The Netflix sensation Squid Game took the world by storm, taking a well-known concept and transforming it into a relatable, if horrifying story. The show holds audiences captive up until the very last moment, with shocking twists at every turn.
Squid Game is a lot of things, but it certainly isn’t predictable. Still, the series' clever writing peppers hints about future events all throughout the story, details that go unnoticed at the time, but that make sense after audiences learn the secrets of the game.
10 The Business Card Boxes Shaped Like Players' Future Caskets
At the beginning of Squid Game, players receive their Squid Game invitations in small boxes tied with a bow, holding business cards. After the Red Light Green Light game kills over half the players, the true meaning of the boxes is revealed. They look very similar to the caskets used for the bodies of the dead before they are taken to the crematorium to be burned.
Even more horrifically, the eliminated competitors that somehow manage to survive are sealed inside the caskets and later used for the organ trafficking business the Squid Game guards are running in secret.
9 The Inclusion Of Oh Il-Nam As Player 001 Makes Sense In Hindsight
The protagonist of the story, Seong Gi-hun may have his faults, but he also has a generous heart. That much is obvious from his relationship with Player 001. The old man with a brain tumor strikes an unlikely friendship with Gi-hun. It often urges Gi-hun to include him in his team-ups, despite the fact that it’s apparently a bad idea.
For the viewer, the fact that a frail old man is the very first player seems a somewhat unusual choice. It’s not a detail that seems particularly important in the first episodes, but after the show’s finale, the number makes complete sense. Oh Il-nam is actually the host of the show. The number symbolizes his perceived superiority over the other competitors, the fact that even when he is among them, he is above them. Even his name translates into ‘the first man.’
8 The Sensor Doll Avoids Oh Il-Nam During The Red Light Green Light Game
Squid Game is so intense that the games have a tendency of going very fast, with the details passing the viewers by. However, upon a rewatch, audiences may notice that Oh Il-nam was never targeted during the Red Light Green Light game. The motion sensor doll simply avoids him, and the range of non-intervention around him inadvertently keeps other players safe. It makes sense, as it seems very unlikely that an unhealthy old man wouldn’t so much as twitch during such stressful circumstances.
7 Oh Il-Nam Doesn’t Have A Competitor Folder
Another detail that is very easy to miss takes place outside the actual games. Detective Hwang Jung-ho infiltrates the competition as a guard to find his missing brother, In-ho. With great effort, he tracks down the files with the details of the competitors and goes through all of them.
He eventually finds In-ho as the winner of a previous game, but he also views the files of the current competition. If viewers pay attention, they'll notice the competitor files start at Number 002, completely skipping Oh Il-nam.
6 Oh Il-Nam’s Visit To Gi-Hun’s Neighborhood No Longer Seems So Benign
After the first stage of the game, the players take a vote to leave. The vote is only successful because of Oh Il-nam’s final vote of ‘in favor,’ but Oh Il-nam has other tricks up his sleeve, already planning to get the competitors back.
He even pursues Gi-hun, and the two have a seemingly random and benign meeting in Gi-hun’s neighborhood. Oh Il-nam comments that he has a friend in the area, and despite the fact that no one realizes at the time, it’s possible that he may have been referring to Gi-hun.
5 Oh Il-Nam Calls Out For The Players To Stop
The actual games aren’t the only danger players have to face. The organizers prepare a ‘special game,’ bidding competitors against each other by not giving them enough food. A riot breaks out, led by Jang Deok-su. Numerous people die until finally Oh Il-nam intervenes, calling out for everyone to stop as he is scared. The Front Man, who is watching the whole thing, sends guards in, ending the massacre.
4 Deaths Are Foreshadowed Before The Players Are Even On The Island
Considering the theme of Squid Game, the numerous deaths aren’t a huge surprise for the viewers. What is a little more unexpected is that most deaths are foreshadowed in some shape or form. Cho Sang-woo, for example, attempts to commit suicide after the game supposedly ends, losing hope that he’ll be able to fix his mistakes.
While lying in the tub in his hotel room, he is shown burning coal briquette, a fairly common way of committing suicide for Koreans. He returns to the game but ultimately kills himself after losing his final confrontation with Gi-hun. Abdul Ali is another example. He steals his abusive boss’ money, then ends up dying after his marbles are stolen from him by Sang-woo.
3 Oh Il-Nam’s Story About The Marbles Location Is Probably True And May Have A More Sinister Meaning
Abdul Ali isn’t the only victim of the Marbles game. For a while, Oh Il-nam seems one too. He teams up with Gi-hun, and then seems to succumb to a dementia-induced trance. The two players wander through the game’s setting, and much to Gi-hun’s despair, Oh Il-nam keeps commenting on how similar the location is to his home. He even says Gi-hun reminds him of his son. It’s fairly obvious that Oh Il-nam was aware of what was happening the whole time.
It also seems likely that the place was indeed built to mimic a location from Oh Il-Nam’s memories. The whole scene has birthed numerous conspiracy theories, some of which suggest Oh Il-nam is actually Gi-hun’s father. It's rather significant that this is the episode when Oh Il-nam hands Gi-hun his jacket, as he clearly wants Gi-hun to win. Considering the fate of the previous winner, In-ho, Oh Il-nam may have been grooming Gi-hun as a possible successor the whole time.
2 The Bunker Room Hides Clues About The True Contents Of The Game
The Squid Game is sadistic in every possible way, but another element of its brutality is the fact that it taunts the players with obvious solutions that they can no longer reach. Just take the bunker room where the competitors sleep. All the games are depicted on the walls, but this only becomes obvious at the very end, when all the beds are moved aside, leaving the only three finalists.
1 There Are Several Clues Regarding The Front Man’s True Identity
Oh Il-nam isn’t the one hiding a shocking identity. As he escapes the secret island where the games took place, Jun-ho is pursued by the Front Man only to learn that his missing brother was the game’s supervisor all along. This was hinted at several times before, as the Front Man wasn’t nearly as proactive in tracking down Jun-ho as he should have been, and seeing Jun-ho’s face obviously gave him pause. He also originally tells his underlings to leave Jun-ho alive. He ends up shooting Jun-ho himself, in the shoulder, but it’s not out of the question that Jun-ho may have survived the injury.