Plot Summary
Squid game which came out in 2021 starring Lee Jung Jae, Park Hae-Soo, and Jung Hoyeon is a Korean Web Series released on Netflix which was a huge sensation this year. The first episode starts by introducing the protagonist Gi-hun. He is shown as a lazy ex-husband. Gi-hun no longer has a job and is living off of his mother’s income. He is addicted to betting and is willing to go to any extent to get the money to do it. Thus, he steals his mother’s card, and tries to withdraw money from it. But finds out that the pin number has been changed.
So, he tries a few guesses and finally has only one chance to type it, as, if he types it wrong one more time, the card will be blocked. So, he tries his daughter’s birthday, which is the current day, and it immediately opens the account. Then he takes the money and proceeds to go betting, there he wins plenty of money and happily comes out of the betting center. But he realizes that he is surrounded by his debt-collectors. He tries to flee and in the process, he gets his money stolen by a girl, and when the debt-collectors finally catch up to him, he gets beaten and is given one month of time to repay it.
Heartbroken, he takes his daughter out to dinner as it’s her birthday. On his way back home, he meets a stranger who is willing to pay him 100,000 won, if he wins the game he asks to play. As Gi-hun has debt up to his neck high, he decides to go play. After finally winning a game, he receives the money. He is then given a card that contains a number, and he is told that if he contacts it, he gets to a bigger game where the winning price will be even higher. Similar to Gi-hun, a lot of people had received the same card.
All of them were instructed to come to a place where they will be picked up in a van. They are then blindfolded and sedated through gas which makes them faint. Gi-hun wakes up in a big room full of beds and people just like him, who had no idea what was going on. Then a group of people in masked suits come in and make an explanation. All the players in the room have a lot of debts that they cannot pay, and they are given a chance to win a huge amount of money so that they can pay it back. They are told that they will have to play six games. Later on, Gi-hun surprisingly meets his longtime friend Cho Sang-woo who also was his childhood friend.
The first game’s time arrives. The players are led to a huge playground. They have no idea until a voice announces the rules of the game. The name of the game is ‘Red Light, Green Light’. Basically, what they have to do is run to the destination within a given amount of time. But when the red light comes on, they have to stop, and if any motion is detected during that time, the player will be eliminated.
So, with that, the game begins. When the game ends, almost half of them end up dead. This spurs tension between the people, and they opt to leave out of the game, and they get sent back to their hometowns. But all of them are in debt. So, it continues to haunt them up to a point where they willingly come to join the game back to get rid of their miserable lives. But Gi-hun has a solid reason to come back. His mother falls ill, and he doesn’t possess the money required to treat her. So he has no choice but to join the game. Following this, the next series of games are conducted consequentially. The rest of the story is about how the games are done and how the players get eliminated one by one until only one stands tall.
The concept
Even though there are similar stories like this, for example, Alice in Borderland, the games conducted in this are simple. Which makes it even interesting because the director has taken the concept of those simple games and has transformed them into a human killing game. That’s what makes this special.
The Comparison
I can’t resist comparing ‘Squid Game’ to ‘Alice in Borderland’ which was also released by Netflix. By considering the facts put forward, the results always favor Alice in Borderland. Which I think is fair as Alice in Borderland was well written and well executed with more complex games which made more sense and the audience had to sit on the edge of the seat to know what happens next. But most of the games in Squid game are predictable. And keep going on with the boring conversation in the middle of the games. Some games were not even well-structured as we could legibly see other ways of getting out of it.
Other pros and cons
Pros:
The artists’ performances in this are impressive as they continue to bring out the frustration of the games and the struggles clearly with their expressions. Moreover, the background score is composed perfectly and fits the situation.
Cons: I felt like the episodes could’ve been way shorter as some scenes were unnecessary and felt boring. Some scenes were meant to be emotional, but unfortunately, they fail to connect with the audience. The dubbing was not on point, the English version was so weak and poor in dialogue and execution. The voices didn’t match, and the impact of the dialogues was lost due to the poor translation.
The Expectations
Due to Netflix putting so much budget on marketing and promoting Squid Game worldwide, people had so many expectations. I was expecting something better than Alice in Borderland. But I wonder why Netflix didn’t bother about promoting Alice in Borderland as it contains the same core storyline, but the only difference being that Alice in Wonderland was better than Squid Game. I’m sure those who watched both the Dramas would agree. Due to the marketing and word of mouth, the expectation bar was set high, but ultimately it failed to meet them. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad series. Of course, it is good. But I’d recommend for you to not expect bigger things going into this.
Overall Verdict (3/5 Stars)
Squid Game is a rollercoaster ride with a mix of emotions, fun, and thrill but the duration of the episodes makes this boring and turns this into a one-time watchable drama.
