’s macho man persona, but she was not scared of the guards. Mi-nyeo told them things like “what are you looking at?!” She ate the completed dalgona on a guard’s face. That is without recounting how she covered for Sae-byeok when she went in the vents. And she sneaked cigarettes and a lighter in the game. However, the most badass thing she did was fulfilling the promise she made to Deok-su of being the one that kills him. It has to be one of the best deaths in the whole show. She was one unforgettable character that we are sure we’ll miss in season 2.
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3. Did you notice Sae-Byeok’s accent change in Squid Game?
There are many details that we definitely missed when watching the show just because of the language barrier. Mainly because when you are watching a show with a language that you can’t understand or have any knowledge about, there is no way you can pick up accents because you don’t have a guide on how to enunciate some words. So this exciting but minor detail was missed by a lot of the non Korean-speaking audience, and we think it’s sweet and interesting to put on this list. Sae-byeuk has a sad back story of surviving and escaping the dictatorship of North Korea to have a better life, but leaving behind her family.
The only family she brought with her was her little brother, who is in the system while finding the resources to give him a better life and get her parents to South Korea. So while talking to her little brother, her accent is a bit different, and it’s intended to make him feel more comfortable, Sae-byeok uses her natural North Korean accent. The rest of the time, when she’s talking with other people, she uses a fake accent to hide that she is from the north, something that someone might use against her. This is one of the reasons why at first, she is so hesitant of trusting anyone else but herself.
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2. Gi-hun won all the games with a bit of help.
The grand winner of Squid Game, player 456, Gi-hun, might have a lot of compassion and suffered as much as anyone else in the games. However, even when he came out victorious, he didn’t do it by himself; there are many instances throughout the whole series where if it weren’t because of the help of someone else, he would have been long gone. In the first game, after seeing people getting shot at, he was in complete shock. If it weren’t because of player 199, he would have died. The second game was the only one where he was the one that came up with the idea to lick the dalgona to make it.
The third game was the tug-of-war. Player one told them the trick to always win in the game. Sang-woo also put his two cents for the big push that made them win; everyone would have fallen to their deaths (except player one, as we explained earlier). In game four, you can say that it saved his life because Il-nam tricked him enough to make him cheat. However, there is a theory that since Il-nam gave him his jacket too, he for the next game was number one and maybe had a bit of protection. Game five, since he was the last person to pass the bridge, he could see which glass to step on, and in one instant, even Sae-byeok helped him find the path. And lastly, on game six, Sang-woo’s sacrifice made him win the game.
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1. The Squid Game losers foreshadow their deaths.
One of the saddest things about the Squid Game is seeing your favorite characters die, especially in the most tragic ways. For the bad guys, it maybe was a bit of a celebration of sorts. However, the show foreshadows some of their deaths in an earlier moment, making them ironic. For example, player 101 Deok-su jumped a bridge to escape the mob that was going to kill him. He later died the same way but at the hands of Mi-nyeo. Speaking of Mi-nyeo, her death is similar to the arched position she and her team used to win the tug-of-war, a back spot that she even said made her feel empowered.
Before Ali made it to the games, he stole the money that was rightfully his from his boss. In the marble game, he died because Sang-woo stole all his marbles. (It is also important to note that Ali saw Sang-woo as mature and in a boss-like position of respect.) Sae-byeok has a scar on her neck and threatens to kill the man that lost the money she needed to save her family. She later dies with Sang-woo slashing her throat. Speaking of Sang-woo, he almost killed himself in a hotel room before the games. Of course, he later did when he stabbed himself to let Gi-hun win.