My Interpretation of Squid Game
Note: Spoiler Alert
Netflix’s most watched series, Squid Game, is a phenom. Why? Is it the unabashed violence? The exaggerated character dramas? Its South Korean roots? Could be the stark differences between the players. Or maybe it’s just the idea of deadly child’s play. Regardless, there seems to be no shortage of viewers or contestants who are dying to win.
Despicable Ralph
The first episode offers up our main character. I’ll call him Ralph. Ralph is a 30-something “ne er’-do-well”. He lives with his ailing mother who cooks and cleans for him. Ralph lost his union job and works part-time as a chauffeur. His wife divorced him and took their daughter. Ralph believes his luck will change so he steals his mother’s debit card and uses the cash to gamble. He manages to win a bundle after several misses. That’s good, right?
Could have been if he didn’t owe money to the local loan sharks, who happen to chase Ralph at the casino. Ralph runs and collides with a girl (I’ll call her Suzi). Turns out Suzi is a skillful pickpocket. Once cornered in the public restroom by the loan sharks, Ralph reaches for the cash, which is no longer in his pocket. Uh-oh! Ralph negotiates one last chance. Repay on deadline or give up organs. Hmmm, is that a “thing” in Korea?
The Thrill of Winning
By this point Ralph has proven his unworthiness to himself and to us viewers. As he is slithering back home, via the rail, he meets a stranger who engages him in a game. It’s a Korean version of Slap Jack – only different. Each time Ralph loses, the stranger slaps him. Across the face. If only Ralph had money, then he could have avoided the slaps.
Ralph finally wins and as he readies to slap the stranger, he is rewarded with cash! The stranger also gives him a card. On it is a phone number. The other side is decorated with a circle, a triangle and a square. An invitation to play more games.
Ralph makes the call and is picked up by a van filled with sleeping people. He’s excited at the prospect of winning big money but quickly falls asleep when the van fills with gas.
A New Kind of Child’s Play
Enter the House of Games! Ralph finds himself in a warehouse filled with other people, all wearing the same crayon green warm-up suit. And they are numbered. Ralph is the last, number 456. He buddies up with an old man, number 001. 001 is frail and doesn’t seem capable of playing any game, much less winning.
Ralph notices Suzi is there and so is his neighborhood buddy, Sam. Several other contestants emerge, all of which are in some form of financial distress.
The caretakers of the games are dressed in hot pink boiler suits with hoods and black masks. A stark contrast to the green track suits. Their masks have one of three shapes: square, triangle, circle. We’ll call them the Pinks. The Pinks are like robots. Void of emotion and carrying weapons.
Shock and Awe
The first of six games is Red-light, Green-light. This is how it’s played: One player, in this case a giant Baby Doll, turns their back on the other players. Baby Doll calls Green Light and the other players race toward her. She turns around and calls Red Light for all the players to stop. Baby Doll has roaming, movement-detecting eyes. The players who moved are eliminated. With a bullet. Ralph is paralyzed by this new turn of events. Which is good because he’s not moving. But Sam reminds him that a clock is ticking and there is a finish line to cross.
A lot of, not so smart, players freak out by the violence and run in the other direction. Only to be sprayed with automatic weapons. Improving the odds for Ralph and his friends.
Back in the warehouse, Ralph makes a stand. He wants to go home and others agree. It’s a good thing the Pinks have ‘Yes and No’ buttons handy so everyone can vote. The old man has the last vote to break the tie. He takes forever to decided, like the demented dude that he is meant to be. Ralph’s team wins and everyone goes home.
What Now
But wait, there’s eight more episodes! You guessed it; they return but with different attitudes. Every man or woman for themself. Plenty of interesting sub-plots to enjoy that I won’t go into. One has to do with organ harvesting. I guess it is a thing.
Throughout the games we viewers feel compassion for some of the characters and learn to hate others. So, in the sixth episode, many of our favorites are “eliminated” in the one-on-one game of marbles. Sigh…
If you want to know more, you’ll need to watch it. Or not. My personal ‘shock absorber’ is to close my eyes at certain, uncomfortable parts.
I am amazed at the record-breaking audiences for the show. I am also, somewhat ashamed to have been one of them. Squid Game is a source of entertainment filled with the unexpected. Sharp contrasts of colors and themes. And believable characters that are all dying to win.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Note: This blog is sponsored by me, Karen J Adams. Any recommendations or suggestions are purely my own opinion without the exchange of money.
Unpublished work © 2021 Karen J Adams
