Get ready for the return of "Squid Game"! We're revisiting crucial details from the first season that you need to remember before diving into the next installment. From the deadly games to the shocking twists, we'll refresh your memory on everything that made this Korean drama a global phenomenon.
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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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