This text incorporates spoilers for “Squid Recreation” season 3, episode 5, “Circle Triangle Sq..”
So, that knife the Entrance Man (Lee Byung-hun) presents to Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) in “Squid Recreation” episode 4, ostensibly to assist him and Jun-hee’s (Jo Yu-ri) child — aka the newly-minted Participant 222 — survive the sport? Seems that the villain’s motives may not be as altruistic as he claims.
In episode 5, we uncover via flashbacks that the Entrance Man obtained an identical present from the sport’s creator, Oh Il-nam (O Yeong-su), again when he was a mere participant ready to take part within the ultimate recreation with a handful of different gamers. Like Gi-hun, the Entrance Man embraced the present. Not like Gi-hun, nonetheless, he used it to kill the opposite finalists earlier than the final recreation, thus permitting him to face on the proverbial podium alone.
Because the video games have clearly been happening for fairly a while and it is extremely unlikely that Gi-hun and the Entrance Man are the one ones who would have obtained this very same present in the very same approach, this closely implies that the knife is a recurring particular recreation of types — a kind of thumbs-up from the sport’s organizer to his most popular gladiator, supposed to see if their favored participant is able to bloody their fingers to emerge on prime. It is a notably brutal transfer as a result of not solely does it intend to show the recipient of the blade into an energetic assassin, however they’re additionally meant to catch the opposite finalists fully unaware whereas they sleep. Out of all of the curveballs the sport retains throwing at its gamers, it is arduous to think about a crueler one than getting stabbed to demise simply earlier than the finale.
Squid Recreation likes its knife video games
It is unlikely that the individuals behind Squid Recreation have rolled out the knife choice in each single recreation. Why hassle constructing the set for the finale in any respect, if that is the case? Nonetheless, it is price mentioning that there is loads of precedent for such secret aspect video games due to the notorious “particular recreation” – an orchestrated evening riot that takes place within the dormitory. Blades and different weapons are commonplace in these occasions: In season 1, the riot featured melee weapons like damaged bottles and smuggled knives, whereas the guards sneakily distributed metallic forks for the gamers earlier than the one in season 2.
Aside from the organizer offering knife-themed alternatives to pick gamers, individuals have additionally been identified to proactively take the knife to their adversaries within the evening earlier than the final recreation. In season 1, Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo) famously palms a dinner knife throughout the finalists’ meal and later makes use of it to kill the injured Sae-byok (Jung Ho-yeon) within the final, bloody twist earlier than the finale. Which means all the three Squid Video games that we have seen on display in any capability convey knives to play simply earlier than the finale in a technique or one other.
A few of the most terrifying video games in “Squid Recreation” are elaborate behind-the-scenes nightmares that put the present’s finest characters via hell, and solely the luckiest and most tenacious gamers attain the ugly finale of Netflix’s largest collection. Nevertheless, it is typically smaller moments like this brutal little knife recreation that present simply how completely corrupt and nasty this life-threatening contest could be.
“Squid Recreation” season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.
