I Do Not Like The Squid Game And I Have My Reasons

Squid Game needs no introduction as it is a global phenomenon and by now has even won several independent film awards. I avoided the show for the longest time because watching people die as a part of a game is not something I can take easily.

I don’t mind thrillers or action movies where good guys and bad guys battle it out and some die and some live. I’m fine with that. But watching men and women die in an illegal sport (if that’s what it is called) just for money does not appeal to me.

But it was a Saturday morning and I had no plans for the weekend, Netflix insisted I watch their most successful project the Squid Game so I thought let’s give it a try. 

But first, let me tell you that this is not a review or a disparaging post about Squid Game. I just want to share what are the few things I like about it and the stuff that I didn’t like about it. This post is full of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the show then you may not understand this post.

Squid Game (2021) (9 Episodes)

Seong Gi Hun (Lee Jung Jae) is a debt-ridden man who is addicted to gambling. He works as a chauffeur but uses all his money to bet on horses. He is confronted by moneylenders who demand their money back from him and threaten to sell one of his kidneys if he fails to do so. 

He is separated from his wife who is married to another man. But he loves his daughter and is extremely attached to her. So, when he learns that his wife is about to leave the country with her husband and settle in the US, he is left devastated as he cannot imagine not meeting his daughter again. To add to his misery, his mother falls severely ill and needs to undergo a major operation to survive.

In dire need of money, he happens to meet a mysterious man (Gong Yoo) who offers to play a game with him and promises 10000 won for every round he wins. And, each time he loses the mystery man gets to slap him across his face. With nothing to lose, Gi Hun agrees to play and make a decent amount getting slapped and winning some rounds.

The mystery man then hands him a visiting card telling him that he can play more such easy games and even make money from it. His mother’s serious ailment and the fear of losing his daughter make him accept the offer and join the game. What he doesn’t know is that the game will not only change his life but also change him as a person forever.

I enjoyed watching ‘Squid Game’ because…

…the story-writing, strong characters, and art direction blew me away. Here are a few points I loved about this show.

Player 001 – Old Man Il Nam

First, let’s talk about the old man Oh Il Nam. In the first episode, we learn that player 001, Oh Il Nam is suffering from a tumor in his brain and probably has only limited days to live. After the first two rounds of the first game ‘Red Light, Green Light’ players are terrified to learn that elimination means being shot to death. Everyone freezes in their place out of fright but only the old man Il Nam continues playing enthusiastically and solo for the next two rounds. As viewers, we feel that the old man is dying anyway so why will he be scared of being shot to death hence his excitement for the game seems justified. However, that’s not truly the case.

Later, players protest the brutal game and demand to be allowed to leave. The game host then holds a vote to go with the majority’s decision. The voting starts from the last player and when it reaches the first player 001 i.e. old man Il Nam, it is a tie and his vote is the deciding vote. As viewers, we know the game will go on and expect the old man to vote for the games to continue. However, he shocks everyone by voting to discard the game.

It is only later in the show that we learn that Il Nam actually is one of the founders of the game and that he is a participant because he wishes to relive his childhood by playing his favorite games before he dies.

He plays the scary ‘Red Light, Green Light’ game fearlessly unlike the other players because the tracker is programmed to not track him so even if he moves he will not be shot.

He votes for the games to be stopped because as a creator of the games, he himself follows the rule of the games of giving the players a fair chance and the opportunity to choose the games for themselves.

What we understand initially is very different from the actual reason behind every action of this man. And this surprise value is what makes this character so deep and well-developed.

 

Player 218 – Gi Hun’s friend Cho Sang Woo

From the starting of the show, we know Sang Woo is an extremely intelligent, well-educated man who is Gi Hun’s childhood friend. While Gi Hun turned out to be a complete bum, Sang Woo went on to study at the prestigious Seoul University and became a successful person. However, when Gi Hun sees Sang Woo in the games he is shocked as he cannot believe that a scholar like Sang Woo can end up in a place full of people struggling to pay off their debts.

Throughout the game, we see glimpses of Sang Woo’s intelligence and keen observation skills that give you an idea of smart he truly is. You then start wondering what got him into a financial mess. And we get the answer in the Marble game where we see him convince poor Ali to give up his bag of marbles in episode 6. This game makes you understand that Sang Woo is a smooth-talker and a risk-taker. Just like Ali, he must have convinced many other people to part with their money that eventually must have gotten him into trouble.  

Tug of War Game

In the Tug of War game, we see that the old man Il Nam offers his words of wisdom and important tips and strategies to win the game against a more powerful team. He gives the best possible positions for the players, even how each person should stand and balance their body, and how and when they should pull the rope to win the game. The dramatic music and atmosphere convince viewers that the old man has given a winning strategy.

But then we see them losing until Sang Woo comes up with a game-changing strategy that helps them win.

The suspense is created and just when we feel that the game got predictable, the writing shocks us and takes an unexpected new route to the anticipated conclusion.

There are a ton of such minute details that make me want to kiss the hand of the story writer for adding such shocking twists and turns. The show scores high on shock value and that undoubtedly is its USP. Except for a few crucial elements attached to the main lead Gi Hun, nothing is obvious or predictable about the show.

 

Entire Gaming Set

The unique and colorful set where the games are played and the living hall are extremely fascinating. Players are taken through stairways that lead to multiple doors and only the guards know how to navigate correctly through those stairs without losing the way. The stairs are narrow and crisscross which amps up its intrigue value.

The walls of the hall in which the contestant’s sleep are painted with the games that players will be playing throughout their stay but we get to see it only in the last part of the show. It is because the walls are initially covered behind beds, which are removed each time a player is eliminated, or shall I say each dies in the game.     

This attention to detail makes the show fascinating. And there is a lot to like about it and its characters. The love that the show is receiving and the hype around it is understood and to some extent even justified. However, Squid Game is not a show that I would recommend to someone. And here are my reasons why.

 

I did NOT LIKE ‘Squid Game’ because…

…the writer seems to have a problem with religion. Before I get into the details, let me clearly mention that I am not saying the writer wants to demean or insult any religion. However, I do object to how religion and religious people are portrayed in the show.

For instance, when Gong Yoo tries to talk to Gi Hun he dismisses him saying he does not believe in a certain God. I’ve read Pachinko and I am an Indian so I know about missionaries. I understand that noting Gong Yoo’s appearance, he must’ve mistaken him for a missionary, and since he is already so frustrated with all that happened to him moments ago it is natural for him to dismiss Gong Yoo quickly.

Later in the show, during the Tug of War game we see the old man Il Nam say that the game of Tug of War is won through strategy and not through physical might. Then player 244, who seems like a devout follower of a certain religion, says that only God Himself can save them in such an unfair situation. No one pays heed to his comment and the old man then continues with his tips and strategy to win the game.

After they win the game, we see player 244 down on his knees begging for forgiveness since their victory meant the death of the other team. Player 240 mocks him for thinking that God helped them win the game when actually it was the old man’s strategy and Sang Woo’s last-minute trick that helped them win. She tells them that Il Nam and Sang Woo are his Gods because they saved him. Player 244 retorts that it is because of the sacrifice that the other team made and that God sided with them, which is why they are still alive. She scoffs and calls him a killer. He looks clearly shaken as he goes on with his prayers while she continues to mock him and his inclination to pray.

We later get to know that Player 240 despises God because her father was a pastor who treated her and her mother badly.

In the Glass Tile game, we see that player 244 goes down on his knees in the middle of the game and starts praying for the Lord to help him. The player behind him naturally gets angry and loses his patience. They get into a scuffle and player 244 pushes the other player to his death. He then jumps onto the next tile that happens to be the right tile and he quickly thanks God for it before the next player pushes him to death.

In the last episode, when Gi Hun is shoved out of the car by the host of the games, he falls near an Evangelist who is promoting belief in God and asking people to turn to spirituality while people around don’t even spare him a glance.

I don’t want to say if all this is wrong or right, I just don’t understand the meaning behind it in this show. Why are religious people shown to be such cowards? What is wrong with praying? Of course, going down on your knees in the middle of a time-bound game is not practical and I’m sure even God might not encourage that but why attack faith in God? What kind of a message is this show trying to send to the viewers?

This is one big reason why I would not recommend this show. I absolutely hate it when faith in any religion is mocked like this.  

The second and major reason why I do not want to recommend or even promote the show is its general premise of playing with people’s lives and then making a fake show of how ethical and fair makers of the game are.

For instance, before the first game, no player knew that elimination meant instant death. Over 200 people are mercilessly massacred and then the players are given a choice to vote for themselves. What about the 200 who died? How is it a fair chance for them?

For me, the biggest problem with the show is that I fail to understand how people’s death can be entertaining to anyone? It’s not a battle between good and evil. It is poor people putting their lives on the line to earn some money.  

According to some online report, the Squid Game had been rejected in 2008 for being too violent. Then what changed now? I guess, the lack of censorship on OTT shows.

I’ll be honest, after the first two episodes, I was completely hooked. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen because I found the story extremely engaging.

As I saw the backstory of players in episode 2 and understood their financial problems, the game looked like their only a ray of hope. I understood the reason why they come back and I even sympathized with them. I rooted for some players and felt happy when they survived as others were shot dead.

But as I got more involved with the show and the characters, I realized how sadistic the whole concept is. The sense of relief derived when my favorite player advanced while the others died was such a rotten idea of “entertainment”.

I then wondered if every viewer felt the same?

We are introduced to the VIPs who are foreign investors betting on people they feel will survive the show. I felt angry when they arrived because they are the reason why so many people are dying on the show. But then it dawned upon me that I am no different from the VIPs because I too am enjoying seeing people die. Eeewwkkkss!!

I recently reviewed the Japanese show, Alice in Borderland which is based on a similar game survival concept. In that review I had mentioned the Hollywood movie ‘The Condemned’ in which criminals on death row are taken to a secluded island where they have to kill each other to survive and win the game. That movie dealt with criminals who have committed serious crimes and the game gave them a chance to live. The movie left me disturbed but the fact that they were hard-core criminals could still pacify my nerves.

Alice in Borderland too was tolerable (despite its questionable direction) because, in the end, I could tell myself that it is a fictional universe so it cannot happen for real. Also, we don’t know how people are selected or how everything is controlled in the game making it more evident that it is all fiction.

But that is not the case with Squid Games. We see rich people use regular helpless people for their entertainment. They specifically target people who have pledged their bodies against a debt. So, even if such people die, no one would care. They use their helplessness against them. Seeing the kind of response this show received I won’t be surprised if it happens for real someday or maybe it is already happening and we don’t know about it yet. How difficult is it to lure poor people into dangerous games in the hope of earning pots of money? Or how difficult it is to get viewers to watch other people in misery?

The more the show is praised, the more it scares me as I realize that it has made the killing of poor people seem so cool. 🙁 The way the doors to the playground are shut and people are shot for trying to escape is not entertainment. It is not something people should watch and enjoy or feel thrilled about. And what is the takeaway from the show? I’m not sure.

 

I have no rating for the Squid Game. Its storytelling may be strong but the violent, ruthless plot makes me sad and concerned.    

 

Image Courtesy: Netflix.com

 

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