Did Pickpocket Get Short-Changed?
Episode 2 made a point of showing us that Sae-byeok avoided being gassed during her return trip to the island. But to what end? (In the moment, it seemed like she might eventually make use of her knowledge about the secretive journey/destination… and yet nothing came of it.)
Similarly, Sae-byeok made one semi-fruitful escape into the bathroom air ducts (during which all she witnessed was sugar being melted in the kitchen), but then… nothing. Again and again, it seemed like she was being set up to be a threat to the operation a la police detective Jun-ho, but that thread was lost.
I was disappointed that Gong Yoo only played the man who played the game in the subway. Yes, he had a pivotal part but as on of the biggest stars of K-Drama, it was a small role. I still sigh over Goblin.
Wasn’t the cameo by Gong Yoo a nod to his role in Train to Busan ?
I thought it was a good series with some great performances and fantastic character moments.
I think what worked against it for me was its predictability. You knew who was going to survive because that’s what the story required. I had a weird deja vu when watching the back half of the series. A lot of it seemed very familiar though I have no idea from what. I think it may just be that I’ve consumed a lot of books, TV, and movies so it was easy to predict the what would happen next.
It was a good series but it didn’t completely blow me away.
I felt the same way. It was too predictable who the final survivors (including the last two) were going to be based on the first few episodes. It was a good series that worked quite well in parts but the unprecedented hype is unjustified.
Finale didn’t quite land, and also Chekhov’s gun didn’t come into play (the bombs), but probably season 2.
What I want to know is that in the 30 years that this game has been played, has no one noticed that over 400 people disappear each year? Very important people at the government and in the police have to be involved with this game. Also, how do the players get picked? Because some of these players have debt through no fault of their own.
That’s literally why they pick desperate and in-debted people. Half of them have sold off organs to debt collectors. they would never be missed when they vanish.
Over 500,000 people in the US went missing in 2020. I know that because of the recent reporting on the Gabby Pierto case and her boyfriend is hiding in Florida.
Many of the missing are never found and some are found years later. In my area hikers, this past summer, found the bones of a man who went missing 50 years ago.
It’s not a big stretch to imagine some of the missing are victims that are never found or make the news.
…did you not watch the show?
Sae-byeok avoided being gassed in order to sneak the pocket-knife into the game when they were patting her down, not to find a way to escape. She was never interested in taking the game down or escaping.
And the guy coughing out morse-code was the partner in the organ harvesting operation, so he wanted to know why 29 failed to show up.
The guards may not have who 001 was but had to at least know the person wearing the 001 was protected otherwise they would have shot him at the end of the marbles game.
Did the old man, 001, see some humanity in 456 and gave him his 001 jacket to wear as a bit of protection? The old man was, after all, testing to see anyone was worthy of winning.
A bit Willy Wonka that way, I thought.
Didn’t like how 456 took advantage of 001 thinking he had Dementia. It just seemed cruel, even if it was to survive. It says a lot about his character that he’d willingly do that, even though he knew it was to survive.
You could tell that 456 was having a hard time doing this, but when you have all these people being shot around you, and you have one marble left, well…Plus the old man was, well, old, but also said he had a brain tumor, so it was not an easy decision at all for 456, and the old man called him out at one point, but he had to do it. Every place else he was generous.
For that matter, I can’t for the life of me recall anyone else having single-digit numbers. I know there had to be as the floor was filled with pictures…maybe they all boght it during rlgl? And speaking of the floor…I know 001 was filthy rich, but it seemed kind of a waste to have 456 monitors built into the floor when a couple of screens would’ve done the job just as well…they weren’t for the VIP’s benefits either afaik.
Second season? Absolutely. Intrepid policeman Jun-ho is NOT dead. He was shot in the shoulder and survived the fall into the ocean. So he will hook up with Gi-hun at some point. Questions. Why would Gi-hun give the kid to an old lady who won’t be long in this world, to raise him? and waited a whole year? with that poor kid in the orphanage? he does not seem to ever process life normally. Always looking for the wrong way out, reminds me of Saul from Better Call Saul.
Guard 28 was a part of the organ harvesting operation. He was signalling 29 (who was also a part of it) to come. But since Jun-ho impersonated 29, he didn’t understand the message. That’s why they had that whole argument about 29 not turning up for the latest drop.
Yeah, surprised how they missed this. It was a major plot point, especially when the detective killed him. He was sending messages because Number 29 was acting different than he should.
Why did no player notice the games were depicted on the walls of their dormitory. Surely they would investigate every square inch of that room, as the must spend so much time there between games.
I think portions of the walls were blocked by the beds. I only noticed the depictions once most of the beds were removed.
Same – I kept wondering how i missed them till I realized you couldnt see them thru the stacks of beds
No, they had to be added later because only around the first three games (I think were planned that far ahead). The bridge game wasn’t finalized until late in the games but was depicted
I think if the show gets a second season it just won’t be the same as the first. The air of mystery would be gone and we know the main characters motivation. They would have to kill him off or introduce a funky plot twist. Because we know the games organization would watch him after he threatened to expose at the end.
Why Did Gi-hun Do What He Did in the Very End? Because humans don’t change. He’s addicted to the game. Even with the trauma, he can’t resist getting back in the game. Will season 2 show us what that game looks like? Let’s hope there’s a season 2.
My burning question was why did 001 press the red X to end the game and send them all home during the vote? That part makes no sense in retrospect.
It made perfect sense.
Every contestant voluntarily chose to come back, knowing the consequences (ie death). 001 had to choose the red X to give them that opportunity. And he also knew he’d be the last person to vote, in order to break a tie.
It was the ultimate test, yes. And given the close vote, he had to reckon at least half would return.
Okay…thanks…I guess I see it now. My next question, though, is … when they all went home, didn’t that mean that the families of the Red LIght, Green LIght losers should have gotten their shares of the money from the first game?
I rewatched each episode multiple times just trying to absorb every storyline detail and character nuance. Definitely eager for additional seasons!
No 14: No musical chairs because It’s not a common kids game in Korea, that was the point of the games. Easy games any Korean would’ve come across.
If they have an “international” game or the game travels countries (since it’s international appeal sky rocketed) maybe? But then it loses its charm.
Bummer! Musical chairs is innately cutthroat even in fourth grade.
Maybe I missed this part (missed the subtitle) but I thought the police man’s brother was said to be younger – hence why he went to look for him at his old apartment (looked like a college dorm). This is why it was assumed he was a contestant. Did the Front Man never come back home from his own game? You’d think he have a bigger place.
Go look up asian apartments.
No, I had a heated discussion with a fellow viewer because his theory was that the smart aleck who gets killed first, was the brother. But I distinctly heard that his OLDER brother disappeared & I inferred it happened when he was a little kid, so it was a mystery he grew up with.
Re: the room — I assumed that whatever made him a good prospect for recruitment, ruined him again & the room was all he could afford. Something like Gi-hun’s gambling addiction, for example. But now I wonder if it’s just a ruse, to make it seem that he’s in the regular world instead of on Squid Game Island.
I would love to know how many people G00gled what 48 billion Won is in USD.
There were many problems with Squid Game.
However, Jun – ho leaving wasn’t one of them. He had just attacked a VIP. He knew they would be after him. My question is where was the fallout from that attack? Wouldn’t the VIP’s be upset? Demanding repercussions? Etc.
2. The creepy minions gave the three remaining players a knife specifically so that they would kill one of them for a two-person showdown.
3. My problem is with Gi-hun not doing anything with the money for a year. Aside from promising to take care of the kid brother and cruelly not doing so, there’s the debt problem. He owed a lot of money. He would be dead since he obviously didn’t pay it off. Also, Sang Woo owed even more money, and he put up his mother’s home and business as collateral. The whole reason why he killed himself was so that Gi-hun would pay off his debt and save his mother. So how is it possible that after a year, she still has her business? None of this makes sense.
4. The fact that Gi-hun doesn’t go spend some time with his daughter and finally give her a gift just means he’s a lousy father. I don’t like him, so why should I care what happens to him in a second season?
About Sangwoo’s mom business, she used to have a stall in a building which Sangwoo put as collateral and she ended up loosing it since he didn’t come back. Now she has a roadside stall.
Giving the brother to SW’s mom was his own way of replacing SW. You know like how Jesus told John Mary was his mother now and he was her son. Just my thoughts
13 is one of the easiest to answer. Gi-hun is going to sacrifice himself, and his relationship with his daughter in order to try to help others. He has evolved, and this is the best way to deal with his guilt. Asking what can one person do against this big web of incredibly rich people is part of the message of the show. Too often we make excuses instead of doing what’s right to help others.
Absolutely – but HOW?
The two questions Squidgame brought up for me are 1)Since the bank president referred to him as a VIP now, does that mean the VIPs that came were former winners of the game?
2)Did the file the cop sent via his phone go through? If so what are the police doing with that info?
1. the VIPs were all Westerner visitors & the players were all Korean residents; so I think not. VIP is commonly used in lower quality Korean subtitles; I believe these were pretty “affordable”. The Korean words may have been “VIP” in the original, but they could also have been “dignitary” or “elite guest/client”.
Besides the shock of how brutal they killed the players, was the show really that good that 2/3 of the voters gave this show an A? It really was not a good show story-wise. Shocks? Yes. Interesting deaths? Yes. I mean we knew 456 would win from Episode 1.
Hey, there! Fun recap and I loved the questions. I, too, noticed that Sae-byeok didn’t succumb to the knockout gas on the return trip and was also disappointed that plot detail ended up going nowhere. I write, though, to advise you that you mis-identify the Marbles round two times in the story. It was Game/Round 5. You refer to Oh Il-am’s exit from the overall game, which occurred at the end of the the Marbles round, as happening in Rounds 3 and 4. Il-am leaves the game in Round 5.
This show was very similar to the movie “would you rather”.
My biggest question: what is with that red hair?! YIKES!