As the release date of Squid Game season 2 draws closer, the world waits with bated breath for a new set of dark and twisted games punctuated with spine-chilling revelations and a nail-biting finale. Fans hope the sequel will deliver as many stunning moments as its predecessor. After all, the credit for Squid Game season 1 amassing 2.8 billions hours of viewership (an equivalent of more than 319,000 years!) goes to the suspenseful and shocking scenes that glued audiences to the edge of their seats.
In a stark contrast to most Korean shows, Squid Game managed to become a tear-jerking international hit without romance as one of its themes. Instead, the survival thriller threw light on deep socio-political issues infecting the society. Betrayal, chaos, the desperation to make it out alive — and possibly with 45.6 billion Korean won — came to be the premise of the massively popular show.
As 450 new contestants brace for darker spins on innocent children’s games and Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) hatches a plot to end them for good in season 2, let’s tune into 7 shocking scenes that made Squid Game season 1 one of the best television series of all time.
But first…
What is the release date of Squid Game season 2?
Squid Game season 2 is set to arrive on December 26, 2024 — just in time to add a dark, thrilling touch to your most beautiful time of the year. Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of the show confirmed the second installment will have a smaller episode count, as opposed to nine episodes in season 1. This is because Squid Game season 3 will follow shortly after in 2025. Rest assured, a shorter season does not mean less entertainment. The games are said to be more deadlier than ever. And although, The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) in the trailer says the games will not end “unless the world changes,” director Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed that season 3 will be the show’s final chapter.
Watch Squid Game season 1 on Netflix, here.
Most shocking scenes from Squid Game season 1
The first game where 259 players get eliminated
A series of deadly games kick off when the playground for Red Light Green Light, an innocent game suitable for children aged 6-7 years, turns into a graveyard for 259 players. This is the only game in the show that sees an elimination of this magnitude, possibly because it was the first game and the contestants did not expect that failure would equal death. Panic ensues and the end result is piling dead bodies of people scurrying to get out.
The Honeycomb game: Cho Sang-woo betrays his childhood friend Gi-hun
The third episode of the streaming sensation saw players carving out shapes from a sugar candy against the backdrop of vibrant swing sets — a game that is a lot more fun if there aren’t masked men pointing a gun at you. Cho Sang-woo, better known as player 218, lucked out when he unravelled what the game was even before it began. This gave him an upper hand and he chose a shape that was the easiest to carve: a triangle. In doing so, Sang-woo lied to an old-time friend who picked the hardest one of all: an umbrella. It was a heartbreak no one saw coming, especially given Gi-hun was constantly looking out for Sang-woo and even suggested they form a team so everyone could come out ahead.
Jun-ho discovers that the games date back to 1988
Jun-ho, a police detective who infiltrated the games disguised as a staff member to look for his brother, unearthed some shocking secrets that left viewers flabbergasted. Not only did he realise the games were an annual thing, but during the course of the show, Jun-ho also discovered that his lost brother was not just another cash-strapped player but The Front Man himself.
The marble game: Gi-hun uses Il-nam’s dementia to manipulate him
In episode 4, when players are asked to pair with each other, the closest duos in the game form a team to present a strong front and win. In a tragic twist of events, the players are later instructed to compete against each other rather than together. The kill-or-be-killed contest puts the most cherished friendships to test sparking off unexpected eliminations including that of the oldest player of the show, Il-nam, after he gets betrayed by his closest ally Gi-hu.
The marble game: Ali’s death and Sang-woo’s betrayal
Once you’ve routinely watched players get killed and deceived left, right, and centre, can anything shock you anymore? The answer is a harrowing yes. As viewers, we thought we had seen it all until this heartbreaking moment appeared on our screens. In what was arguably one of the most devastating episodes, Abdul’s innocence was capitalised on when Sang-woo replaced his marbles with stones — a move that caused Ali to lose the contest and eventually die.
The fact that Il-nam was the mastermind behind the notorious game
From the outset, several scenes involving Player 001 did not sit right with the viewers. To start off, what was a 76-year-old with brain tumor and dementia competing in the game for? It was also strange when all protagonists were shown getting killed on-screen, but for Il-nam, there was only a gunshot sound and no sign of a dead body. Another notable clue was when The Front Man quickly ended a fight among players in episode 4 immediately after Il-nam requested it. Still, it wasn’t until the season 1 finale that Gi-hun, the winner of the contest, discovered Il-nam’s role as one of the creators of the game.
All the games were sketched on the walls of the dorm hall
Hidden in plain sight. Whilst they all tried to find out the next game, the walls had all the illustrations of the games being held. Squid Game is truly genius pic.twitter.com/82Ala9ozvJ
— C⁴☘️ (@CJCreates_) October 5, 2021
From the get-go, contestants spared no effort to find out what the next game could be. What they missed, however, was the illustration of every game they were to play listed and drawn right in their backyard, or in this case, the dorm room where players spent most of their time. From picking the strongest contestants for tug of war to pairing with anyone but their friend during the marble game, the information about the nature of games could have propelled the players closer to winning the 45.6 billion Korean won.
(Main and featured images: Netflix)
