The Squid game is Netflix's latest sensation and could soon top Bridgerton as the most popular series of streamers The Korean drama was released on 9/17 and ranked No 10 on the Netflix Top 1 list in many countries, including the United States Since then, the show has held its place

The show is a grim, violent survival thriller that is part hunger games, part Battle Royale The mystery game will recruit 456 people and risk their lives with a賞金456 billion prize (or米3870 million in US dollars)

The show's compelling premise, impressive visuals and powerful performance all contribute to its success But what makes squid games really stand out is as a psychological study of the depths of human nature, and as a provocative indictment of capitalism Squid Game Season 2 seems like a foregone conclusion, but there are 1 major obstacle to making it

If you want to see Squid Game trends on your social media feed and understand what this show is all about, there's the Squid Game FAQ But be warned: Squid game has been the most addictive show in years and we can't stop watching it

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the massive squid game

Song Ki・hoon is a driver who is addicted to gambling and owes money to loan sharks He lives with his mother and struggles to support his daughter At the station, the man gives Gi Hoon a card to invite him to play the game at high stakes

He accepts, is knocked out and wakes up in his dorm with hundreds of other people There are 456 players in total and all of them are financially distressed They are identified by numbers on the front of their jumpsuits Those who have won 6 children's games on many days will win a prize of4456 billion The operation is performed by the frontman, who is masked along with other staff

Gi・hoon recognizes 2 players, including his former classmate Cho Sang-woo He also became friends with Player 001, an elderly man

The first round is the red light, the green light, but the player is stunned when the loser is shot More than half of them do not make it to the next round After they vote to end the game, Gi-hun goes to the police His missing brother also received the same card, so only detective Hwang Jun-ho believes in the story

The staff invites players and most players return to the game The next round will include tug-of-war and marbles The last round is the squid game, a popular children's activity in Korea

During this time, Jun Ho sneaks into the game to find his brother He raids the frontman's office and discovers that his brother won the game in 2015 As he tries to escape the compound, the frontman hunts him down He shoots Joon Ho falling into the sea The frontman was then revealed to be Inho, Junho's brother

In the Squid game, which is the 6th round and the final round, 2 players remain: Gi-hoon and Sang-woo Gi-hun defeats his former friend, but refuses to quit the game He calls a provision that can end the procedure, but Sang-woo stabs himself While dying, he asks Gi-hoon to use some of the prize money to help Sang-woo's mother

When Gi-hun returns home, he discovers that his mother has passed away A year has passed and he is still traumatized by the experience He does not touch the money

One night he gets a gold game card After answering that, he re-encounters Player 001, an old man named Oh Il-nam T'urns out Il-nam is the mastermind behind a game he created to entertain boring rich people like himself He also wanted to test whether humans left innate goodness to themselves

Ilnum revealed that he has decided to join as a "fun" trip to Memory Lane and because he is dying He asks Gi-hun to play 1 last game with him — to see if someone will help a drunken man on the street before midnight Gihun wins and Ilnum dies

Gi-hun gets out of the depressed haze He helps Sangu's mother and fulfills his promise to take Sebyok out of the orphanage He heads to the airport to reunite with his daughter But before he gets on a flight to La, Gi-hun sees the guy who recruited him into the game He takes the card and calls the number

"I can't forgive you for everything you're doing," he tells the person in the other line (probably the frontman) He has an expression of determination on his face Gi-hun seems ready to take down the game once and for all

The cast of the Squid game is big — although not all of the 456 players are met Reed is Lee Jung Jae as Son Ki-hoon, a divorced dad and his luck gambler

Other key cast members include:

As Park Hes-Cho Sang-woo: a former classmate of Ki-hoon who was a brokerage executive and wanted to police for fraud

Jeong Ho-yeon as Kang Sebyok: A North Korean defector who needs money to get her other family members across the border

O Yeong-su As Oh Il-nam: Old Man Designated Player 001 and is also the creator of the game

Wi Ha・joon as Huang Jun・ho: A police detective who sneaks into the game to find his missing brother

Lee Byung-hoon as frontman: A cover of the game

Gon-Yoo as an unnamed game recruiter

Squid Game Season 2 is Netflix's biggest ever It seems very likely because it's on track to become a show

The main obstacle is writer・director Hwang Dong・hyuk, who has previously talked about the painstaking process of making squid games And now he has not formed an idea for Season 2 "I don't have a well-developed plan for Squid Game 2 It's pretty exhausting just to think about it," he told Variety

Bella Bajaria, Netflix's global TV head, told Vulture that the 2nd will depend on the schedule and vision of the fans "He has movies and other things he's working on," he said But she also said that fans can work with other writers to make Season 2 "We are trying to figure out the right structure for him

There's been a bit of controversy swirling around the English subtitles of the squid game "The translation was so bad," said Korean・speaking podcast host Yongmi Mayer, "if I didn't understand Korean, I wouldn't have actually watched the same program"Mayer explained using a scene featuring Han Min-joo (Kim Jo-ryong)

Interestingly, there are actually 2 different English subtitle sets 1 is called "English [CC]" and 1 is simply "English""Neither is perfect, but the latter seems to be a better translation

Why are there 2 versions? "English [CC]" actually means to play on top of the English dubbed Squid game Another is intended to play on a Korean track

In the first round of red light, green light, a terrifying, giant robot doll oversees the procedure The smallest movement by the athlete can be detected, and the athlete will be shot and killed

The doll is actually real, but don't worry — it's not murderous It is located at the entrance of a horse-drawn carriage museum called Machaland in Jincheon-gun, about 3 hours north of Seoul

The show's producers borrowed it for filming and returned it But now it looks like the hand is missing, which is kind of more frightening

The Squid game's distinctive recruitment card is printed on light brown paper On one side there are game symbols: circle, triangle, square On the other side there is a phone number

But the symbols are more than that, and they actually represent Korean characters As Jasmine Leung explains in Focus, "The circle is the letter 'o', the triangle is part of the letter 'j', and the square is 'm'"

For phone numbers, Mashable Southeast Asia is owned by a real person who complained that "it actually receives endless calls and text messages" "

With the popularity of squid games around the world, of course, some designers have created their own squid game cards You can buy a version on Etsy and incorporate it into your Halloween costume