Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ presents an array of complicated characters who have to make difficult choices in order to survive. Each character is given a rich backstory that informs their decisions, and it is through their past actions that we understand why they made certain choices. One of the main characters in the show is police officer Hwang Jun-ho, who comes to the island where the games take place to find his long-lost brother, In-ho.
Jun-ho’s search leads him into the belly of the beast, where he discovers appalling things happening to hundreds of people, all for the reward money that waits for them at the end of the sixth game. By the end of the first season, Jun-ho manages to understand parts of what is going on, but before he can do anything about it, he is shot. His shooter turns out to be someone entirely unexpected, and the revelation of his identity changes the course of Jun-ho’s life. SPOILERS AHEAD
Jun-ho is Shot by the Very Person He Had Been Looking For
While ‘Squid Game’ majorly focuses on financially destitute people who become players in the deadly game to take their chances at winning billions of dollars, Jun-ho is not one of them. The police officer’s arc in the story is entirely focused on finding out what happened to his brother, In-ho, who had disappeared a few years back. The search leads him to join the game as one of the guards, and being the man behind the mask, he becomes privy to the things that the players are entirely unaware of. One after another, new shocking things about the games come to light, and Jun-ho decides to collect the evidence, take it back to the mainland, and bring an army of cops to shut down the whole thing permanently. But it’s not that easy.
Jun-ho’s plan is discovered by the Front Man, who is in charge of running the games smoothly. He always remains in the mask, so his identity remains shrouded in mystery. But in the finale of the season, when he catches up with Jun-ho, he finally takes off his mask. It turns out that he is In-ho. The reason he disappeared all those years ago is not only because he participated in the games but also because he joined the people who run it and has now risen to the position where he is entirely in control of the games. He cannot allow anyone, even his younger brother, to ruin the games, which is why he shoots Jun-ho.
The Shot Suffered by In-ho was Never Meant to be Fatal
In-ho might be as ruthless as Front Man, but he is still human. He left a family behind, about whom he obviously cared enough to get involved in such a deadly game. When he discovers that the police officer trying to shut the game down is his own brother, he tries to find ways to save the situation but also keep Jun-ho alive. Had it been anyone else, In-ho wouldn’t have thought twice before shooting down the man and going back to work. However, it is his brother, which is why he must act cautiously. When he shows his face to Jun-ho, he tries to get his brother to see reason and join him. But he knows that his brother has more conviction than that, so he shoots him.
Still, the shot is pretty strategic. If In-ho wanted to kill him, he would have shot Jun-ho in the head. That is the best way to ensure that someone is dead. But In-ho aims at his chest. He doesn’t hit the heart, but the area right above it. This way, the shot remains non-fatal, and to an outsider, it looks like In-ho aimed for the heart but missed it. A shocked and shot Jun-ho falls into the sea, which would certainly kill someone, but In-ho is prepared for that as well. He sends a man to find his brother and take him to safety, but the man’s task doesn’t end there.
The man befriends Jun-ho and stays by hissed for the next two years as the cop tries to find the island again. The man acts as if he is trying to help, but in reality, he always takes Jun-ho down the wrong path and ensures that the island remains a mystery. This man is revealed to be Captain Park. Considering the lengths to which In-ho goes to make sure that his brother stays away from the island, it shows that he really cares about his brother, even if he hasn’t talked to him or their mother for years now. Even as he commits atrocious acts as the Front Man, he is still the same In-ho that Jun-ho loves and cares for.
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