‘Squid Game’: Episode 2 Foreshadowed Major Deaths
Fans of Squid Game soon realized all the hidden easter eggs that revealed the Korean dramas storyline outcome, especially in episode 2. Out of 456 participants, only one could win the grand cash prize. The participants go through six days of brutal and gory children’s games where death awaits the losers.
Squid Game has many twists and shocking moments. But, director Hwang Dong-hyuk cleverly hid the answers in plain sight. Fans soon realized the demise of every major character was foreshadowed in episode 2. Closely analyzing the episode, fans would still never have expected the K-drama’s ending outcome.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers about Squid Game.]
Episode 2 of ‘Squid Game’ sends the players back to their complex lives
The second episode of the Squid Game was crucial to the development of the following episodes. In a summary by Collider, “Hell” starts with the players recovering from the shock of the “Red Light, Green Light” game and realizing what it means to lose. The players go into a panic and want to leave. Cho Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo) explains a loophole to the contract, and they can vote to end the Game. A majority of the payers vote to leave and are sent back home.
The real crux of the episode is what happens when they return to their lives. Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) tries to report the Games to the police, but no one listens. Sang-woo rents a motel and sits in the tub drinking soju with a coal briquette burning. Sae-byeok (HoYeong Jung) visits her brother at the orphanage and later finds the man she hired to find her mother only to be told she was arrested in China, and the man demands more money.
In another part of town, Ali (Anupam Tripathi) visits his boss to demand his pay. His boss tries to swindle him because he is an immigrant. Ali retaliates and steals the money. Fans then meet Ali’s wife and new son and urge them to return to Pakistan with the money. The least liked character, Jang Deok-su (Heo Sung-tae) is betrayed by his henchmen and jumps off a bridge to escape.
Every main characters death was foreshadowed early on in ‘Squid Game’
As fans have analyzed the small easter eggs and clues to the creator’s identity, the biggest shock came from episode 2 in Squid Game. According to Inverse, the answer to the K-drama’s end was there all along. The episode foreshadowed how the character would die. Deok-su jumps off a bridge to escape thugs and would later meet his end when he is betrayed by Han Mi-yeo (Kim Joo-ryoung) and forced to jump off the bridge in episode 7.
Ali steals money from his employer for his family but is betrayed in “Gganbu” during the marbles game. His trusting nature follows Sang-woo’s plan, only for Sang-woo to steal his marbles and has Ali killed. In episode 2, Sae-byeok threatens the man she hired with a knife to the throat for demanding more money.
The biggest heartbreak came when Sang-woo murders Sae-byeok while she rests after being wounded during episode 7. Sang-woo kills her by using a knife from dinner to stab her in the neck. Sang-woo’s death was also foreshadowed when he uses a coal briquette in attempted suicide in episode 2. The final episode of Squid Game has Sang-woo against Gi-hun to the death. Neither wants to die, but Sang-woo commits the ultimate sacrifice and kills himself.
What other clues did ‘Squid Game’ offer viewers?
Episode 2 of Squid Game was the biggest easter egg of them all, but the K-drama had many subtle clues throughout its storyline. For example, Front Man’s (Lee Byung-hun) story and identity could have been deduced when Hwang Jung-ho (Wi Ha-Joon) learns his brother won the Game five years ago.
The true identity of Il-Nam (Oh Yeong-su) was in his name and number alone. Il-Nam translates to “one man” in English, and it was no coincidence his tracksuit number was “001.” Every episode has subtle clues like the lack of locks on his restraints in the “Tug-of-War” game.
