Kriti Mehrotra
Since Netflix’s ‘Squid Game: The Challenge‘ is inspired by the highly acclaimed eponymous South Korean drama, it can only be described as a perfect blend of complex, exciting, and tense. That’s because it follows 456 individuals from across the globe as they compete against one another for a chance to win $4.56 million, inadvertently raising questions about greed, morality, and selfishness. In the original production, the Front Man thrived off of such discord since it tended to make players even more ruthless, making many wonder if he was present in the reality series too.
The Front Man Has Always Run the Game, and He Did the Same in Season 2
While both ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ create a very high-stakes environment considering the money on the line, there is obviously a stark difference between the two. In the former, if a player fails a game or a task, the result is deadly, whereas in the latter, they are only eliminated from the show in a manner that looks similar but is not at all harmful. However, in both cases, the Front Man plays a significant role as he oversees the entire game to not only ensure rules are being followed but also grasp when to set out tasks, advantages, or disadvantages.
There was a twist in season 2 of the original production as the Front Man ended up playing the game himself as Player 001, but that was not the case in the second installment of the reality show. In fact, in the latter, he primarily remained behind the scenes and continued to fulfill his core responsibilities with the understanding that his actions do indeed impact the overall game. This much was evident with his decision to save Player 431 Raul Gibson after the first task, simply because he had volunteered, only to then give him a mission to secretly eliminate three fellow players.
Raul was further instructed that if he failed to complete his mission in an hour, both he and his twin brother would be booted, raising the stakes even more for the young man from Bristol, England. Then, while still remaining behind the scenes, the Front Man set out additional risk-involved tasks or missions, only for them to affect those players who volunteered or were named by a fellow contestant. An additional example of his meddling is in episode 4, when he gives a guard a cutlery set with a clue about Game 3 inside, which was seemingly distributed among the players at random.
Player 021 Marcus Applefield receives this cutlery set, informing him that Game 3 is Mingle and the first number to be announced would be 6, giving him a major advantage for that round. He thus informs his closest allies, who then make a game plan for the entire game, enabling them to not be rattled and secure their survival to the very best of their abilities. Marcus did indeed make it through the game, but it was actually the players who abruptly stopped it by refusing to play anymore, owing to them being mentally as well as physically exhausted.
That’s when the Front Man came into sight of the players for the first time, all the while still essentially puppeteering the game by giving them all a “reward” for their bravery that was actually a punishment. He had his guards hand the paired-up players – the last number was 2 – a box containing marbles, making it clear that they had inadvertently chosen their opponent for Game 4 Marbles. In other words, not only was The Front Man present throughout ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ season 2, like always, he controlled, manipulated, and oversaw everything.
Read More: Who is the Voice of the Guard in Squid Game?
You must be logged in to post a comment.