Diksha Sundriyal
No one is safe in Netflix’s ‘Squid Game.’ Once the characters enter the game, they have to do whatever it takes to survive, even if it means completely letting go of their morals. It is either money or death and once a person enters the game, there is no third option. That is unless you have something that sets you apart from the crowd. In the first season, this option is available only to Oh Il-nam, aka Player 001. Given that he is the creator of the game, it makes sense that he should have the option of walking away, but does the same hold true for the Front Man? Not necessarily. SPOILERS AHEAD
Player 001 Has to Fight For His Life, Like Any Other Player
The third episode of the second season of ‘Squid Game’ presents a surprise to the audience when it is revealed that Player 001 is In-ho, aka the Front Man. So far, we’d only seen him working behind the scenes, keeping a strict eye on all the players and tweaking the game in ways that would make it more entertaining for his rich clients. In the second season, however, he is forced to jump into the arena when Seong Gi-hun returns to play again after continuing his search for the Front Man for two years. The reasons for Front Man’s entry into the game are varied, but he also has the added responsibility of not blowing his cover. Being in charge of the place, he could save himself at any time, but that would be a huge problem because that way, he would be exposing himself and ruining the very purpose of becoming a player. This means, like everyone else, he has to accept the danger and do whatever it takes to survive.
The first game is “Red Light, Green Light,” but In-ho has not yet entered as a player. It would be risky for him to play it because one mistake would have him flagged by the motion-tracking doll. Moreover, there is a good chance that none of the guards know who he is. Only the person he has left in charge in his presence would know of his plan. So, if that person singles out In-ho and tells the soldiers not to shoot him, they would get suspicious. It would also reveal In-ho’s identity to them, and this isn’t something the Front Man would want. So, he sits it out and appears only during the first vote. From here, he bonds with Gi-hun, and in the second game, they are on the same team.
Considering that In-ho had already played the games before and survived, it makes sense that he would be good at them, especially considering that he might even have chosen the games that appear in the iteration that he is now playing. With this, he walks into the second game and almost makes Gi-hun and his team lose by messing up the Spinning Top game. The way he handles the situation, it seems he may be intentionally messing to make things more tense and entertaining for the audience. In any case, things work out, and Gi-hun and his team survive the second game as well. The third game presents its own challenge, and for a minute, we see Player 001 separate from his group. Still, as expected, he comes out of it alive, even if he has to kill someone with his bare hands to ensure he survives without raising any suspicion. That marks the end of the danger of the games so far.
Player 001 Had to Die So That the Front Man Could Return
Things get worse for the players after the third vote that ends in a tie. The violence in the men’s toilet, which leads to a few deaths, including Thanos‘, the Os become even more desperate to kill the Xs and get the vote in their favor. Player 001 says that the Xs should strike first, but Gi-hun suggests something else entirely. He proposes not to indulge in the fight and to remain hidden while the rest of the players kill each other so that when the guards come, they can take over the masked men and rebel. Despite some opposition from his team, Gi-hun succeeds in convincing them to go forward with the plan.
Things go as planned in the beginning, but when they run out of ammo and start to be outnumbered by the masked men, it becomes clear that the rebellion is going to be quashed. Player 001 stays as inactive as possible during this, and when the time comes, he kills two players to make sure that Gi-hun’s plan turns to dust. At this time, Gi-hun doesn’t know that Player 001 is the Front Man, so the latter finds it better to let Gi-hun think that Player 001, his friend, is dead. He talks to Player 456 over the radio and uses the dying breaths of another soldier to make it seem like they are his dying breaths. Then, he fires a shot, which makes it seem like Player 001 has been shot and killed. For Gi-hun, his friend, like Jung-bae and other players who joined him in this short-lived battle, is dead. What he doesn’t know is that this was just a ruse. Now that he doesn’t have to play the role of Player 001 anymore, In-ho dons his black mask again, and returns to the scene as the Front Man.
Read More: Does Player 246 (Gyeong-seok) Die in Squid Game Season 2?
