00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're revisiting important details from Squid Game that serve
00:08as required knowledge for Season 2.
00:11If you haven't seen the first season of the hit Korean drama series, consider this your
00:15spoiler warning.
00:22Number 10.
00:23Concept
00:24The unique concept of Squid Game was certainly a major factor in its rise to global phenomenon
00:28status.
00:29From the lens of a survival drama, the series explores themes of class struggle, social
00:34inequality, and the harsh realities of capitalism.
00:44It's essentially a dark commentary on societal hierarchies, all using children's games to
00:49expose the desperation and moral conflict.
00:52The series sees 456 debt-ridden participants engage in brutal psychological battles orchestrated
00:58by a group of wealthy elites who observe for their own entertainment.
01:02The winner receives a grand prize of 45.6 billion won, around 38 million US dollars.
01:13Season 2 will delve even deeper, using the explosive concept to further highlight worldly
01:18inequalities.
01:29Number 9.
01:30The Games
01:39The first season of Squid Game showcased a series of twisted contests, where each challenge
01:43transformed familiar childhood games into life-or-death trials.
01:48Red Light, Green Light saw a robotic doll direct players to move on green light and
01:52freeze on red light.
01:53However, any mistaken movement meant death.
02:05The Dalgona Honeycomb Challenge featured contestants carefully cutting a shape from fragile sugar
02:09honeycombs.
02:14Breaking the shape signaled literal elimination.
02:16Hug of War was a typical test of team strength, only the losing side fell to their doom.
02:27In Marbles, paired players competed in classic marble games.
02:31The losers faced immediate eradication.
02:37Glass Bridge forced contestants to cross a suspended bridge of glass panels, some of
02:42which could hold their weight, while others shattered.
02:49The final Squid Game involved offense and defense, with the goal of reaching a designated
02:55space.
02:56The two remaining players faced off in a brutally physical match.
03:07Number 8.
03:08The Contestants
03:09Season 1 introduced several key players, each bringing their unique backstory and motivations
03:14into the twisted competition.
03:15Sung Gi-hun, our main protagonist, is a struggling gambler and father who joins the game to escape
03:20his obscene debt.
03:22Cho Sang-woo, Gi-hun's childhood friend, is a disgraced businessman who, despite his
03:26intelligence, makes ruthless choices, doing whatever it takes to win.
03:31Kang Se-byeok is a North Korean defector hoping to reunite with her family.
03:35The game makes it to the final rounds, but is tragically killed by Sang-woo.
03:44Ali Abdul, a kind-hearted migrant worker, is also betrayed by Sang-woo, despite his
03:49trust in him.
03:56Jang Deok-su, a gangster known for his brutality, eventually meets his end courtesy of Han Min-yo
04:02in a chaotic round of the glass bridge.
04:11Number 7.
04:12The VIPs
04:18Unlike the contestants, the VIPs in Squid Game are wealthy and powerful elites.
04:23These mysterious figures watch and wager on the brutal survival games, all while wearing
04:27elaborate golden animal masks to conceal their identities.
04:31Treating the games as mere sport, they show little empathy for the players, instead taking
04:36sadistic pleasure in the violence.
04:38Their role in the series highlights the dehumanizing effects of wealth and privilege, revealing
04:42how the powerful can manipulate and exploit the vulnerable purely for their own amusement.
04:58They are the extreme gap between the ultra-rich and the desperate contestants, who unlike
05:03them, have been forced to risk their lives for financial salvation.
05:07Number 6.
05:08The Winner
05:15Just who won the game in the first season?
05:17Well, the intense finale came down to Sung Gi-young and Cho Sang-woo.
05:21The titular final challenge proved to be a violent and emotional struggle for both men.
05:26But when Gi-young gains the upper hand, he's not able to kill his friend.
05:34Instead, he decides to forfeit, ultimately choosing mercy over victory.
05:43However, Sang-woo declines Gi-young's offer to leave together, and overcome with guilt
05:48and a sense of failure, takes his own life.
05:57His dying wish is for Gi-young to take care of his mother.
06:00Sang-woo's tragic fate left Gi-young as the last remaining contestant, and thus, by default,
06:05the ultimate winner.
06:11Number 5.
06:12The Guards
06:13In the Squid Game, the instantly recognizable masked guards serve as merciless enforcers,
06:19imposing the rules and punishing all forms of disobedience.
06:22Their faceless identities, marked by circles, triangles, and squares on their masks, reflect
06:27a strict hierarchy, with each shape representing a different role in maintaining order, be
06:32it a manager, soldier, or worker.
06:35Beyond their position as guards, season one hinted at more sinister motivations.
06:43Some of the workers and soldiers were involved in organ trafficking, selling body parts of
06:48deceased players on the black market.
06:54Number 4.
06:55The Old Man
07:02In one of the most surprising twists of the first season, we learn that Oh Il-nam, the
07:07elderly player who Gi-hyun befriends, is actually the creator of the lethal games.
07:12A year after winning the 33rd Squid Game, Gi-hyun meets Il-nam on his deathbed, where
07:17the elderly man reveals all.
07:19Il-nam explains that he secretly orchestrated the competition for the amusement of the elite,
07:24claiming he saw the games as both a service to the participants and as a test of humanity's
07:28goodness.
07:42His recent participation as player one allowed him to experience the thrill of survival before
07:55his impending death.
08:10Number 3.
08:12Fans are naturally eager to learn more about intriguing minor characters from the first
08:16season of Squid Game.
08:17This includes the man in the suit, or salesman.
08:26The unnamed suit-clad man is the one who recruited Gi-hyun and other contestants through a game
08:30of Ddakji, where players attempt to flip an envelope and either win money or get slapped
08:35in the face.
08:41However, after winning, players are offered a card, inviting them to join that year's
08:46games.
08:47Serving as the friendly yet unsettling face of the operation, the suited salesman preys
08:51on desperate individuals, using the lure of money while hiding the deadly reality that
08:56awaits them.
09:00Number 2.
09:01The Front Man
09:02When Detective Jun-ho set out to find his missing brother Hwang In-ho, few could have
09:06guessed that he would be revealed as the front man, the mysterious overseer of the Squid
09:10Game.
09:11Formerly a police officer and a past winner of the games himself, In-ho stands as the
09:22head staff member in charge of the dire competition.
09:30The revelation is especially shocking given In-ho's betrayal of his law enforcing principles,
09:35not to mention his own family.
09:47To make matters worse, the shocking confrontation with Jun-ho sees the front man ultimately
09:51shoot his brother, leaving him for dead.
10:02Afterwards, he is haunted by a vision of Jun-ho, demonstrating that this family matter
10:07is still front of mind.
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10:28Number 1.
10:29Gi-hun's Mission
10:30In season 1's final moments, Gi-hun makes a bold choice to abandon his trip and face
10:34the Squid Game once again.
10:36On his way to board a flight to the United States to reunite with his daughter, he spots
10:39the mysterious salesman recruiting another player.
10:53Realizing he must break the cycle, Gi-hun decides to stay behind.
10:57It's clear he's ready to take matters into his own hands, and plans to take down the
11:01diabolical competition from the inside.
11:11However, Gi-hun's approach will be entirely different than before.
11:22This time, he's playing his own game within the Squid Game.
11:36How do you think you would fare in Squid Game?
11:38Share your perceived chances in the comments below.
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