Squid Game, the South Korean TV show that took the world by storm. Number one in all countries with Netflix and the casts’ fame skyrocketed overseas. The show is based on a really simple concept, win or die. Dramatic, but a compelling plot. The simple basis of this plot allows the story to go in whichever direction it likes, free of constraint. Much like gossip girl, where the plot is just about rich kids in New York, Squid Game is about the destitute. But despite the freedom the story gets, I feel like it still stayed within a safe space.
There are a lot of things to love about the show, the set, the shots, the acting, but the story was very average to me. Frankly, I don’t even know why it got the hype it did. The first problem I have with the show is that I know who the main character is, and main characters never die. For a show that bases its story on the thrill of betting one’s life for money, battling out against hundreds of strangers, the suspense is immediately cut in half when the show opened with Seong Gi-Hun. I wonder who’s going to win the game, the guy where the audience followed around for an episode, watched his sad little life, collected some pity points for him, or some random dude. I would’ve largely preferred it if the show opened with the players all already in the room. The flashbacks can be slotted halfway in the episodes where we eventually figure out that this is designed for the rich to bet on the life of the poor. Introduce the audience to the main characters, emphasis on the -s. Instead of framing one person as number one, put all six of the characters as the main one. Let us guess who is going to win. Let the audience be the rich bastard VIPs. Imagine watching the dalgona candy game and not knowing Gi-Hun is the main character, won’t the experience be way more riveting? Because in this scenario, you don’t actually know if he’ll get the umbrella shape out, and the chances that he may die it 50-50, as opposed to 100-0.
The next thing I will change about the story is the tug-of-war game. A team full of main characters, and a team full of random extras. I don’t know about you, but I was really worried about the main characters, I mean did you see them almost failing? My heart leapt into my throat. What will the show become if they lose? I can’t imagine. In my version of the tug-of-war game, I will split 2 of the main characters and put them into the group with random people. So out of the original 6, I would’ve killed 2 of them by this game. This would’ve very effectively raised the tension and increased the stakes. Remind the audience again that in case they forgot, the penalty is death. Obviously, the show features a lot of death in the previous games, but none of the dead is relevant to the audience, so why would the audience care? Increase the stake, increase the tension, increase the enjoyability. This is a principle that shows tend to forget, like Pretty Little Liars. How are you going to show me how menacing “A” is, and all the girls are still alive and well by the end of it? (But this is a topic for another day, there are so many problems I have with the show).
Honestly, I skipped the marble game because Ali dies there, and I simply cannot handle it. But I do know that in that scene the old man dies. “Dies”. Here’s another tip for people who haven’t watched a lot of dramas, typically when you don’t see a dead body, they’re definitely going to come back. Hence, I wasn’t shocked when it was revealed that the old guy was the mastermind behind the game. I don’t consider this as a fault in the story, because I don’t think there is much the writers could do to avoid the lacklustre reveal, but they could’ve prevented another lacklustre reveal, the identity of the front man.
Imagine this, you’re working on a mysterious island conducting some very serious, very illegal game. Your operation is threatened when a cop decided to impersonate your subordinate and is gathering evidence that will put you out of business and in jail. To make matters worse, he escaped. He found a way out of the island, and you now have extremely limited time to stop him. Once you found traces of him, you order your man to bring him to you alive. Alive.
Question, your entire life is at stake because some nosy police officer found their way onto your island. The police officer is about minutes away from sending evidence or calling a helicopter, or whatever. He is a loose cannon, so why in the world will you still want him alive. Why in the world does the front man want him alive?
Moving on, the policeman now shot you. You have a bunch of armed people around you, and you allowed him to shoot you.
Question, why in the world will you allow anyone to shoot you, especially when that man is your current bane of existence?
You got shot, and your guards instinctively held the guns up. At this point do you a, shoot him, or b, ask the guards to stand down?
I believe I have proved my point. I would much rather prefer if the front man shot him immediately, and then we find out about his identity when he quietly sobs in his room. Or he just says goodbye brother after the Jun-Ho falls into the ocean. Anything other than the continuous delay of Jun-Ho’s murder. I watched this entire scene in 2x speed and still managed to figure it out which means only one thing, my brain processes in 2x speed.
And now my 2x processing speed brain has finished regurgitating the thoughts I have about Squid Game from a month ago. The bottom line is, this show is alright, it is a fun-binge, but it’ll be so much better with a few little tweaks. I heard there is a season 2 coming up, so, ahem. I will say this though, even with my powerful brain, I still can’t figure out how to play the squid game. Is it just hopscotch, but more violent? I guess I’ll never know.