The Korean language survival drama "Squid Game" has been impressing Netflix subscribers
ever since it debuted in September, and many viewers have already made it through
the nine episodes that make up the first season. As fans recover from the crushing
conclusion to "Squid Game," some have begun to examine the show's earlier episodes for
clues that might have foreshadowed the shocking twist at the end of Season 1.
"Squid Game" tells a narrative in which people rarely turn out to be what they seem at the
beginning. Even characters who are introduced as admirable, upstanding members of their community,
such as Sang-Woo, are hiding some darkness. For the most part, the story revolves around
a simple-sounding competition consisting of six children's games with ₩45.6 billion on the line
for the 456 competitors who enter the tournament. However, the brutal
elimination of more than half of those players during the title game of the first episode,
"Red Light, Green Light," quickly establishes the extreme stakes that these participants face.
While the surviving players take the chance to escape the games after a majority of players
vote to suspend them, many are drawn back into the tournament by their desperate circumstances.
There are several plot twists at the ending of Season 1 of "Squid Game,"
but the true identity of Oh Il-nam stands apart as the biggest one.
While Il-nam appeared to sacrifice himself so Gi-hun could win and take home the prize money,
he is soon revealed to have survived. When Gi-hun visits Il-nam on his deathbed,
he reveals that he was one of the founders of the "Squid Game" competition
and was participating for one final thrill before his terminal illness claimed his life.
However, fans on Reddit, who are now rewatching the show, have noted some pretty noticeable
clues laid out in Season 1 of "Squid Game," regarding Il-nam's connection to the competition.
One user points out that in the first game, Red Light, Green Light,
Il-nam "dashed forward with a smile on his face and he was the only one who appeared to have fun."
"I wanted to feel something just one last time before I die."
While other clues hint at Il-nam's true identity later on, his behavior in the first episode during
the initial game is so different from any other player that it serves as an early indicator of his
actual level of involvement with the competition. On a first watch, viewers might believe Il-nam's
story that he's simply an old man with dementia, but on a second watch it becomes clear that his
glee during the game is because he understands it all too well, not because he's confused.
Il-nam's behavior during Red Light, Green Light may have hinted at his true nature,
but if you go back and rewatch the first season,
you'll encounter several other clues that hint at the old man's true identity.
For starters, it seems more than coincidental that Il-nam meets Gi-hun outside of the shop
in Episode 2. Ultimately, Il-nam is the one to convince Gi-hun to return to the games.
How many more of these chance encounters did Il-nam have with other contestants so
that there would still be a good number of people to play the remaining games?
That's not all. Episode 4 contains the sequence where the contestants murder each
other when it's time for lights out. Without proper food rations, the remaining players go
after one another to clear out some of the ranks. When Gi-hun goes to check on Il-nam,
he's nowhere to be found. It's very possible that he knew that the melee would be so dangerous
that he'd be better off on his own rather than sticking to Gi-hun and his team.
Not only that, but Il-nam is the one who cries out to end the madness. On first watch,
it sounds like the pleading of a scared old man. In actuality,
it could've been his way of letting the Front Man know that it was time
for the guards to enter to put a stop to the bloodbath. One Reddit user writes,
"When he stood up on the top of the beds and was crying that he was scared, they stopped the
game almost immediately. It planted a seed of doubt in my head that never really went away."
Finally, the biggest hint that Il-nam wasn't just a normal player comes in episode 5
when undercover cop Jun-ho finds decades of records of past games. He opens up the
binder showing the current players, but the very first page shows the information for Player 2,
skipping Player 1, who is Il-nam. Considering that Il-nam was a VIP the whole time, it makes
sense that he wouldn't have the same biographical information on file that the other players get.
Much like every other great cinematic twist, it almost seems obvious when you
go back to watch the show. "Squid Game" is available now on Netflix.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus,
even more Looper videos about your favorite shows are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.