SPOILER DISCUSSION - Squid Game (Netflix Korean Series)

[BakeOffRewatch]

Thread to discuss plot with spoilers.

Don’t read on if you haven’t watched!

@rosegoldwatcher

Can't abide dubbing! The sing-song lilt of the Korean language is lovely. DH thought that I was watching something in Welsh!

I don't mind reading the subtitles.

I usually have them on anyway but when if I'm on my phone while watching I've no clue what's going on 😂😂

Do we think the old man "accidentally" bumped into a few of the contestants to persuade them to go back?

The one with the long curly hair isn't anywhere near as irritating when you watch it without the dubs.

God the glass bridge is nail biting

I hate watching things dubbed as well. I like hearing the Korean. I always have subtitles on anyway. I think you lose something from the show if you don’t hear the original audio.

@rosegoldwatcher

I didn't understand the swapping of the triangle mask for a square one.

The cop had worked out that Squares were managers?

Ah I've re watched. It was the cop taking the square mask from the one that got killed.

Yes the switching mask thing stopped him getting into trouble for not doing his job properly as well.

The most disturbing part I found was the bit they didn’t show - how the organ selling people talked about “The Thing” that was still alive, and wriggling so much the doctor “ruined” the organs, and then No 28 says they all raped her. So she’d been shot, survived, raped and had her organs out whilst still living. I think cos I didn’t see it, it stuck with me the most.

That's the most stomach-churning part for me too. That throwaway line "we all took turns doing her" to assure him that the 'zombie' was female. It was a moment where I reflected that the writer/s were almost definitely male. I doubt that scene is the one that's supposed to stay with you, but I'll find it hard to forget.

I almost gave up right at the start until I realized I could go into settings and watch it in Korean instead. I hate dubbing. My household is very used to hearing Korean, DD has been obsessed with K-Pop and K-dramas for years. I've picked up enough bits of Korean to wonder why "honeycomb game" wasn't called "dalgona game"

I found Mi-nyeo very annoying but I suppose she was supposed to be. I was disappointed when she was back in the room (though relieved she hadn't been raped).

I disliked that the VIPs got so much screentime. We didn't need to hear them speak as much as they did. They were the worst part of the show.

The VIPs were tiresome.

Definitely written by men!

Something one of my DC noted was that the way each character died was related to their pre-game life (eg Kang Sae-byeok - the North Korean girl- used a knife before she went in and died by a stab wound; Seong Gi-hun - the old school friend - was trying to die by suicide in his apartment (burning the briquette indoors) and killed himself in the last game.

There are others like this, too.

The gang boss guy jumped off a bridge to escape and then died falling from the glass tiles.

Anyone else notice this pattern?

Since this thread has drawn out some fans of kdrama I’m going to post the link to our long-running kdrama thread in TellyAddicts: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/telly_addicts/4327504-MsLatt-s-Daebak-Cybercaf-Kdrama-addicts-26-With-the-dog-days-of-summer-behind-us-it-s-time-to-dust-off-your-persimmon-racks-and-dig-out-your-down-jackets-for-a-cosy-k-autumn?pg=1

If Squid Game has piqued your interest in watching more the OP has a long list of recommendations by genre & we’re always happy to tailor our recommendations to newcomer’s preferences. The thread is not far off topping out, but there will be a link to the new one at the end of the one I’ve linked above.

Having JUST finished it.

It's been a massive hit for Netflix and will undoubtedly return

BUT

001 was the man behind the curtain, he didn't sufficiently explain himself, and he is now dead.

So how do the games go on?

RE The Pink Suit Gang, didn't 111 reveal that they are basically teenage boys? Where are their parents?

My thoughts

1. the VIPs were shit.

1. I think he should have paid people traffickers to smuggle the mum stuck in North Korea

I saw this video on TikTok that might be of interest ?

vm.tiktok.com/ZMRv39qnA/

@BananaPB

I agree the VIPS felt like they belonged to a different show and "broke the spell", they managed to display really crap acting whilst behind masks.

@GatoradeMeBitch

The most disturbing part I found was the bit they didn’t show - how the organ selling people talked about “The Thing” that was still alive, and wriggling so much the doctor “ruined” the organs, and then No 28 says they all raped her. So she’d been shot, survived, raped and had her organs out whilst still living. I think cos I didn’t see it, it stuck with me the most.

That's the most stomach-churning part for me too. That throwaway line "we all took turns doing her" to assure him that the 'zombie' was female. It was a moment where I reflected that the writer/s were almost definitely male. I doubt that scene is the one that's supposed to stay with you, but I'll find it hard to forget.

The strange thing is I missed this whole episode. Rewatched it all again yesterday without the voice dubbing and it made a bit more sense lol.

Yes that part was the worst!!!

[quote EineReiseDurchDieZeit]@BananaPB

I agree the VIPS felt like they belonged to a different show and "broke the spell", they managed to display really crap acting whilst behind masks. [/quote]
Having watched a lot of Korean drama over the last few years, the pool of Western actors available for local casting is remarkably shallow and, erm, not particularly stellar. They crop up like bad wooden pennies all over the place.

It was all written by one man, Hwang Dong-hyuk, he directed it too, @GatoradeMeBitch. I didn’t see it as a writing failure though, I thought it was a realistic depiction of a “war” or survival scenario where women suffer horrific things as a byline. I thought the female characters like Sae-Byeok and Mi-nyeo were well written as were the mothers of Sang-woo and Gi-Hun. What do you think of their characterisation?

I thought the red hair might be more understood in Korean culture as a trend, the actress who played Sae-byeok became famous with red hair on “Next Top Model”. Guess it indicates going from being passive rat race player to fiery rebel?

In the tug of war game, they didn’t die until they cut the rope @tootshoots, so maybe the back-up if 001 lost was the guillotine malfunctioned?

This discussion has made me realise I wasn’t that interested in the policeman storyline outcome but I did find it really tense the risk of him being found out, and it gave us a great way to see behind the scenes.

@RevolvingPivot ooh that’s a good idea, 001 persuading people so he can get to play his games. And yes the dubbed voice of Mi-nyeo is jarring! We changed to Korean to avoid it but thought the Korean voice sounded similar.

I LOVED Mi-Nyeo. She was a fighter and survivor.

I thought the badly acted VIPs were meant to be foolish and “foreign” but I could be giving too much credit there if what @boatyardblues said about non Korean actor pool is the case! It added to their repulsiveness.

I didn’t notice their deaths matching their life @AppleFairy but will keep an eye out on the rewatch, I’m going to watch episode a week with a friend who hasn’t watched it yet.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit, I think there was an implication when the VIPs were talking that there were games elsewhere? Something like “the Korean games are good this year”. It looks pretty self sufficient now though, 001 started it but the Front Man does it all without him.

I wonder how much it costs to set up something like this. So you have:

A massive prize pool
Secret island
A huge fleet of SUVs
Human statues and opulent head quarters
State of the art tech
Lots and lots of staff
Staff housing
The games arenas and equipment
Boats

Although it’s possible the island is a private estate and they probably saved a fair bit by not feeding the contestants much and bulk buying tracksuits and red boiler suit mask combos.

The VIP tickets must cost a pretty penny! And that’s without them then betting on it.

@HeechulOppa

I wonder how much it costs to set up something like this. So you have:

A massive prize pool
Secret island
A huge fleet of SUVs
Human statues and opulent head quarters
State of the art tech
Lots and lots of staff
Staff housing
The games arenas and equipment
Boats

Although it’s possible the island is a private estate and they probably saved a fair bit by not feeding the contestants much and bulk buying tracksuits and red boiler suit mask combos.

The VIP tickets must cost a pretty penny! And that’s without them then betting on it.

😂😂😂

Heechul - lovely to see you! You are missed on the kdrama threads.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit, I think there was an implication when the VIPs were talking that there were games elsewhere? Something like “the Korean games are good this year”. It looks pretty self sufficient now though, 001 started it but the Front Man does it all without him.

I thought that he might travel to the US to see his daughter and end up in the American games next season. Or he's be sat next to a VIP so investigates the management side.

It'll be interesting to see how Netflix takes it forward as the creator is apparently undecided on a 2nd Season but they will definitely want one - different location each season?

It was really interesting. My DH guessed the old guy being involved from the fact that the number one guy’s hands were old when you saw him. I hadn’t spotted that! Plus you never saw him die. I didn’t think it was well explained enough at the end though. I agree the most chilling part for me was when the guard said that the ‘zombie’ girl was raped before she died while her organs were being harvested. That was just horrific. I think it’s going to stay with me. I knew that Sang Woo was going to screw Ali over from the beginning, he was a cold bastard. Will be interesting to see where a second series goes, but have no idea what GiHun would go back in! Take the money and run,…