Squid Game is a sadistic yet heartfelt show that is deserving of Netflix’s number one spot.
The South Korean show was released in September and has already broken records on the streaming platform Netflix. In the first month, 111 million households watched Squid Game, exceeding the previous top show Bridgerton, with 82 million views.
In the show, there are a series of games reminiscent of Korean childhood.
Candidates for the games get selected based on their hefty debt. They are recruited in the subway station with a seemingly innocent game of ddakji. If they win, they get money, but if they lose, they get a hard slap across the face.
This allows the recruiter to test the potential players’ boundaries before offering them a position in the six-round game.
Little do these people know what they are getting themselves into.
As the games begin, players realize if they want to compete for the grand prize of over $45 billion won ($47 million CAD), their lives are on the line.
Of 456 players, only one will survive to take home the jackpot.
Initially, Squid Game was too twisted to get picked up by a studio. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk wrote the script in 2009 and it wasn’t put to use until Netflix gave it the green light a decade later.
The show is gruesome with many unsettling moments. From watching people fall to their deaths to a straight-up massacre, Squid Game can be uncomfortable to watch.
The wealthy audience of the game is truly sadistic, taking pleasure watching players suffer physically, emotionally and financially. In the show, the rich have no regard for human life as the poor are treated as puppets for entertainment.
While not everyone can stomach blood and gore, the wholesome relationships between the main characters lead viewers to want to know each of their fates.
In their strategic move to team up, the main players accidentally find family in each other. Within the group there are father, brother and sister dynamics that establish strong relationships.
Viewers get to see who acts with integrity versus selfishness and greed.
Main character Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, has strong morals, taking the role of the leader with everyone’s best interest at heart.
Gi-hun’s compassion is admirable but he remains naïve to the fact that not everyone can make it to the end. Nonetheless, his efforts win over the hearts of viewers at home.
Somehow the show manages a balance of both sadistic and heartfelt moments, which is why it is well deserving of being in Netflix’s top spot.
When looking for what to binge-watch next, consider Squid Game.
Let the games begin.