10 details and their meanings you probably missed in Squid Game.

Ah yes, the battle royale style Korean thriller series on Netflix that gave audiences a run for their money – no pun intended. From the bloody and gory games disguised behind childhood nostalgia and the emotional turmoil, characters had to endure throughout the events that occurred in the show.

The plot behind Hwang Dong-hyuk’s global Netflix phenomenon, Squid Game, with its striking visual images, rising tensions, reflections on society - delivering a message that was disturbing yet beautiful; has become a global cultural and societal influence.

In today's list, I’ll be presenting 10 details and their meanings you may have probably missed in the show.

1. The Circle, Square and Triangle

The first thing many audiences seem to miss is the symbol of the show itself: the circle, square and triangle - which strangely remind me of the buttons found on a PlayStation controller. The symbols appear in the first episode in the first scene where our main star, Seong Gi-hun – player no. 456, explains the rules of a game he used to play when he was younger: “squid game”, which he describes as a type of tag where the offence and defence play against each other by using a squid-shaped board drawn in the dirt, displayed as a pyramid-sort shape.

The geometric symbols then later appear on the guard’s masks in the series, which indicate the hierarchy between the guards. Those with a circle mask are the lowest ranking guards, they're the grunts, performing simple jobs and have no power nor influence in decision making and are not allowed to speak unless authorised by a superior. Following them are the triangles, who guarantee order among players. On top of the ladder are the squares, the head guards who oversee coordinating all the work of the team.

This symbolism of the shapes refers to the reflection of a social hierarchical structure, where the division of labour is shared b the guards, to serve a higher being, the Frontman. Ultimately, the message being: society will always work to serve someone higher then them.

2. The animal masks

The characters that are later identified as the "VIPs" represent the elite of the hierarchy as architects of the whole game. The characters are dressed in what seems to be luxury clothing but what stands out the most are their gold-plated animal masks.

The varied animal masks have been chosen to hide the identities of the VIPs. However, the masks portray the true face of these figures. That through organising massacre games and betting on the lives of players for pleasure reveal the darkest animalistic side of a human being: violence and lust.

3. The blue and red cards

If you may recall in the first episode, Seong Gi-hun (no. 456) was approached by the game recruiter/salesman at the train station and offered to play ddakji (a traditional Korean game of flipping paper tiles) in exchange for 100,000 won if he manages to flip it over.

There have been fan-made theories about the game and the potential meaning of the colour cards all over the internet; in the game, Seong Gi-hun had to choose between a red or blue card. The theory suggests that picking the red card would mean he joins the game as a guard but picking the blue card would make him join the game as a player, since Seong Gi-hun picked the blue card, it automatically made him a Squid game player.

However, this is not the case. In an interview held with the show’s creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, he revealed that there was a whole lot more to the meaning behind the card's colours. The red and blue colour was a reference to a Japanese folktale about a ghost called Aka Manto, a malicious spirit who haunts public restrooms and asks people to choose between red or blue paper, but regardless of the choice, the ghost would kill them – lacerations for red and strangulation for blue.

So, whatever card was picked, the person's fate was sealed – become a player and almost certainly die in the game.

4. Coffins wrapped with a pink ribbon

Just like so many other details in Squid game, there's a deeper meaning behind them and it's no different from the black coffins wrapped with pink ribbons. Whenever a contestant or worker dies, they're carried off in a coffin that pretty much looks like a large gift box. Speaking of which, one other thing you might have not noticed is that, in the first episode when Seong Gi-hun got a gift for his daughter, the gift box looked exactly like the coffins, black with a pink ribbon – weird right?

My take on it was that the VIPs were teasing the players. By playing certain death games for money, you’re willingly giving away your gift – the gift of life.

On the other hand, in a roundtable interview with the Squid Game production designer, Chae Kyung-Sun, explains that the coffins were designed that way with the creator of the games, Oh Il-Nam (player no. 001) way of thinking about the purpose of the game. According to Chae Kyung Sun, the visual of the black coffin wrapped with a pink ribbon gives the one who created a game the feeling of being a God, emphasizes that this form of a farewell was a grand gesture; “this is my gift to you. Even if your bodies being disposed in the incinerator is a show of my mercy”.

Although, director Hwang Dong-Hyuk also revealed that he's a BLACKPINK fan too. He added to the art director's comment by saying, "the main colours of the managers are black and pink. So, I matched those tones, like BLACKPINK.”.

5. Clues to the next game were on the wall

In episode 4 of the series, there are illustrations on the walls behind the bunk beds but are only seen if you were paying close attention to the background. In episode 8, when Gi-hun, Sang-woo and Sae-byeok make it to the finals after completing the glass bridge game, the illustrations on the wall are as clear as day.

6. The player's deaths were foreshadowed

During episode 2, we were given several hints that foreshadowed the deaths of a handful of characters:

· Ali takes what he’s rightfully owed from his boss who described it as “stealing”. In the marble game, Ali is betrayed by Sang-woo who “steals” his marbles.

· Sae-byeok threatens to slash a man’s throat and is later killed by Sang-woo who slashes her throat.

· Deok-su jumps off a bridge to avoid being killed by gang members and later dies after falling off the glass bridge.

· Sang-woo tries to take his own life and later kills himself for Gi-hun to win.

7. Gi-hun’s player number: 456 wasn’t a coincidence

You might think that Gi-hun’s player number was 456 because he was the last player in the competition, right? The number has been foreshadowing him as the winner. In episode 1, Gi-hun bet on horses and wins 4.56 million won. Consequently, Gi-hun wins Squid game and gets the 45.6 billion won prize. Coincidence? I think not.

8. Player 001 exit strategy

In the marble game, we later find out that the player left without a partner ahead of the game survives and is taken back to the dorm without having to play the game. During the pairings, we see Oh Il-Nam in the corner, alone and avoiding pairing up with anyone. This is a smart strategy, as not being paired up would allow Il-Nam to leave the competition without raising any suspicion.

However, Il-Nam eventually partnered up with Seong Gin-hun for the marble game and in the end, Il-Nam lost. Although Il-Nam lost the game, unlike other players, his death wasn't shown – we heard the gunshot, yes, but we never actually saw him on the ground in a puddle of blood – thus he never really died, he was just escorted out.

Whether he played the game or not, it seemed Il-Nam was always going to exit the game earlier or after the marble round, as he would have not been killed anyway.

9. Gi-hun’s red hair

Okay, this was one detail we all couldn't miss but perhaps you were wondering why Gi-hun decided to change his hair colour after participating in the games.

As we all know, colours carry meaning and in this case, the colour red represents a handful of them: love, passion, danger, desire, anger, etc.

Gi-hun’s dramatic move was to indicate his rage towards the games and that he may never be able to back to his old reckless and goofy self we saw earlier in the show.

10. The “last supper”

In episode 8, right after the glass bridge game, our three finalists: Gi-hun, Sang-woo and Sae-byeok are treated to a lavish steak dinner before their last game. It is revealed that Sae-byeok is badly wounded and bleeding from the previous game. Once finished with their dinner, the guards leave each of the players with a steak knife to “defend” themselves during the night. Gi-hun offers to team up with Sae-byeok who is slowly bleeding out and weak, against Sang-woo.

Just as Gi-hun sees an opportunity to kill Sang-woo who has now fallen asleep, Sae-byeok stops him because he isn’t that type of person. Sae-byeok begins to pass out from her wounds, Gi-hun hurries to the doors and screams for help. The doors do open, but the guards come in with the coffin. Gi-hun’s gaze quickly follows and rushes towards Sae-byeok and notices that her throat has been slit by Sang-woo’s knife.

With Sae-byeok’s death (in addition to the old man Sang-woo pushed during the glass bridge game) being the last straw, in rage, Gi-hun picks up a knife and goes for Sang-woo’s throat as an act of revenge, however, fails as the guards manage to stop him, pinning both players down. With two players ready to kill each other, the grand finale has been set.

The visual representation of the final meal the three finalists had and the events that occurred afterwards, is a possible reference to the Last Supper Jesus shares with his 12 disciples in the Bible. The Last Supper serves as a celebratory meal after his triumphant entry into Jerusalem (the steak dinner). At the Last Supper, Jesus announces that one of his disciples would soon betray him, which was Judas (Sang-woo by killing two innocent people just to survive).

And that’s the end of the top 10 details and their meanings you probably have missed in Squid Game. Comment down below if you think there are there any more details you think could be added to the list and if you found this interesting don’t forget to like and share with a friend. Thanks for reading!