Squid Game, the global sensational that had half the world binge-watching, may have come to an end, but that never stopped obsessed theorists from devising their own explanation behind each and every one of Hwang Dong-hyuk's ingenious decisions. From utilizing the Ddakji game as a recruitment system to Oh Il-Nam being Gi-Hun's father, Squid Game has singlehandedly sparked a plethora of wild fan theories that are so effortlessly clever that it becomes difficult to dispute them.

Recently, an interesting fan theory surfaced on Reddit explained the intricate workings behind the events of Episode 6, Gganbu, and its significance for the underlying narrative. As revealed in Squid Game's informative finale, One Lucky Day, Oh Il-Nam, aka Player 001, was the mastermind behind the entire homicide scheme. He was operating and overseeing the experiment while participating himself and hiding in plain sight.

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According to the theory, published by u/of_kilter as a speculative opinion, "001 was planning on “dying” before the glass game given that the VIPs were coming to witness it and he didn’t want them to know he was playing." The theorist continues to add, "He had planned on being the only person not picked to have a partner, and that would give him a perfect way to get out. Especially since it’d be a little hard to make sure he died during the randomness of the marble game and not have any of the remaining players question it."

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Subsequently, Oh Il-Nam intentionally made himself appear weaker when partners were chosen for the marble game; it was Gi-Hun's kindness that forced him to improvise. Finally, the theory concludes, "He had naturally thought that no one would choose an old man as a partner, he doesn’t even talk to anyone to try and get a partner. But when Gi-Hun offers to be his partner, he sees a perfect opportunity to guarantee his friend made it to the next level."

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Considering the bigger picture, the theory checks out. If Oh Il-Nam never planned to make it to the glass bridge level, he would need to "die" before then and evade suspicion as to his involvement. In line with the fate of other players, the more that were eliminated, the less that would witness the foul play.

Player 001 had stalled until the very end, when only a handful of players remained and it would be much easier to fake his death without raising questions. To further support the reasoning behind this thought-provoking theory, Player 001 may have pretended to be suffering from dementia (or a similar neurological degenerative disease) so as to relocate to his 'childhood house' and make the death even more inconspicuous.

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Additionally, the Reddit theory goes on to state, "On all the other games, there wasn’t an option of one person being left out." However, a fellow Squid Game enthusiast, Yanigan, made an argument against the validity of the theory. They said, "Except the doctor was meant to be part of that game, so there shouldn’t have been anyone left over."

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In hindsight, the theory does have a huge flaw that makes Oh Il-Nam's exit from the game and Mi-nyeo's pardon from the round look purposely planned. Several moments occur in the background of the game itself that alter its course and make for some last-minute changes to maintain the fairness and cover the behind-the-scenes goings-on.

Furthermore, it would be impossible for the overseers to know (or predict) for certain how many players would remain in the game at any given time. These contestants owed millions of won, a staggering amount of debt that would make them desperate, volatile and unpredictable. Taking the free-for-all in Episode 4, Stick to the Team, as an example, these poor players were willing to do whatever it would take - even killing one another - to walk away with the prize money.

An incredibly believable theory, that much is evident, but the many layers of Squid Game highlight certain flaws in the overarching narrative that would prove Oh Il-Nam's grand plan was not so fully formed as it looked.

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