Warning: This article contains spoilers for Netflix’s ‘Squid Game.’ It also contains mentions of death and violence that could be triggering to some readers.
Just when you thought Squid Game couldn’t get any better…
Brace. Yourselves.
ALL THE DEATHS WERE PREDICTED AS EARLY AS THE second EPISODE.
Wait, what?! Yup. You read that right.
If you’ve already watched the Netflix K-drama, you’ll know that the entire show is littered with hidden details, clues, callbacks, references, and all sorts of foreshadowed moments. Some of these clues even appeared as early as episode one.
Now, some have realized that the second episode of Squid Game contained several huge hints that all foreshadowed the deaths of a handful of major characters in the show. It’s revealed to us exactly how these characters were going to die… and we didn’t see half of them coming.
Deok-su jumped off the overpass to escape from his gang and fell off the bridge in his death.
In episode two, Jang Deok-su (Heo Sung-tae) was betrayed by his former right-hand man, who gave him up to the men from the Philippines to whom Deok-su owed money. He stabbed the traitor to death and jumped off the bridge to escape the group of men who were there to collect the money he owed them.
Deok-su was able to reach the glass floor challenge. However, everyone ahead of him had already fallen dead, and he didn’t want to take the risk of choosing the wrong floor as it might have lead to his demise.
Han Mi-nyeo (Kim Joo-ryoung), who felt that Deok-su betrayed her in previous challenges, forced him to choose a floor to move forward, but he refused. So, she jumped on the same floor as Deok-su and hugged him, and they fell off the bridge together.
Ali took his boss’s money and was robbed of his marble in Squid Game Episode six
In Squid Game’s second episode, Abdul Ali (Anupam Tripathi) had no money because his boss refused to pay him his wage. But, when Ali saw a bundle of cash on his boss’s table, he became so furious. He confronted his boss and accidentally ended up pushing him into a machine, where his boss’s arm got stuck. The envelope filled with cash fell on the ground. Ali was shocked but decided to pick up the envelope and run with the money.
In episode six, Ali and Chong Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo) decided to be partners because they were instructed to complete the challenge in pairs. Unfortunately, and to their surprise, they had to play against each other.
Ali and Sang-woo were very close, and Ali trusted Sang-woo because he had helped him several times in the past. Ali was about to win the game, but Sang-woo tricked him and stole his marbles by swapping them with stones. In the end, Ali was killed because he lost all his marbles to Sang-woo.
Sang-woo tried to kill himself and ended up committing suicide.
Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) was very proud of Sang-woo because they were childhood friends and Sang-woo was a gifted student who graduated from Seoul National University. However, Sang-woo was sued for stealing money from his clients. He was so desperate that he lied to his mom, claiming he had a business trip to the United States when he was at large.
Sang-woo attempted to drown himself in a bathtub, but someone rang the doorbell. He got up and found a new calling card inviting him again to Squid Game.
In the last challenge, Sang-woo and Gi-hun had a face-off playing Squid Game. Gi-hun had the chance to kill Sang-woo but did not do it. He was also about to win the game, but realizing that his victory would kill Sang-woo, Gi-hun decided to end the game. However, Sang-woo wanted Gi-hun to take home the money and win the game. So, he stabbed his own neck. Before he died, he asked Gi-hun to look after his mom.
Sae-byeok threatened a man with a knife to the throat and died with a stab to her neck.
Kang Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon) was scammed out of her savings by an investigator she thought would help her move her parents from North to South Korea. Furious at the realization that the man was only after her cash and didn’t do his job, she held a knife to his throat and threatened to rip it wide open.
Sae-byeok survived the glass floor challenge but was severely wounded from glass shards hitting her stomach. After losing so much blood, she was frail, and Gi-hun tried to call the staff’s attention to save her.
Gi-hun was shocked when they entered the room with a coffin. When he turned to check on Sae-byeok, she was already dead after Sang-woo stabbed her in the neck.
Bonus: Gi-Hun’s Mother
Obviously, Gi-hun doesn’t actually die as he wins the game and the cash prize, but in episode two, he foreshadows his mother’s death after he gets thrown out of the van after leaving the game. In an attempt to get Sae-byeok to trust him, he swears on his mother’s life that he won’t try and get his money back after she unties him. He immediately does, of course.
Once Gi-hun returns from the games, he arrives home to find his mother dead.
THE REAL BONUS: PLAYER 001, IL-NAM
If you’re reading this, then you know that Player 001 was the mastermind behind it all, and that his death in episode six was just a facade. But did you notice this?
In episode three, Gi-hun tried to wake up Il-nam (Oh Young-su), who was laying on a bed. Upon seeing the old man wake up, a relieved Gi-hun said, “I thought you were gone for good.”
In the series finale, the pair met again in the same scenario, with Gi-hun looking at Il-nam on a bed before the old man took his last breath.
One thing is for sure: Squid Game kept us all on our toes, taking us through a rollercoaster of emotions. From Easter eggs to artistic references, the visual and action direction deserve high praise. Which character brought the most tears to your eyes? Which character would you miss the most? One can only guess what the team has in mind for season two!
Can’t get enough of HC UMass Amherst? Be sure to check out the lastest episode of our podcast HerCode (where we discuss even more things Squid Game), follow us on Instagram, listen to us on Spotify, like us on Facebook!