Squid Game Drama Review

Drama: Squid Game (오징어 게임)

Direction and Screenwriter:- Hwang Dong-hyuk

Starring:- Jung Ho-yeon, Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon, Lee Yoo-mi, Park Hae-soo, Anupam Tripathi, Gong Yoo, Lee Byung-hun,  O Yeong-soo, Kim Joo-ryoung, Heo Sung-tae, Kim Young-ok, and others.

About the show:-

When an invitation to play children’s games to win a huge sum of money as cash prize lands at his lap, Gi-hun, a gambler in debts living with his sick and elderly mother and a divorced father, grabs the opportunity with both hands and accepts the invitation. He finds that 455 other people with similar financial problems from all over the country of South Korea are already participants. These 456 players, including Gi-hun, find themselves in an unknown location, being watched by masked guards and a leader of the guards, a front man.

The players soon find out that losing a game means losing your life and with each lost life 100 million Won are added to the grand prize money. The greed for the money makes most players turn their backs against each other. Gi-hun and few other players form a group and help each other from falling prey to the notorious groups. Can Gi-hun and his allies fight their way to the top, find a way to keep themselves alive and get out of the death trap with the cash prize? Or are the game and the game planner more vicious then anyone can ever imagine?

(*This review may contain spoilers. If you have already watched the show, please continue reading. If you haven’t watched the show yet, you can still continue reading or you can come back to the review later.)

What I liked about the show and what I learnt from it:-

1) The Raw Unfiltered execution of the class and society: The rich become richer and the poor become poorer and there is no bridging the gap. The middle class and lower class beings of the society are trying to make ends meet, put food on their plates, send their kids to schools and give themselves a good life but in the process many mistakes are made. They land in troubles numerous times. And the saddest part is they are alone when that happens. They can't seem to get themselves out and when the world throws them one easy way out, they grab that opportunity with both hands. But is that opportunity going to bring them out of the chaos they are already in or is it going to land them in bigger troubles?

2) The sad and unfair world that we live in makes all of us compete with each other rather than share and enjoy together. It is okay if we do not win but I will not let the other win- is this the attitude we are going to continue living in? Is this what we are going to teach the next generations? We either push the other from the top of the mountain or pull them from the bottom. It is never going to be let's go to the top together hand in hand. We keep saying that the world has enough opportunities for all of us but when it's time to explore those opportunities we can't seem to stop and help each other get closer to those opportunities.

3) Honesty and Humanity just doesn't seem to fit in this world anymore. Those like Ali will always end up in the crowds or land in the dirt while those like Sung-woo who are ready to win by hook or crook will always make it to the end. It doesn't matter how hard you have studied for the exam, but how well you write the paper.

4) How desperate we all are: Gi Hun is desperate to win to keep his mother alive, Sae-byeok is desperate to win so she can protect her brother and keep him safe, Ali is desperate to win so he can feed his family and survive in the foreign land, Sung-woo is desperate to win so he can repay his debts and not burden his mother with his lies anymore, Jun-ho is desperate to find his missing brother. All of us are desperate in this world to find something, to fulfil something, desperately running after something to make it worthwhile.

Having said all of the above, Squid Game has managed to show that beyond all this negativity there is good, there is hope, there is life, there is generosity and there is loyalty.

1) The show portrayed some strong friendships. It doesn’t take them long to get close. A few minutes of closeness is enough for the generous amount of loyalty they show. Ji-yeong and Sae-hyeok, Sung-woo and Ali, Gi-hun and Oh Il-nam, Gi-hun and Sae-byeok, Gi-hun, Ali and Oh Il-nam and their friendships. Although some friendships turn bitter because of the competition, most last long and stay strong and even show how devoted and faithful they are towards each other.

2) The Sacrifices made for friendships, for love: Some sacrifices are painful and unexpected. Ji-yeong's sacrifice for Sae-byeok, Sae-byeok sacrificing her life for Gi-hun, Ali's unintentional sacrifice, Jun-ho's sacrifice with his mission remaining unfulfilled are all great examples of how every man is capable of doing something for another human being. Some sacrifices are selfless for the betterment of their loved ones and some are selfish, unexpected and unnecessary.

3) The ending scene is the perfect way to show that this world is still filled with kindness. When Gi-hun watches from above from the window in the building, he looks at a man on the sidewalk by himself in the cold winter. The viewers are kept waiting with the thought that maybe the world is still unfair and unkind. But as Gi-hun predicts, someone does come and helps the man on the streets. The scene beautifully captures the strengths of us humans. We can be unfair, unjust, greedy, manipulative and sometimes evil. But we are also kind, generous, brave, courageous, loyal, caring, giving and loving. When we work together to help each other, are kind to each other, love each other and take care of each other then we are capable of creating miracles.

The Actors and The Director:

Each actor has given performances with a lasting impression. The performances are raw and natural. Their characters are realistic, the acting is fabulous and their emotions reach us through the screen. All the actors are admirable in the show.

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk is intelligent, adventurous, brave and bold. His writing is clever and compelling. A director out there making people question, analyse, understand and change their actions in the society and their behaviour towards the people.

The show went on to receive numerous nominations and awards like the Golden Globe awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Emmy Awards.

A show full of messages, lessons and thought provoking scenarios.