Tamal Kundu
Masks are an essential motif in Netflix’s ‘Squid Game.’ Everyone — from low-level administrators to the VIP guests — wears a mask to maintain strict anonymity during the eponymous survival game. The symbols on their masks represent rankings among the administrators, whereas the VIPs wear golden masks that look like animal heads.
However, arguably the most fascinating mask belongs to the mysterious Front Man, the one in charge of running the whole game. It has the appearance of the face of a post-modern stone or metal sculpture, likely intending to project a sense of fear and uneasiness among the contestants. If you want to know more about the person behind the mask, we got you covered.
Who Is the Masked Man in Squid Game? Who Is Front Man?
It is revealed in episode 8 that the masked man in ‘Squid Game’ or the Front Man is none other than Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun), the supposedly missing brother of police officer Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon). After learning from their mother that In-ho hasn’t contacted her for several days, Jun-ho visits his brother’s home, which is more of a broom closet than an apartment.
There, he finds books on art, a dead pet fish, and a gift box. When Jun-ho opens the box, he finds the Squid Game card. He recalls that there was a man (Seong Gi-hun) at the police station earlier that day, rambling about some deadly children’s game. Realizing that whatever that man was saying is linked to his brother, Jun-ho locates Gi-hun to ask him questions about the game. But by then, Gi-hun has realized that he has no choice but to go back into the game. As a result, he doesn’t say anything anymore to the police officer.
The show meticulously leads its audience to the presumption that In-ho is one of the current 456 players and maybe even one of the contestants that dies in Red Light, Green Light. Jun-ho manages to sneak onto the island where the game is being held and hides in plain sight by wearing various masks of the administrators. He eventually learns that his brother was the winner of the 2015 Squid Game. Meanwhile, the Front Man and the other administrators become aware of an intruder on the island. They find Jun-ho’s police identification but fail to locate the man himself.
Ultimately, Jun-ho discovers the truth about his brother when he tries to get to the mainland. Trapped between a cliff overlooking the sea and the Front Man and his subordinates, Jun-ho asks him who he is. He must have sensed some familiarity in the other man’s voice. The Front Man takes off his mask, and a stunned Jun-ho finds out that his brother has been running the horrible game. When In-ho asks him to surrender, Jun-ho refuses, prompting the other man to shoot him. Jun-ho then falls off the cliff. His fate remains unknown by the end of season 1.
In-ho likely became the Front Man of the game after winning it in 2015. He seems to share the nihilistic philosophy about the humanity of his boss Oh Il-nam (Yeong-su Oh), as indicated during his conversation with Gi-hun after the latter wins the 2020 game. The final scenes of season 1 suggest that the game will continue even after Il-nam’s death, with In-ho acting as its new host.
Read More: Is Squid Game a True Story?
