Friday, July 29, 2022

Emmy Catch-Up: Squid Game

Squid Game: Season 1, Episode 7 “VIPs” (B)

It’s very jarring to hear English spoken on this show, even though we did hear the Front Man answer the phone in English before this. The idea that there are wealthy men who come in masks to witness the misery of the players in person makes it even more horrific than it’s been so far, and the fact that they bet on particular players to win is also despicable even though it feels in line with what we’ve come to expect from this game so far. The suicide of the man whose parternship with his wife ended up resulting in her death was sad but unsurprising, and apparently Player 212 suffered no consequences from not getting a partner since the uneven numbers were not her fault. This episode was high on body count due to the very precarious nature of the latest game, and the two characters whose demise was most felt went out in style. Player 212 was there to taunt Player 101 at the very end when she saw him express fear and selfishness, not prepared to follow the rules because that would put him at risk, and she kept true to her promise to kill him as they both hurtled to the ground together. The Front Man turning the lights off when the man who had worked with glass before didn’t seem very fair even though no one’s supposed to have an advantage, and now we’re down to the three core players: 456, 67, and 218. Hwang has very damaging information and appears to have escaped, but the fact that the Front Man has so many soldiers at his disposal knows exactly who Hwang is makes his chances for survival seem very unlikely.

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