Squid Game: Worth the Hype?
By Kevin Cahill ('23)
This article will NOT contain any spoilers for Squid Game. Read freely!
Squid Game is a 2021 survival drama TV show that has taken the world by storm over the course of the past month. In fact, Squid Game has become the most popular Netflix TV show of all time, drawing in 111 million viewers in just the first four weeks since its release. But why is Squid Game so popular? And most importantly, is it worth all of the attention it’s getting?
The basic premise of Squid Game is that 456 players, all in serious financial debt, are forced to compete against each other in a set of children’s games to win a hefty sum of money. There are six games: Red Light Green Light, Honeycomb, Tug of War, etc. While this may sound like a piece of cake at first, there’s a deadly twist: if you are eliminated in the game, you are killed in real life. So yes, the show is rated TV-MA, as there is a ton of violence. Some people may find that disturbing, but others find it interesting and prefer the show's gritty realism.
Another interesting thing about the show is that it was not originally filmed in English; instead, it was filmed in Korean. This leaves English viewers with two options: watch the Korean version with English subtitles, or watch the popular English “dubbed” version, which has English voiceovers for all of the Korean dialogue. This naturally sparked a “sub vs. dub” debate across the fanbase.
People who watch the “subbed” version argue that the English version ruins the authenticity of the Korean actors and thus the overall tone of the show.
People who watch the “dubbed” version argue that it is too distracting to have to read the subtitles during every scene, and thus you can not fully experience what is going on.
No matter what version you watch, I guarantee that the story will immediately hook you in. The general storyline follows Seong Gi-Hun, a broke and divorced man who still lives with his old and sick mother. He is an alcoholic, as well as a gambler, however, deep down he just wants to be a good father to his young daughter. He then hears of a mysterious set of children’s games offering up a winning prize of 45.6 billion won, or about 38 million dollars. Desperate for money to get his life together, he joins the games.
In the games, he meets several other players in a similar financial situation as him. There’s Cho Sang-Woo (his childhood friend turned failed stockbroker), Kang Sae-byeok (an orphaned woman just trying to care for her younger brother), Abdul Ali (the best character in the show), Oh Il-nam (a funny old man), and more.
As the games go on and more twists are revealed, Gi-Hun and the other players go through unpredictable but satisfying levels of character development. Going any further would include spoilers obviously, so I’ll just say this: the characters in this show are some of the best you’ll ever see on screen.
But besides the story and the characters, it is honestly just a really well-made show. The cinematography is amazing, the soundtrack is surprisingly incredible, and the themes of the show come together so well. It feels like a true original on the first watch, sort of like Stranger Things or Outer Banks (other popular Netflix Originals).
Whether you enjoy the show or not, one thing for certain is that Squid Game is definitely taking over current pop culture. I mean, the masked staff for the games (seen on the picture to the left) and the players (seen on the picture to the right) have such memorable outfits, it's impossible not to think about buying one of their costumes for Halloween. And do I even have to mention social media? “#SquidGame” has over 40 billion views on TikTok alone!
That brings us back to the original question: Is Squid Game worthy of its own popularity? Well, in my opinion, absolutely. The show does so many things right, I think that it has earned its fair share of viewers (or in this case, its 111 million viewers). I highly recommend it for those who still haven't watched it!