The horrifically dystopian Squid Game is filled with sneaky clues and easter eggs that predict
the Front Man's real identity, all the major character deaths, and hint to some theories
on what to expect from a second season.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, I'm Jan and in this video I'm revealing over 45 twisted details
you might have missed in Squid Game.
Spoilers ahead, so take care.
Although the mysterious Front Man who oversees the games remains hidden behind a mask till
late in the series, the show does give us a tantalising clue early on to his true identity
as policeman Jun-ho's missing brother.
When Jun-ho visits his sibling's apartment in episode 2, you'll see he's heavily into
art, and among his books are several on Picasso, who co-founded the Cubist movement.
That's crucial because, if you look at the Front Man, you'll see how his interest in
Cubism has influenced him and his surroundings.
For example, look out for objects fractured into geometrical angular shapes with concave
or convex surfaces, the idea of that look in Cubism was to show objects from multiple
perspectives at the same time rather than just one.
When Gi-hun, Sae-byeok and Sang-woo make it to the final round, they're served a final
meal which the creator has said is meant to look like the Last Supper.
For Gi-hun though, when the steak is revealed, the moment is especially significant because
his daughter was taken to a steakhouse by her stepfather for her birthday.
Prior to the Games, Gi-hun had also planned to treat her to an expensive meal, but after
losing his winnings could only afford something much cheaper, so getting a plate of steak
at this point feels particularly ironic.
And this might be a bit of a stretch, but some fans have suspected the stepfather who
is also Gi-hun's nemesis may be connected in some way to the Games so this steak may
hint at that.
Also notice how the three tables are set out in a triangular shape.
And these are on a large circle filled with black-and-white squares.
So the entire layout is made up of the three Squid Game symbols:
a circle, a triangle and a square.
One of the three survivors at this point is Sang-woo and there's some foreshadowing of
this moment in the second episode when his mother was talking to him on the phone and
she was interrupted by a customer asking for three squids.
Some other hidden squid references and symbols in the series include the hairclip in the
shape of the Squid Game logo on the giant Robo-Doll's head.
The elevator entrance to the Front Man's room has intersecting circles, triangles and a
square shape.
The guards are organised into three types by the squid game symbols on their masks,
and the squid game logo is always highlighted in the guard's hot pink uniform colour in
the show's title.
One of the brilliant things about the series is how it manages to get you invested in lots
of characters even though we know are going to die because of the very nature of the game.
And many of those deaths are intriguingly telegraphed early on.
The way Mi-nyeo dies as she grabs hold of Deok-su, leans back and falls through the
glass was foreshowed back in the tug-of-war game when she commented that leaning back
made her feel so much more powerful.
Deok-su also foreshadowed his death in the second episode when he jumped off a bridge
to escape from his enemies.
Jun-ho's death as he falls into the sea mirrors how he dumped the Squid Game worker's body
after stealing his identity so he could go undercover in the game.
Ali's heart-breaking death when he discovers that Sang-Woo has cheated him out of his bag
of marbles, echoes how he stole a packet of cash from his boss who owed him money.
Sae-byeok dies with her throat slit by Sang-woo, the thing she threatened to do to the guy
who lost the money she gave him to help get her family out of North Korea.
And if you look closely, you can also spot a scar already on her neck, another bit of
foreshadowing for her fate.
And Sang-Woo kills himself at the end, like he almost did when the police were tracking
him down in the second episode.
There's a popular theory about the red and blue tile game which posits that players who
choose a blue tile go on to become participants in the game, whereas those who choose a red
tile become the jumpsuit-wearing workers.
The original inspiration for the Salesman's game is very creepy and based on a Korean
urban legend called Red Tissue, Blue Tissue.
Which is itself based on a Japanese horror story where a ghost appears to people using
a public bathroom and offers them red or blue toilet paper.
There are many variations of the story, but those who choose red are generally killed
in a gruesome, bloody fashion, whereas those choosing blue are suffocated to death.
The giant killer robot in the bone-chilling challenge Red Light, Green Light is based
on a character who featured in Korean primary school books used to teach children how to
read in the 70s and 80s.
And we see that same shocking contrast between the games' childhood origins and the brutal
adult contest in the show's brightly coloured sets and costumes, which give the competition
a child-like fairy-tale feel or strange fantasy vibe.
A recurring theme in the show is how The Blue Danube is played over the loudspeakers just
before each of the deadly games is about to start.
The famous waltz by Johann Strauss Jr becomes a terrible harbinger of what's to come,
and the incongruously light-hearted nature of the music is completely at odds with the
deception, death, and destruction that awaits the players in every game.
It even plays during the final trio's last supper, adding to the horrific nature of the
situation.
The Blue Danube was originally written to help lift the mood of the Austrian nation
in the 1860s after the country had lost a war, was economically depressed, and morale
was generally low.
And the Squid Games organisers may be trying to use this upbeat tune in a similar way to
encourage the players who are in financial straits to raise their spirits and keep playing.
The music is also used in this amazing shot from above where the players move along MC
Escher-inspired stairs, with their seemingly endless motion around the spiral-style staircase
reminiscent of the constant turns of the Viennese waltz.
The trippy look and disorienting design of the staircases is also a deliberate homage
to Escher's art piece "Relativity" in which the usual laws of gravity don't make sense,
an analogy perhaps for the horrific reality of the Squid Games.
When many players announce they want to abandon ship after the Red Light massacre, the prize
money they'll end up forfeiting is announced, and as the cash drops into a massive Perspex
piggy bank, it's accompanied by the sound of a chiptune.
Similar music played during the scene in the first episode where Gi-hun tried to win a
present at the arcade for his daughter's birthday.
Another horrifying connection between the arcade and the Squid Games is that the prize
Gi-hun wins for his daughter comes wrapped in a black box with a bow, similar to the
coffins used for disposing of dead bodies in the Squid Games.
Check out the multiple pictures the Front Man has in his old apartment of a dark street
at night underneath a bright blue, sunlit sky .
They're from the Empire of Light collection by surrealist artist René Magritte and inspired
this iconic scene in The Exorcist.
Like so much in the Squid Games, they point to the unsettling and upsetting contrasts
of the show's world, where kids' games have deadly consequences,
and brothers who once sacrificed a kidney to save your life, end up shooting you off
a cliff to your death.
By the way, if you were intrigued by the Front Man's character but wanted to know more, the
show's creator has said a potential Season 2 might explore his story in greater detail
while also including more on the police.
The VIP episode makes it clear that there are Squid Games happening in other parts of
the world..
The contest in Korea was the best.
..meaning the secret network that runs the diabolical enterprise must be relatively extensive.
And in the final episode, the meeting that Gi-hun has with his bank manager reveals a
clue that the bank itself or its manager may also be involved.
The hint is in how the bank employee mentions they have a VIP-only service for wealthy individuals
like Gi-hun.
The term VIP here seems specific and could suggest Gi-hun is being offered the opportunity
to become an observer at the games should he wish.
After all, Il-nam mentioned on his death bed that he started the games with other people
who like him were basically bored despite being hugely rich.
The deposit of so much money into Gi-hun's account would also, under money laundering
rules, likely trigger an investigation into the source of the funds, and this doesn't
appear to have happened.
It's also suspicious that Jun-ho's call to the Korean Police just before he was killed
hasn't resulted in anything; after all, the location of his call could
have been easily traced by his boss.
It could simply be police incompetence; however, it could also suggest there are higher-ups
in his police department who've been paid off by the Squid Games not to investigate
the yearly disappearances of hundreds of people.
A twisted detail that was deliberately hidden from players is that, from the start, all
six games to be played were depicted on the walls of the dorm area.
In the beginning, these were obscured by the players' bunk beds.
And although knowing what the games would be would have given everyone much better odds
of survival, it's only as more and more players are killed off that the true nature of each
game is revealed.
I think the added meaning here is that, despite all the Front Man's claims that the Games
are fair, the truth is intentionally hidden from participants and only revealed to the
few who make it to the end.
Another example of the injustice of those in charge of the system is when Ali goes to
claim his unpaid wages and finds his boss playing a computer game rather than trying
to fix his business so he can pay his workers.
Just like the VIPs in charge of the Squid Games, Ali's boss is only interested in his
own entertainment at the expense of others.
So, did you spot any other interesting details or easter eggs in Squid Game?
And what do you think was the most horrifying or heart-breaking moment in the show?
Leave your thoughts and theories in the comments below.
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You can tap left for my next Netflix video including a full breakdown of the symbolism,
monster and ending of horror series Midnight Mass, or tap right for something else you're
sure to like.
Thanks for watching and see ya next time.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!