"001" (Squid Game S2E3)

[00:00:00] Hmm?

[00:00:01] Ah!

[00:00:02] Hmm.

[00:00:26] Oh.

[00:00:28] Oh.

[00:00:30] Oh.

[00:00:34] Oh.

[00:00:37] Hi everybody, welcome to the podcast. I'm Jason.

[00:01:15] And I'm Daphne.

[00:01:17] And this episode, we are covering Squid Game Season 2, Episode 3, 001.

[00:01:24] Which is, I have found such an intriguing title. My first thought was James Bond and then I was like, oh no, it's O'Il Nam's replacement. I can't wait to find out who that is.

[00:01:36] Uh-huh.

[00:01:36] Is it or isn't it? Because if you think about it, who's gonna be player number one? I mean, is that going to have any significance? I wasn't really sure going into it.

[00:01:46] It's, uh, well, that was In Ho, right? Hwang In Ho.

[00:01:50] Yeah.

[00:01:50] And, uh, Front Man. And we don't know because we don't watch ahead, but I feel like, well, we know he didn't play Red Light, Green Light because he was watching.

[00:02:03] But, um, I'm thinking he's gonna play the rest of the games. You think maybe he just came in there to cast the deciding vote?

[00:02:11] No, I think he's in. I think for some reason he's decided.

[00:02:15] To play, yeah.

[00:02:16] To play. I, honestly, before we got into this episode, I was thinking, you know, at the beginning when we're watching it and they're starting to play.

[00:02:27] And I'm thinking, okay, is this gonna be a chess match between Gihan and In Ho the whole time? Like, not an actual chess match, but like, a chess match of what they're doing?

[00:02:40] Maybe it will be an actual chess match. You never know.

[00:02:42] It could be. It could be. I don't know.

[00:02:45] The final game.

[00:02:46] But for some reason, he must have felt drawn to be in it.

[00:02:51] Yeah, I doesn't, it doesn't make sense to me. I'm, I'm intrigued. Yeah, I'm intrigued. I thought, cause I was like, who the hell could it be? I, maybe I should have guessed. But when he turned around and it was him, I thought, okay, that's a pretty good twist.

[00:03:06] Yeah.

[00:03:08] Well, before we get into today's episode, here's a little something to get us in the mood. I found my son's recorder here. Let's play. Thank you. Thank you.

[00:03:32] Oh my goodness. I was not expecting that.

[00:03:36] I just started playing it. I'm like, wow, that is exactly the sound. I think they actually used one of these when we were playing the song. So would you like to read the plot summary?

[00:03:46] Sure. So, Gihan awakens in the game's dormitory with 455 other players. A manager announces a new clause after each game, the players will vote. And if the majority agrees to leave the games, the accumulated prize money will be divided among them.

[00:04:04] Junho and his team lose track of the island as Gihan's tracker has been removed. Gihan recognizes player 388 as his friend Zhangbei and advises him to stay close. The first game is red light, green light. Gihan warns the players that elimination will result in death, though many dismiss him. Despite the chaos, Gihan's cautions help reduce the casualties.

[00:04:30] Player 230, known as the rapper Thanos, is under the influence of drugs and pushes other players to eliminate them. Gihan and player 120, named Hyunjoo, attempt to save an eliminated player who was only non-fatally shot. But Noul shoots the player dead.

[00:04:51] After the game, Gihan urges the player to vote the game's end and reveals he is the sole winner of a previous iteration. Players voting to continue are labeled O, while those voting to leave are labeled X. The front man, posing as player 001, casts the deciding vote to continue.

[00:05:13] He knew he was going to. I mean, come on.

[00:05:15] Yeah, that would have been weird if he said not to. Plus, I felt like it had to go a different way than the vote we already saw to be interesting, you know?

[00:05:24] Yeah. They couldn't end it already.

[00:05:26] No, and then have them go home and then come back again like they did last time.

[00:05:31] No.

[00:05:31] No.

[00:05:32] But because we already spent two episodes without the game, so we don't want to see him go home.

[00:05:38] But yeah, I thought this was a great episode. I was glad to be back in the game finally.

[00:05:42] And it really felt different because we've seen it all before.

[00:05:46] But there's this new twist of Gihan, who also has seen it all before, trying to help people out.

[00:05:52] So I found that a really – you talked about that when we did our catch-up.

[00:05:57] Like, oh, if they do play the game and it's the same ones, then it'll be interesting to see how Gihan navigates that, given that he's already done it.

[00:06:03] And that's what we got to see. And it was pretty cool. I enjoyed it.

[00:06:07] Yeah, me too. I loved it.

[00:06:11] But I went back and rewatched a little bit of the Red Light, Green Light game from Season 1 because I was a little bit – statistically, I was wondering, oh, wow.

[00:06:27] Gihan saved a lot of people because it took out so many the first time that they played it.

[00:06:34] So I went back and did a little check. And in Season 1, 255 people were eliminated just in Red Light, Green Light. That's quite a lot.

[00:06:44] 255 died. Yeah, 201 alive. So that's 60%.

[00:06:49] Yeah. And so in Season 2, we only had 91 players die.

[00:06:54] Yeah.

[00:06:56] So Gihan, his strategy or trying to keep people alive did work, at least for the people who listened to him.

[00:07:05] I mean, a lot of people listened. It got real very, very quickly once the deaths start happening.

[00:07:12] So overall, I thought this episode really – it gave us a lot.

[00:07:17] It gave us new players. It gave us some characters that are a little polarizing.

[00:07:25] And we got – I mean, got to see Gihan back in the middle of it and just watching his reaction to the soldiers coming in versus the other 455 people.

[00:07:40] It was kind of interesting to watch them all have to deal with this for the first time.

[00:07:45] But he was different about it because he'd already been through it.

[00:07:50] So you get two different sides of it.

[00:07:52] All right. Before we get into our points, what was the most fucked up moment of the week?

[00:07:58] Honestly, I think it was when the soldiers came in and they just treat this like it's such a voluntary thing.

[00:08:08] Mm-hmm.

[00:08:09] Mm-hmm.

[00:08:09] And they just said the words, we always prioritize your voluntary participation.

[00:08:15] Yeah. They make it seem like they're doing everyone a big favor.

[00:08:20] Yes. Yes. And them as a whole with the way that they were too with – people were nervous about being there.

[00:08:29] They didn't realize this is what the games were going to look like.

[00:08:32] And so they were questioning the guards. Why can't we see your face? And why can't –

[00:08:36] The way that they play it so calmly, like it's not a big deal at all.

[00:08:41] Mm-hmm.

[00:08:41] And yet, you know, 15 minutes later, they're shooting people in the head.

[00:08:47] It's twisted.

[00:08:48] It's very twisted. You know, to –

[00:08:50] Wow, you chose to be here. It's voluntary participation.

[00:08:54] You know, they treat it like it's a calm thing when it isn't. And I think that is – it's just incredibly twisted, the way that they approach it and the way that people buy into it every time.

[00:09:09] Yeah.

[00:09:09] So what was yours?

[00:09:11] I mean, I think you're actually right. I think yours is probably more fucked up than mine. But what stood out was more of a small moment where Thanos pushed a couple of people and they got shot and then he smirked and mouthed the words bye.

[00:09:27] Bye.

[00:09:27] I just thought in that moment, okay, you're evil.

[00:09:31] I think he is. I think – I think Thanos is a very – when I said polarizing character earlier, he was one of the main ones. There's a lot about him that is very unlikable. But then there's also this part of where you're –

[00:09:57] I like him, but I don't like him. And maybe I don't like that I like him, but I do. I don't like, you know, some of his tactics. But I kind of just think he's – he's the Duk Su of maybe of this season.

[00:10:14] Yeah.

[00:10:14] He's the person we're not supposed to like. But he – there's just parts of him. I mean, when he pushed the people, he was high. Like, he was high when he did it.

[00:10:25] Like, he – I'm wondering, you know, he's got those drugs, how they're going to come into play. You know, is that something that's going to come into play the rest of the season? Or is it his dirty little secret that he keeps hidden? And how did he – how does he have them?

[00:10:42] Yeah.

[00:10:43] I mean, really, they were stripped of everything. It kind of seems funky.

[00:10:46] I think that's suspension of disbelief there. Because they're hidden in his cross necklace, which you wonder, why would he be allowed to keep that?

[00:10:56] Well, true. And one other thing, too, that goes back to my fucked up moment of the week. The guards also did something else. And that was pointing out specific people and their debts that they owe, but also who they are, which kind of put targets on their backs a little bit.

[00:11:16] I think because if some people like Myungi, who we met in episode one, is this YouTuber crypto scammer. He didn't – I don't think he meant to be a crypto scammer, but now some of the people know who he is and they lost money to him.

[00:11:33] It's kind of – at least Thanos and his henchmen are kind of gunning for him a little bit.

[00:11:41] Yeah, I think that was meant to humiliate everyone, right? Because they showed them being slapped as they're posting how much in debt they all are just to sort of humble everybody.

[00:11:58] Yeah, but as you said, maybe put a target on some of their backs. I mean, they're not shy about trying to instigate conflict because I think the VIPs enjoy it when everybody tries to kill each other in the middle of the night just as much as they like watching the games.

[00:12:14] I know. You know what I've decided, though? I would love it if – when Squid Game ends with season three or whatever, I honestly would love to see them force the VIPs into the game.

[00:12:26] Because I think it would be amazing to watch.

[00:12:31] Yeah.

[00:12:31] It would be so much fun.

[00:12:33] Yeah, I think – I've said this before, but I think it would be a big missed opportunity if they don't do that at some point. Maybe in season three, whenever.

[00:12:41] Yeah.

[00:12:42] About Thanos, yeah, I mean, so I try to look at characters from two different points of view, from a few different points of view.

[00:12:49] One is, are they good for the story? One is, how much do I enjoy watching them? And then another one is just sort of a moral judgment that I would make about that person in the real world.

[00:13:04] And so with Thanos, I think he's very fun to watch. At first – my first watch, I didn't like him. I thought, oh, cocky bastard, rubs me the wrong way. But then second watch, I was starting to get charmed by the performance, you know, and the movement.

[00:13:18] Yeah.

[00:13:18] He's really got the good body language and everything. It's fun to watch. But I still judge him as a bad person, an evil person.

[00:13:26] Yeah.

[00:13:34] Yeah. And to me, like, I see people who are in the real world, charmed by people, and then they excuse bad behavior. And on the other side of the coin, if someone has a nasty personality, then people may judge them more harshly than they deserve.

[00:13:56] And so I really try to set all that aside and look at someone's actions, you know. But so I think that's going to come to play a lot with this character. We'll see. But I'm really interested to see what happens with him.

[00:14:09] Yeah. There's definitely – in this crop of new characters, there's definitely some people, I think, to root for. And some people that you're kind of like, huh?

[00:14:21] Yeah. And what would be more interesting – really interesting is if we change our minds about some of them over time, we might. But we'll see.

[00:14:27] Yeah. And that could happen because it happens – I mean, we didn't know O.L. Nam was –

[00:14:35] Yeah. Right.

[00:14:36] I mean, that was a huge, like, twist for us in season one, so.

[00:14:42] All right. Well, do you mind if I go first? I want to follow up on something you talked about a little bit.

[00:14:49] No, you can go ahead.

[00:14:50] Okay. It's about the kind of fucked upness of how the overseers and the workers present this as, oh, this is all your choice and we're giving you an opportunity and everything.

[00:15:04] And I think it's about people going against their best interest and why they do it.

[00:15:12] But I think Squid Game is a commentary – I've said this many times – about the growing disparity of wealth and income in just about every developed country in the world.

[00:15:23] And the systems in place and the forces at play that perpetuate that dynamic where we – most people who could rebel against it in different ways, even just by voting certain ways, they end up doing things that are against their best interests.

[00:15:43] A lot of times that keep these unhealthy systems in place and why.

[00:15:50] And the illusion of upward mobility in capital societies, I think, like, the players represent all of us everyday people with debt and stuff.

[00:16:00] And the VIPs are like the ultra-rich who keep power by exploiting the struggles of the lower class in a rigged system where most of us work hard for little scraps and just a few at the top get most of the rewards.

[00:16:13] But we stay in part because of the illusion that we could somehow make it to the top two.

[00:16:18] And some do.

[00:16:19] But in the Squid Game, most people die as Gi-hun's going around trying to tell people.

[00:16:25] You are probably going to die.

[00:16:28] Don't vote to stay here.

[00:16:29] You're going to die.

[00:16:30] And then you hear someone scream out.

[00:16:33] If someone can win, then I can win.

[00:16:35] And you get all these people playing the lottery in real life, which I do too, but it's stupid.

[00:16:41] But somebody might win.

[00:16:43] So, you know, I mean, it's the same kind of thing.

[00:16:45] I mean, I'm not risking death by doing it, though.

[00:16:46] That's the thing.

[00:16:47] No, no.

[00:16:49] Getting lottery numbers or doing a scratch off is not the same thing.

[00:16:53] Is not entering the Squid Game.

[00:16:54] But, I mean, there is a good parallel to just sort of, I think, the way people vote.

[00:17:02] And I don't want to get too political, but I think this episode where Gi-hun is trying to convince everyone not to vote to keep the Squid Game going, it just reminds me of our politics where, in my opinion, a lot of people vote against their own interests.

[00:17:20] And, I mean, after Gi-hun, we'll talk about it more, but I'll just touch on it a little bit, tried to help people in the red light, green light game.

[00:17:28] And he, as you said, saved probably 100 or more people.

[00:17:33] They're yelling at it when he's trying to argue to end the game.

[00:17:37] They're yelling at him.

[00:17:38] You made me nervous and I almost died.

[00:17:40] I'm like, you're probably still alive because of this guy.

[00:17:44] And so that's another familiar sense I get sometimes that the people who are the most sane get people complaining or railing against them, you know?

[00:17:54] It's just so frustrating to see that kind of thing happen.

[00:17:59] And then there's this new dynamic where they explain that, like in the last games, you can vote anytime whether to continue or not.

[00:18:06] But this time, if they choose not to leave, they can split whatever the prize money has been accumulated thus far.

[00:18:11] Before in season one, if he voted to leave, nobody got any money.

[00:18:16] And it was interesting that Gi-hun didn't seem to like that.

[00:18:19] He looked up at the camera, but I think he was just suspicious.

[00:18:21] Like, what is this?

[00:18:22] I don't know if he inherently didn't like it because you would think you might actually think, oh, this might actually save some lives.

[00:18:29] Because maybe people will vote to go.

[00:18:32] But I think that's the – I don't know why they put that rule in as far as the storytelling thing.

[00:18:37] But I think they put it in because they want to show the extent of greed.

[00:18:42] I think right now it makes sense that people would choose to stay in the game because they –

[00:18:49] at this point in the game after Red Light, Green Light, they said everyone would take 24,900 –

[00:18:56] wait, no, 24,931,500 won, which is about $17,000.

[00:19:02] But from what we saw at the beginning, you and I just talked about they were flashing how much debt everyone had.

[00:19:08] That would not cover anyone's debt.

[00:19:10] No.

[00:19:10] And not even close.

[00:19:11] And I was thinking maybe Gi-hun should offer to pay them with his money.

[00:19:15] But even if he split his money, it wouldn't cover their debt.

[00:19:18] It wouldn't cover it either.

[00:19:19] So I could sort of understand – I mean, I think everyone should vote to not do the Squid Games no matter what.

[00:19:26] But I can sort of understand why people at this point would vote to stay.

[00:19:30] But I think – I wouldn't be surprised if, as we go along, a bunch more people will die and the pot will get a lot bigger to the point where it actually could cover everyone's debt who's left.

[00:19:42] And they still vote to stay because when the – like when crypto guy asks, so if you're the only one to survive, you get all 45.6 billion.

[00:19:49] And the worker says, correct.

[00:19:50] And everybody gasps.

[00:19:52] I think that's what they're going to focus on is that people are so greedy that they're going to want to keep staying even though they could come away really well off at a certain point.

[00:20:01] You know what I mean?

[00:20:02] And I think people would have different reasons for staying.

[00:20:06] And one thing that I'm doing on my own because I'm a nerd when it comes to like stats and stuff is I'm kind of tracking how some of them are voting each time.

[00:20:18] Just to see who changes their mind as they go.

[00:20:23] Because I can see that some probably would.

[00:20:27] And I think that little carrot of having more money pile up, at first it seems like, well, we'll just do one more game.

[00:20:34] If we do one more game, then we'll get more money.

[00:20:40] I mean, and that's probably what's going through some of their heads is, well, if we do one more game, I'll be able to cover my debt probably.

[00:20:48] And then that will be a good time to leave.

[00:20:50] But it's that human instinct to keep going even though you have what you need and even more than you need to get even more at the expense of other people, you know?

[00:20:59] Yeah, and getting greedy.

[00:21:01] And my first thought in looking at them getting the X's and the O's to wear is it's pointing out the people that are voting against you if you're on one side or the other.

[00:21:16] Because they didn't do that last time, right?

[00:21:18] They didn't give everyone a patch.

[00:21:19] No, but we saw things devolve into this us versus them mentality.

[00:21:26] And I'm wondering how that could play into that type of thing if it happens again.

[00:21:33] I was thinking that because I was like, why did they give out the patches?

[00:21:38] And I was wondering if it might have some bearing on the next game, like everyone who voted X, you have to do this or whatever.

[00:21:47] And so then that might influence future votes.

[00:21:51] But I think really the reason why they did it is just because for the drama of it, they wanted to have all the O's on one side and the X's on the other.

[00:21:59] So that when, like, for example, when they fought in the middle of the vote, it would be one side versus the other visually instead of just people yelling all in a crowd.

[00:22:09] And then at the end, when the O's won, they all cheered.

[00:22:13] And then the X's were all quiet and just the visuals of that.

[00:22:16] I think that's why they had the patches just to separate them out like that.

[00:22:20] But I don't know.

[00:22:21] Yeah.

[00:22:21] And I mean, it did.

[00:22:22] Yeah.

[00:22:23] I think it's interesting to see.

[00:22:25] I mean, some of the characters were introduced to voted to stay.

[00:22:30] Some of the characters I liked.

[00:22:33] Yeah.

[00:22:33] Like the one that tried didn't the one that tried to save that player that got shot in the leg with Gi-hun.

[00:22:40] She voted to stay, right?

[00:22:41] Player number 120.

[00:22:43] Yes.

[00:22:43] But we don't know how desperate she is.

[00:22:45] But I just got a sense, well, because she freaking risked her life to help a guy, that she was a good person.

[00:22:51] And then she voted to stay.

[00:22:52] And I was like, oh, that's interesting.

[00:22:55] Yeah.

[00:22:56] There's something interesting about that character.

[00:22:59] I agree.

[00:23:00] I wonder if it'll be a love interest.

[00:23:04] I don't know.

[00:23:05] It's not really a place for romance, but you never know.

[00:23:09] No.

[00:23:12] But yeah, there's definitely, there's actually a little bit of drama about the casting for that part that's out there.

[00:23:21] But I'm not going to talk about it.

[00:23:23] Oh, okay.

[00:23:24] Okay.

[00:23:25] While we're just talking about the vote, my favorite moment was when everybody was arguing and Gi-hun screamed, I've played these games before.

[00:23:34] I don't know why, but I just thought that was a great moment.

[00:23:37] And then-

[00:23:38] I thought that was awesome.

[00:23:39] It really stirred them up.

[00:23:41] And Thanos said, you can give us tips.

[00:23:45] Yeah, it went against what it should have.

[00:23:48] Yeah.

[00:23:48] Like, I feel like he did it to make them understand that he knows it's all about death.

[00:23:53] But then they had a good point.

[00:23:55] But it's dead.

[00:23:55] I would be suspicious too, because I'd be like, why the hell are you back here then?

[00:23:59] Which is what a lot of them said.

[00:24:02] I question why he's back in some cases.

[00:24:07] I think he's been on revenge.

[00:24:11] Avenging the losses of everyone.

[00:24:14] Like the, I call it the shaman, the spiritual woman.

[00:24:19] She knows.

[00:24:20] Everything she said was right, yeah.

[00:24:23] She even says to him, you know, we can do a ceremony and I can help take that away.

[00:24:28] And I'm thinking, Gi-hun, maybe that's what you should have done.

[00:24:33] But I get what he's trying to do.

[00:24:36] It's just, I think we talked about this on the first episode.

[00:24:39] It's a fine line that you walk when you go in with revenge in mind and you want to take people down.

[00:24:48] That you could end up becoming like the very people that you want to take down.

[00:24:53] And even though we've gotten to know him and know that his heart's in the right place, I still fear for him because he still seems really volatile about everything.

[00:25:06] Yeah.

[00:25:08] I mean, the way that this woman put it is she said, uh, I sense you're holding on to many things.

[00:25:15] You can't leave or stay.

[00:25:17] You can't fight it.

[00:25:18] It's your destiny.

[00:25:19] You have souls hovering over your head who are lingering in this world.

[00:25:22] You're not here of your own will.

[00:25:25] Those vengeful souls brought you.

[00:25:27] So I think she's talking, I mean, I don't believe in supernatural, but this is a fictional show and she's talking about the, um, people who died in the game and he's feeling bad about it and guilty.

[00:25:40] And she says she can clean his karma after the games are over.

[00:25:43] And I think he does think he has bad karma.

[00:25:45] So, so I think, I don't know the vengeful souls.

[00:25:49] I think that's more about the people who died and him feeling guilty.

[00:25:55] And I think he probably is out there for vengeance.

[00:25:59] He keeps saying, I want to talk to the, those VIPs, but he's very focused on this episode on helping the people who are there.

[00:26:07] So I think he's really, at least for now, just trying to save as many people as he can, you know?

[00:26:13] Yeah.

[00:26:15] And I looked at it too, with him waking up in that room.

[00:26:19] The first thing that I did was look at the walls because I'm trying to figure out have they painted the games on the walls?

[00:26:27] Did they?

[00:26:28] Yeah.

[00:26:29] There are a few that you can kind of see.

[00:26:31] One goes all the way around and looks like monkey bars with people trying to climb from one to the other.

[00:26:39] And then there's another one that you can see barely.

[00:26:43] And it looks like a giant chess board.

[00:26:46] That's the final chess game with Inho and Geun.

[00:26:49] Oh, man.

[00:26:50] That's interesting.

[00:26:51] People who have binged it and are listening to us are like, ah, she figured it out.

[00:26:55] I mean, I don't know.

[00:26:57] Because I, I don't think they're going to, I think it was interesting for them to start with the same first game, Red Light, Green Light.

[00:27:03] But I highly doubt they will just keep doing the same ones.

[00:27:06] I think they're going to have different games.

[00:27:08] Yeah.

[00:27:08] Yeah.

[00:27:09] Yeah.

[00:27:09] I have a feeling, too, because Geun is back in the game.

[00:27:14] And now we know that, you know, Inho is in there as well.

[00:27:19] I think they will change it up.

[00:27:22] Mm-hmm.

[00:27:22] And it's, it's also interesting if you watch, because I've watched this episode a couple of times.

[00:27:28] If you watch Inho, aka the front man, sitting down to watch the games, and he's watching, and they make it through like six rounds of Red Light, Green Light, and nobody's been shot.

[00:27:44] Like, it's so, you know, so strange.

[00:27:47] It's like Geun's fucking things up.

[00:27:49] It's so strange.

[00:27:50] Yep.

[00:27:51] And so you watch it, and then we get to that certain point, and then the front man is not sitting there anymore.

[00:27:58] And I, I just kept thinking, did he just finally get so disgusted that things aren't going the way he wants them to?

[00:28:06] But I, I think he went into the game to mess with Geun, but I also think he went in the game because he wants to play with Geun.

[00:28:16] Because this could be the most interesting squid game they've ever had.

[00:28:20] And he wants to be in there and be part of it.

[00:28:22] I don't know.

[00:28:23] Yeah, I mean, it feels like, like you, like you're kind of saying a chess match between these two people.

[00:28:30] And I think that intrigues him.

[00:28:33] It's much different than the chess match I was envisioning, which was, you know, Inho on one side, watching things happen, and Geun making things happen in the games.

[00:28:44] Yeah, he'll get in there.

[00:28:45] This is different.

[00:28:46] Because, I mean, I don't know how much we can draw on real life dynamics for this, but if this, if the squid game was real, they would have to do a lot of preparation.

[00:28:58] And they could only do so much tweaking at the last minute, you know?

[00:29:03] I mean, they couldn't just build a whole new game in a day, I don't think.

[00:29:09] I mean, they're so rich, maybe they could.

[00:29:10] But anyway, so maybe this is the way that he feels like he could have the most impact is just by.

[00:29:16] Because I do think, yeah, it does seem like it felt like a last minute decision to jump in there.

[00:29:21] But then if that happened, was there an 0-0-1 already?

[00:29:24] And where did they go?

[00:29:25] I guess we're not supposed to think about that.

[00:29:27] But his smirk, when he turns around at the very end, and he's looking at Geun, and he just has this smirk, like, I'm here now, bitches.

[00:29:41] Yeah, it'll be good to see him take on a bigger role.

[00:29:44] Because really, I mean, I guess he was in it a lot last season, but behind that mask, so we didn't get a real sense of the actor most of the time.

[00:29:52] Yeah.

[00:29:53] We're getting it now.

[00:29:54] Mm-hmm.

[00:29:55] At least so far.

[00:29:58] You want to jump into a new point?

[00:30:01] Yeah, my first point is kind of a long one, but I think we've talked a little bit about it already.

[00:30:07] The new faces, the new people, we've got lots of new players that we've been introduced to.

[00:30:15] First, we talked a little bit about Sion Miao, and that is the Shaman, player 44.

[00:30:22] She kind of gets that vibe that sums up with Geun.

[00:30:28] There's a lot of baggage there.

[00:30:30] Mm-hmm.

[00:30:31] So she's right with that.

[00:30:33] I'm like, oh, yeah.

[00:30:35] He's been here.

[00:30:36] This isn't his first one.

[00:30:38] Yeah.

[00:30:38] I loved how, so he wakes up in the dorm, and you're like, oh, shit, here we go, back in that spot.

[00:30:46] And he turns and he sees right away this weird woman staring at him intensely.

[00:30:53] It's like, yep, you're going to have to deal with weirdos again, just like last time.

[00:30:57] Yep.

[00:30:57] I was connecting her with the same type of character from last time.

[00:31:02] Yeah.

[00:31:02] But she's interesting, because the thing she was saying, it sounds like she's trying to be helpful,

[00:31:07] but her attitude is borderline threatening and intense.

[00:31:12] Yeah.

[00:31:12] The way she's playing it is really interesting, so I'm not sure exactly what they're going for with her,

[00:31:17] because she's playing it like a bad guy, but what she's saying is actually, I think, kind of helpful.

[00:31:23] So we'll see where she goes, but I'm interested in her, for sure.

[00:31:26] Yeah.

[00:31:27] Player number 120, which is Cho Hyunji, which we talked a little bit about Gi-hun and her trying to say player number 444.

[00:31:41] The interesting thing about her, did you notice the mother and son having a conversation about her?

[00:31:52] No.

[00:31:53] They had a conversation where Young-sik's mother was basically saying, you know, she looks tough.

[00:32:03] She doesn't understand what's up with 120 because it's a man.

[00:32:08] Oh, that was the same one?

[00:32:11] Yes.

[00:32:12] Oh.

[00:32:12] Number 120, yeah.

[00:32:13] Oh, I didn't realize.

[00:32:14] Okay.

[00:32:15] Yes.

[00:32:15] Yeah, and I think that character may be trans, right?

[00:32:18] The character is trans.

[00:32:20] Okay.

[00:32:21] And she's played by a male actor because in South Korea, it's not...

[00:32:30] Their culture is just different when it comes to...

[00:32:33] They're not accepting?

[00:32:34] They're not as...

[00:32:35] Yeah.

[00:32:36] Okay.

[00:32:36] And so the number of like, yeah, transgender actors that they could...

[00:32:40] There was a little controversy because people are wondering, well, why couldn't they just cast a trans actress?

[00:32:46] They couldn't because the number of trans actresses, there's just not...

[00:32:52] They're not out there.

[00:33:04] Mm-hmm.

[00:33:08] I think the show is aware of it because when the mom was asking about, oh, is that a man or something?

[00:33:16] And the son was like, you're not supposed to say that.

[00:33:18] So...

[00:33:19] But I don't know.

[00:33:20] Like, it makes me feel like they won't handle it well.

[00:33:24] And I hope they will.

[00:33:25] I...

[00:33:26] You know what?

[00:33:26] I think Hwang Dong-hyuk has done a fantastic job in the past with being able to showcase things that are not necessarily as mainstream or culturally accepted in Korea.

[00:33:42] And I think I trust him to kind of guide this.

[00:33:46] Yeah.

[00:33:46] And I'm hopeful.

[00:33:47] I'm hopeful that he'll be able to do it.

[00:33:52] But...

[00:33:53] Yeah, that gives my comment about it being a love interest, a different twist.

[00:33:57] But it still could be.

[00:33:58] It still could be.

[00:33:59] It still very well could be.

[00:34:01] It's a huge deal for this character to be part of the show.

[00:34:06] So I'm excited that he didn't shy away from it.

[00:34:09] Yeah.

[00:34:10] That's a good point.

[00:34:11] Yeah.

[00:34:11] It's a good...

[00:34:12] It's good.

[00:34:13] Mm-hmm.

[00:34:14] Next is Player 333, which is Miyagi.

[00:34:17] We met him.

[00:34:18] He is the father of Junhee's baby.

[00:34:21] He's the YouTuber.

[00:34:23] Oh, okay.

[00:34:24] MG coin.

[00:34:25] Okay.

[00:34:25] Dalmatian coin.

[00:34:26] Lost people a lot of money.

[00:34:29] He's freaking out because he needs his phone.

[00:34:32] Do they not see each other?

[00:34:36] So Junhee, and I'll cover her at the same time because then I think it's easier.

[00:34:41] Player 222, she hears him talking and then sees him getting slapped like the video thing.

[00:34:48] She knows he's there.

[00:34:50] He doesn't know she's there.

[00:34:52] Okay.

[00:34:53] At least at this point.

[00:34:55] I don't...

[00:34:55] I didn't see any interaction or anything that made me think he knew she was there.

[00:35:01] Okay.

[00:35:03] Um, but she looks at him a few times, like, throughout, um, his, like, the opening and the guards and everything.

[00:35:13] As soon as she knows he's there.

[00:35:15] I did not put it together that he was her husband, the one that we saw playing Dokji in the subway.

[00:35:22] Yeah.

[00:35:22] I don't think they're married and I don't think they're even a couple anymore.

[00:35:26] Oh, okay.

[00:35:27] To me.

[00:35:42] Um...

[00:35:43] But she does know he's there.

[00:35:45] So Junhee had a little bit of struggle during Red Light, Green Light, which we saw.

[00:35:51] Junma, which we'll talk about in a minute, kind of takes her, you know, under her wing once they start following this, follow the leader thing that Gihan has set up for everybody.

[00:36:02] What was going on there?

[00:36:03] I mean, she's pregnant, right?

[00:36:05] And is she having complications or miscarrying or something?

[00:36:10] I don't know.

[00:36:12] We think she's pregnant anyway.

[00:36:14] Yeah.

[00:36:14] I mean, she keeps holding her belly.

[00:36:17] Yeah.

[00:36:17] And based on the tracksuit, you can't really tell, like, how far along is she?

[00:36:22] She's not nine months, though.

[00:36:23] No, I don't think so.

[00:36:25] She's not going into labor, I don't think.

[00:36:27] No.

[00:36:28] Not at this point.

[00:36:30] But putting her in this game is kind of like, there are characters in watching just watching this episode I'm already attached to and worried about.

[00:36:42] Because this, you know what this game does.

[00:36:44] It tears things to pieces.

[00:36:46] Last time we saw him call her, though, and she didn't answer.

[00:36:51] Right.

[00:36:51] So, because I was, yeah, we don't know what their relationship is.

[00:36:55] Because it's another tantalizing piece of story that has yet to be revealed, and I'm just trying to figure it out.

[00:37:01] But it seems like, because I was thinking, did he, like, knock her up and then disappear?

[00:37:06] But it doesn't seem like that's it, since he was trying to get a hold of her.

[00:37:09] Does he even know?

[00:37:10] Yeah.

[00:37:10] Does he know that she's having a baby?

[00:37:12] Right.

[00:37:13] Yeah.

[00:37:13] Did she dump him?

[00:37:14] Did she lose money in the crypto scam?

[00:37:16] I mean, who knows?

[00:37:18] Right, right, right.

[00:37:18] So, for him, he's $1.8 billion in debt.

[00:37:22] He caused his YouTube followers to lose $15.2 billion, about $10 million, which is another real world reflection of crypto investing gone crazy.

[00:37:36] People losing all their money, deep fraud, you know, the Sam Bankman Freed, who's in jail for 25 years now for fraud related to crypto coins and all that kind of stuff.

[00:37:48] So, I really like the dynamic that they showed him on the screen and, like, two or three people in there had lost money, including Thanos.

[00:38:00] Maybe that's why Thanos is even in there, because of this guy, and they go over to him.

[00:38:05] That's kind of delicious.

[00:38:07] Well, because, I mean, $15.2 billion won, and we know that Thanos is $1.19 billion in debt.

[00:38:15] So, yeah.

[00:38:17] I mean, that's a chunk of that money is from Thanos.

[00:38:23] Right.

[00:38:24] So, funny enough, he's the next one on the list.

[00:38:26] So, Player 230, Choi Subong, a.k.a. Thanos, he'll always be Thanos.

[00:38:32] There's no, I mean, no point.

[00:38:36] He's a rapper.

[00:38:37] He's arrogant.

[00:38:38] He's addicted to, I'm assuming, that was ecstasy he's taking or some drug.

[00:38:45] He's lost a lot of money.

[00:38:47] He's mad that they've taken his shoes.

[00:38:51] He's really over the top and crazy.

[00:38:54] And the first watch through, I'm like, are you too much?

[00:38:58] Second watch through, I'm like, nope, I'm all in.

[00:39:02] You're going to be fun to watch.

[00:39:03] I felt exactly the same.

[00:39:06] You know, don't hurt anybody I care about, but I think you're going to be fun to watch.

[00:39:12] I think in Red Light, Green Light, he was kind of hitting on that girl who didn't last very long.

[00:39:20] Which surprised me.

[00:39:21] I thought we were going to see him wooing her or something through at least a couple episodes.

[00:39:26] Yeah.

[00:39:27] And I loved that she was kind of rebuffing him.

[00:39:29] Like, she's like.

[00:39:30] Yeah.

[00:39:30] But I think she was going to be interested.

[00:39:32] She was like looking over at him.

[00:39:34] So she liked her persistence and his cockiness.

[00:39:39] And he seemed good until she gets shot right in front of him.

[00:39:42] And then he's kind of just like, that's when he has to take the ecstasy, I think.

[00:39:47] Which, I mean, honestly, because you can tell he was all loopy.

[00:39:53] And like you said, hi, right?

[00:39:56] After that, he was like prancing around and jumping and clicking his heels.

[00:40:00] Super funny.

[00:40:00] Jason, the memes that are out there, the video memes of him.

[00:40:06] Yeah.

[00:40:07] They're priceless.

[00:40:09] But I don't know what drug that was, but there's no drug that acts that fast unless you inject it or smoke it.

[00:40:17] If you take a pill, no.

[00:40:18] And ecstasy, I may have some experience with that.

[00:40:23] It takes at least an hour to start to come on, not like two minutes.

[00:40:28] No.

[00:40:29] So it's a little ridiculous.

[00:40:30] I was thinking maybe he was already on it and just like took a little extra.

[00:40:35] He probably was.

[00:40:36] He probably was.

[00:40:37] Yeah.

[00:40:37] When he pushed the people down, I'm just like, okay, so this is who you are.

[00:40:42] All right.

[00:40:42] Plus, if it was ecstasy, he wouldn't be pushing them down.

[00:40:45] He'd be like, I love you.

[00:40:49] With him.

[00:40:50] Yeah.

[00:40:51] I loved his body language.

[00:40:53] The way he moved his hands above his and the way he had this unaffectedness about him as if, you know, he's a celebrity used to being approached.

[00:41:01] He just really embodied that well.

[00:41:04] And then when he went to the camera and he looks like he's going to have a normal face and then he gives the double bird.

[00:41:11] That was hilarious.

[00:41:12] He is.

[00:41:12] Um, he, I should have mentioned this a second ago, but when you found out that he was in debt because he lost money to this crypto guy's investment recommendations, it reminded me that a friend of mine years ago when Bitcoin was about literally a hundred times cheaper than it is now kept hounding me to buy it.

[00:41:33] And I didn't listen.

[00:41:37] Reverse.

[00:41:37] You're looking at the millions.

[00:41:40] I know.

[00:41:41] I'm going to find that guy.

[00:41:42] No, I thank him and tell him I'm sorry.

[00:41:44] Um, but anyway, so back to Thanos, when everyone gathers around to be in the picture with him and, um, you know, when they go through the typical, everybody gets their picture taken so you can show who's been eliminated and stuff.

[00:41:56] And, uh, one of the workers says, you're not allowed to do this.

[00:41:59] And he goes, you want to be in the picture too, right?

[00:42:01] Come on over here.

[00:42:01] I just love that.

[00:42:03] That was hilarious.

[00:42:03] Um, and then the last thing about him is he, you know, I noticed he uses English sometimes and, uh, chat GPT said code switching between Korean and English is common in the South Korean hip hop scene.

[00:42:17] Artists often blend languages to add stylistic flair, emphasize certain expressions or appeal to a broader audience.

[00:42:23] Yes.

[00:42:24] Good.

[00:42:24] So, um, the actor who plays Thanos is a former member.

[00:42:33] Of a Korean K-pop band called Big Bang.

[00:42:37] They were very, very popular in like, I think 2006, 2007 and on.

[00:42:44] And, um, he's part of that.

[00:42:46] He's a rapper.

[00:42:46] He's part of that.

[00:42:47] He has a very interesting past.

[00:42:51] Um, he was arrested for doing marijuana.

[00:42:56] He was doing his military service and that all came up in the middle.

[00:43:01] Which here now in most states would be no big deal, but I guess it would be no big deal.

[00:43:06] But in South Korea, it's a really big deal.

[00:43:08] Yeah.

[00:43:08] Um, so he's been through quite a bit and they got him to do this role and I just, I think he's killing it.

[00:43:15] And I feel like this is his chance to come back and have a career again and that maybe people will forgive him.

[00:43:23] Um, he's not the only actor on this show that has a checkered past.

[00:43:30] So, um, there, there are others.

[00:43:32] I mean, there, he, the casting, it's been a little, yeah, it's definitely a little sketchy if you dig into some of the people that are playing the parts.

[00:43:43] But, um, I, I've read enough about this actor, um, who goes by top or T.O.P. is what he goes by.

[00:43:54] And I hope it does bring him some success because everyone, you know, people deserve a second chance.

[00:44:01] And especially something like that, where, like I said, I know here, it's no big deal.

[00:44:07] It seems like a shame.

[00:44:08] Um, so it's, yeah, so that's Thanos.

[00:44:12] Um, his little henchman, Player 124, who was another victim of Miyagi's crypto scam.

[00:44:21] He's kind of the right hand man and goes with him when he's tormenting, like, Miyagi or other players.

[00:44:30] Uh, Player 256, Gyeong-soo, he's the major fan of Thanos.

[00:44:35] I don't know if he's gonna come into play later.

[00:44:38] Um, the next main one, though, Player 246, uh, Gyeong-soo, he is the man who was the acquaintance of Noel at the park and has the daughter that has cancer.

[00:44:58] Oh, oh, he's in the game too?

[00:45:01] The artist?

[00:45:01] He's in the game too, yes.

[00:45:03] Oh, Jesus.

[00:45:04] And she notices that at one point.

[00:45:06] That's why she was looking at him, okay.

[00:45:07] Yeah, because they tell her or tell them to shoot Player 244 and she goes out to do it, but then she notices that he's there.

[00:45:17] Mm-hmm.

[00:45:17] So she knows that he's in the game.

[00:45:19] Seems to have some kind of an impact on her, yeah.

[00:45:22] Yeah.

[00:45:22] Okay, interesting.

[00:45:24] And so, Player 007 and 149, I'm gonna cover together because it's mother and son.

[00:45:30] Mm-hmm.

[00:45:32] Um, Young-sik, who is 007, is shocked to see his mother in the game.

[00:45:37] Um, he tries to defend himself saying he's playing games and not gambling.

[00:45:42] They're both there to pay off his debt.

[00:45:45] To pay off, yeah, to pay off his debt.

[00:45:46] Um, Young-sik, um, yeah, his mother's name is Joon-ja.

[00:45:53] She joined the games to pay her son's debt.

[00:45:56] She's fighting with him, telling him to leave, so she'll do it.

[00:46:01] And then he'll do it.

[00:46:02] And they just keep going on and on and on.

[00:46:04] And it made me laugh so hard.

[00:46:06] Mm-hmm.

[00:46:06] Um, because that's, I mean, mother-son dynamics.

[00:46:10] When you're a mother and your older son isn't doing what you think they should be doing.

[00:46:15] I mean, there's always gonna be those disagreements.

[00:46:18] And I couldn't help but think of, even though it's a much different dynamic,

[00:46:23] the mother and son from Squid Game, The Challenge.

[00:46:25] Yes.

[00:46:26] And I wondered if, uh, Hwang Dong-hyuk had been inspired to make these characters because of that, you know?

[00:46:33] I don't know.

[00:46:34] I wonder that, too.

[00:46:35] I do wonder that.

[00:46:37] That'd be kind of cool.

[00:46:38] When we get through this season, I'm gonna go back and watch The Challenge again, I think,

[00:46:42] just because I think it'll be fun.

[00:46:44] Mm-hmm.

[00:46:44] And I know a season two is coming at some point.

[00:46:48] She kind of does boss him a bit by telling him, you know,

[00:46:52] don't do something stupid when he goes up to vote.

[00:46:55] Yeah.

[00:46:56] In my experience, uh, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, listeners, but, um,

[00:47:03] Asian cultures are, especially within the family, can, I mean, non-Asian cultures can be like this, too,

[00:47:09] but more in Asian cultures, in my experience, are really blunt and straightforward and don't mince words

[00:47:16] and don't, like, try to make someone feel good about what they're gonna say.

[00:47:20] They'll be like, you fucked up, son.

[00:47:22] You know?

[00:47:24] Um, the last one I have that's like a main one, um, is player 390, Zhangbei,

[00:47:34] Gihan's friend that we saw in season one in the betting shop with him.

[00:47:39] I wonder about that.

[00:47:40] Like, they were buddies.

[00:47:40] I didn't remember.

[00:47:41] Okay.

[00:47:42] Yeah.

[00:47:42] So when they went to, like, the horse race?

[00:47:44] Yes.

[00:47:45] Okay.

[00:47:45] And Gihan goes to get my, to beg for him to lend him money.

[00:47:50] Hmm.

[00:47:50] One other time.

[00:47:52] And he doesn't do it.

[00:47:53] Like, he doesn't have it.

[00:47:55] And so, we don't see them reconnect in the big room.

[00:48:00] It's when they're going up the stairs, the steps of, of doom, um, that he realizes he's

[00:48:09] there and comes in and connects with him.

[00:48:12] And it's interesting that they brought him into the game.

[00:48:16] Um, yeah.

[00:48:18] I feel, I wonder if it's just to sort of give Gihan someone to talk to right now who's already

[00:48:26] his friend.

[00:48:27] Yeah.

[00:48:28] You know?

[00:48:28] It could be.

[00:48:29] So, so it lets us, sometimes you want to have someone for the main character just to talk

[00:48:34] to so you can understand what's going on in their head.

[00:48:37] Something like that.

[00:48:38] Yeah.

[00:48:38] I don't know.

[00:48:39] And he's acting so funny.

[00:48:41] Like, oh, it's a game.

[00:48:42] We're here for a game.

[00:48:43] And he's yelling at Gihan for, you didn't tell me your mother died.

[00:48:47] Ha, I had to hear about it from other people that, you know, you're alive, you're alive.

[00:48:52] And all I could think is you have no idea how serious this is going to be in like five

[00:48:56] minutes.

[00:48:58] You're going to be in a room.

[00:48:59] They're going to shoot you if you move.

[00:49:01] And there were points in the middle of red light, green light, the interactions between

[00:49:06] the two of them, just the way Gihan had his mouth covered.

[00:49:10] Yeah.

[00:49:12] Uh, Jungbae was turned around looking at him, like talking to him.

[00:49:15] And it just was almost comical in some way.

[00:49:20] Um, I'm just like, he's telling you not to talk while you're talking anyway.

[00:49:25] And I, yeah, I don't know if this is smart, but okay.

[00:49:31] Um, and I did lie cause there's one other player.

[00:49:34] So the last one, um, the grumpy, grumpy old man, um, player number 100, which is Im Jongde.

[00:49:43] Okay.

[00:49:44] He's the one who's in the most debt.

[00:49:47] He seems to hold on to like the older way of stature and standing.

[00:49:51] And even says at one point when they're pointing out how much debt he has, well, you have to

[00:49:56] be in a certain place for them to loan you that kind of money.

[00:50:00] And I think that's just really him trying to puff his chest out and show that he's not

[00:50:07] a man to be screwed with basically.

[00:50:09] Yeah.

[00:50:10] Mm-hmm.

[00:50:11] Um, so yeah.

[00:50:12] So, you know, like I said, there are others, but, um, no one that we really need to think

[00:50:20] about at this moment.

[00:50:22] Yeah.

[00:50:24] I know it was a long one, but we did.

[00:50:26] I mean, this was a big episode to get all of those players.

[00:50:29] It was kind of fun.

[00:50:30] It felt like a setup, even though we're on episode three, but yeah, it's just cause we're

[00:50:33] just coming into the games and we want to try to get a handle on who the new characters

[00:50:38] are.

[00:50:39] And I think they did a pretty good job of making them all seem really interesting and

[00:50:42] fun to watch.

[00:50:44] They've all got a reason, a story.

[00:50:47] Okay.

[00:50:47] I'm going to talk about the plan to track Gi-hun to the island.

[00:50:51] All right.

[00:50:52] Because I'd been thinking like you were sort of suggesting maybe that Gi-hun's plan was

[00:50:59] to go kill the VIPs.

[00:51:01] But I think watching this episode, it seems like his plan was actually just to get brought

[00:51:08] back into the game with his tracker and his tooth so his guys could follow them there and,

[00:51:13] you know, infiltrate the island.

[00:51:16] And like choice says, if we couldn't capture the front man, which I guess was plan A, then

[00:51:22] plan B was to infiltrate the island.

[00:51:23] So I'm not sure Gi-hun thought that he would even actually have to play the game or do anything

[00:51:30] beyond get to the island and just bide his time for a little bit until they all got there,

[00:51:35] you know?

[00:51:36] And, um, I did wonder right away if the squid game people found and removed his tracker when

[00:51:44] he was unconscious, but I wasn't sure.

[00:51:47] And they did a great buildup of going back and forth, showing Gi-hun and all, uh, Jun-ho

[00:51:52] and all the guys on the boat going out there.

[00:51:54] And then the typical, um, procedures of starting up the squid game with the pictures and everything.

[00:51:59] And especially when they got close to what they thought was the island and sent that

[00:52:04] drone up and you see like the picture of the green mountains.

[00:52:06] And then they cut to the picture of the, uh, sort of sky ceiling or whatever opening above

[00:52:11] the, um, red light green light game to make you think that the thing was going to, yeah,

[00:52:18] they could possibly be coming.

[00:52:20] Yeah.

[00:52:21] And so when I saw that, I thought, oh, if they do get there, they're probably just going

[00:52:27] to get killed because they can't be successful.

[00:52:29] It's only episode three.

[00:52:31] We're not even halfway through yet.

[00:52:32] Right.

[00:52:34] And then, um, you see that they find it in a, in a container of bait worms, which, um, you

[00:52:42] know, the squid game people could have just destroyed the tracker and it would have had

[00:52:47] the same effect, like, you know, foiling the plan to find them.

[00:52:51] I w I would think the only reason to do it this way is to give them a big F you, you

[00:52:57] know, and laugh at them.

[00:52:59] I think so.

[00:52:59] I think that, I mean, I think I mentioned in the first episode, I feel like the front

[00:53:08] man has been ahead of Gihan two or three steps this entire time.

[00:53:16] And it's not out of the realm of possibility that they would find that tracker just because

[00:53:23] some scanner or something, some scanner would pick it up, but then it just makes me go back

[00:53:29] to Thanos and his cross of drugs.

[00:53:31] And I'm just like, I don't understand how you didn't get the, you didn't find the drugs

[00:53:37] and you found this.

[00:53:40] Like, it's just kind of, it's kind of like, why didn't you find it?

[00:53:46] Yeah.

[00:53:47] Yeah.

[00:53:48] Yeah.

[00:53:48] So, um, I, I didn't quite understand why Gihan decided to pull his tooth out right in the

[00:53:56] middle of the red light, green light game.

[00:53:58] I think it was for drama.

[00:54:00] While he was trying to find out because the game was getting ready to start and he's like,

[00:54:06] where are they?

[00:54:06] And he was trying to find out.

[00:54:07] Yes.

[00:54:08] And he was wondering where, where are they?

[00:54:10] That makes sense.

[00:54:11] Yeah.

[00:54:11] And so it was such a good moment because he pulls it out and it's gone and he goes,

[00:54:16] I'm fucked.

[00:54:19] That was amazing.

[00:54:21] Great dialogue right there.

[00:54:22] Yeah.

[00:54:23] Just calmly.

[00:54:24] So calmly.

[00:54:26] And then, um, you know, I had sort of been, that's right when he starts screaming, they're

[00:54:32] going to kill you.

[00:54:33] You know, whatever he said, like I had been wondering if he should have been telling the

[00:54:38] people the truth about the games from the start in the dorms.

[00:54:42] But I think he hadn't up until this moment because he thought the cavalry was coming once

[00:54:47] he realized, Oh, no one's coming to save us.

[00:54:49] I'm going to have to do the saving.

[00:54:51] And so I don't even know how much he thought about this whole thing that he did next, which

[00:54:56] I thought was so great.

[00:54:58] I'm not going to talk about that because it's a different, I'm not going to go into it

[00:55:01] right yet, but it was so good.

[00:55:03] And, um, so yeah, I think he just sort of had to shift on his feet quickly and take,

[00:55:09] take action because he realized he was fucked.

[00:55:15] It was good.

[00:55:16] Yeah.

[00:55:16] I mean, he didn't have, he had no opportunity to act because he checked to see if his implant

[00:55:22] was still there when he was in the, in the main room, the sleeping room, but he didn't bother

[00:55:31] to look at it there.

[00:55:34] And I'm kind of like, you might know that given these people have been so far ahead of you

[00:55:41] this whole time, you might have wanted to go to the bathroom or find a place without

[00:55:48] the camera to check it out.

[00:55:50] That is totally true.

[00:55:52] But in these kinds of situations, I try to think that way.

[00:55:56] Well, no, no, I just, I just try to think about it.

[00:55:58] Like it was so good dramatically to have him look at it right there in the middle of the game.

[00:56:05] You know what I mean?

[00:56:06] And so they love it a little with artistic license to give us that moment.

[00:56:10] And I, I get it, you know?

[00:56:12] Yeah.

[00:56:13] That's why I think.

[00:56:14] I'm okay with that.

[00:56:15] I mean, if, does it make me scratch my head a little?

[00:56:18] Yeah.

[00:56:19] But I'm okay with that.

[00:56:21] As a writer, it's just too delicious to think that he would discover it right then, you know?

[00:56:26] And be like, oh my God.

[00:56:28] And then do the whole camera pull out thing where the background zooms in.

[00:56:33] The way that that whole red light, green light game was shot was.

[00:56:37] It was great.

[00:56:38] I mean, it was great.

[00:56:40] It was great.

[00:56:42] The, the, you know, you're sitting there having watched it before and knowing how many people died

[00:56:49] in just red light, green light.

[00:56:52] Right.

[00:56:53] You know that this could be a bloodbath and for him to be able to pull it off and

[00:56:58] drag a man with a shot leg across the finish line.

[00:57:02] Yeah.

[00:57:03] Yeah.

[00:57:04] Go back out into danger after he'd safely made it.

[00:57:07] Yeah.

[00:57:08] To save this guy.

[00:57:09] But what, what I was thinking is, um, he's doing such a damn good job of protecting everybody

[00:57:16] before the bee showed up.

[00:57:18] And this game is meant as it was in Squid Game, the challenge to really cut out half the people,

[00:57:25] you know, it took out, as we said, 60% in the first time we saw this three years ago.

[00:57:31] So, and, um, so I thought, oh man, maybe he, what if he does make it across with everyone

[00:57:37] that will just really mess up the Squid Game for, for the.

[00:57:42] It'll piss.

[00:57:43] It would piss in how off pretty bad.

[00:57:46] I, I think he was so intrigued by this whole thing by watching what Gi-hun was doing that

[00:57:53] he just wanted to be in the game.

[00:57:55] I want to play too.

[00:57:56] I need to be in it.

[00:57:58] I need to be in it.

[00:57:59] I need to be in this game.

[00:58:01] Well, do you have a point on that?

[00:58:02] Do you want to go into the red light, green light?

[00:58:05] Yeah.

[00:58:05] Let's, let's go into red light, green light next.

[00:58:07] Um, it's interesting when they all walk through the doors and then the doors close behind them.

[00:58:15] And it just took me back to season one and nobody really knew what was going to happen.

[00:58:21] And then this red light, green light went off very differently than the first one because

[00:58:27] Gi-hun had no choice but to try to pivot and figure out a way to save everybody or as many

[00:58:35] people as he could.

[00:58:36] Because I think part of this, I don't know that he thought he was going to have to actually play.

[00:58:43] Yeah, I don't.

[00:58:44] But you know that he still, I mean, he wishes he could have saved Sebiak.

[00:58:51] Yeah.

[00:58:51] He wishes he could have saved people.

[00:58:54] Even maybe Sung Woo.

[00:58:56] Mm-hmm.

[00:58:57] Yeah.

[00:58:58] And he couldn't.

[00:59:00] There was nothing he could do.

[00:59:04] And so it kicked in and he just started.

[00:59:10] He put his hand, his elbow, he talked into his elbow and started telling people what to

[00:59:18] do.

[00:59:19] And I think they still thought he was crazy, which, you know, Thanos is even, you know,

[00:59:25] Thanos and Mina were talking, you know, is he high?

[00:59:30] And people just thought he was crazy.

[00:59:32] So I think if he had been talking in the big room, the sleeping room, I don't think they

[00:59:39] would have believed him.

[00:59:41] I think they would have thought he was out of his mind.

[00:59:44] I don't even think that his friend would have believed him until they started seeing it

[00:59:50] happen.

[00:59:50] When Mina got shot in the head, that's when it all became very real to people.

[00:59:56] And they still weren't listening.

[00:59:58] Well, they listened more than most of them.

[01:00:00] They did.

[01:00:01] Especially the guy, his friend.

[01:00:03] It's like, okay, I'll stay close to you.

[01:00:06] I'll stay right here.

[01:00:06] Yeah.

[01:00:07] Yeah.

[01:00:08] When they realized that it was incredibly real and that it wasn't that they were going to

[01:00:13] be eliminated from the game to go home, you were going to die.

[01:00:17] They changed their tune a bit, but there were still people that turned around and ran for

[01:00:22] the doors, which I think is a gut reaction that you would have.

[01:00:26] And that was interesting because it's exactly the same thing that happened in the first game.

[01:00:32] And if they, I think, yeah, like if any of the writers thought, oh, we should just have

[01:00:38] nobody react that way.

[01:00:40] I'm sure some other writers said, you know what?

[01:00:42] No matter what, people are going to react that way.

[01:00:45] Yeah.

[01:00:45] Yeah.

[01:00:46] There's always going to be people that are going to react.

[01:00:48] Freak out.

[01:00:49] And I honestly don't know what I would do.

[01:00:51] I don't know what I would do either.

[01:00:53] I probably would react that way.

[01:00:54] I would hope not.

[01:00:55] I don't know.

[01:00:56] Yeah.

[01:00:58] Yeah.

[01:00:59] It's such a timing thing.

[01:01:00] And Ki-hun had the timing down.

[01:01:02] Yeah.

[01:01:03] It was just so masterful.

[01:01:04] Like he had it down.

[01:01:05] Screaming, freeze and you need to stop.

[01:01:09] And just the way, Lee Jung-jae, is that his name?

[01:01:13] Yeah.

[01:01:14] The way he played it was so good, so intense and screaming that out, just putting everything,

[01:01:20] all his emotion, all his heart into it and having everybody, whether they thought he was crazy,

[01:01:26] but they still followed anyway.

[01:01:28] And I think it was believable because of his performance that he could command all of them

[01:01:34] to do what he was trying to get them to do.

[01:01:37] And I just felt really proud of him.

[01:01:39] It's kind of silly.

[01:01:40] This is a show, but I was like, way to go, Ki-hun.

[01:01:43] I remember how he played the first one was if Ali hadn't grabbed him by the jacket, he would have died.

[01:01:51] Like it takes one person sometimes to save another person's life.

[01:01:56] And he did everything he could do, including going back to get the guy that had been shot.

[01:02:04] I was also wondering, what do the people in charge think of him?

[01:02:12] Because the motion detector doesn't detect him, but you would think they would know that he was screaming at everybody

[01:02:20] and telling them they could hear him.

[01:02:23] And I thought, I hope nobody shoots him right now, even though he's not moving, just because he's telling everybody.

[01:02:30] But I thought, well, that's the reason why he convinced front man to let him come,

[01:02:35] because having someone who'd been through it before and won would be more entertaining.

[01:02:40] And so this is exactly the kind of thing that you'd want to see.

[01:02:44] Like, oh, how is he going to impact things?

[01:02:46] This is entertaining.

[01:02:47] So they would let him do that to a degree.

[01:02:49] They did stop him during the vote and say, okay, no more messing around with the vote.

[01:02:53] But they're letting him get away.

[01:02:55] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[01:02:56] Yeah, they're letting him get away with things more.

[01:02:58] And they probably want him to survive for at least a while.

[01:03:01] Kind of like when you watch any reality TV show and you see a character who's trouble,

[01:03:05] you kind of hope they make it far along so you can see what they'll do.

[01:03:08] You know?

[01:03:09] Usually, though, Jason, I want them to go home right away.

[01:03:13] They annoy me.

[01:03:15] Except if they're really, like, they're a survivor, as one example.

[01:03:21] Well, I've now come to appreciate what some of the more crazy players have brought to the show than I did in the beginning.

[01:03:33] The beginning, I just wanted them off my TV.

[01:03:35] Now I'm just kind of like, okay, you're entertaining.

[01:03:38] They stir things up.

[01:03:39] They stir things up and that can be fun until it isn't and I want them to go.

[01:03:42] But in this case, I mean, he's a little different than, like, he's not annoying, but he's stirring things up in a much different way.

[01:03:52] Yeah.

[01:03:52] You know?

[01:03:54] But, yeah, I guess you would want to see how that would progress.

[01:03:57] I think Gi-hun is a little protected.

[01:04:01] Maybe.

[01:04:02] Or at least not targeted.

[01:04:04] Oh, yeah.

[01:04:05] Right.

[01:04:06] Because they, you know, it's going to be fun for the VIPs when they come in to see.

[01:04:10] Because some of them probably saw him play because it was only a couple years ago.

[01:04:15] Yeah.

[01:04:15] And they'll probably be like, oh, my goodness, you know, this will be great.

[01:04:19] This, you know.

[01:04:20] All-star season.

[01:04:21] This will be cool.

[01:04:21] Yeah.

[01:04:23] So it's a ton of fun.

[01:04:25] But one thing I wanted to point out, I mean, it was masterful the way that he was able to get people to get in line, like, follow the leader and protect each other that way.

[01:04:35] And how they all did it once the shooting started.

[01:04:39] Mm-hmm.

[01:04:40] It, and once the people who had been shot that were running away, not as many people were getting shot.

[01:04:47] Like, it was.

[01:04:49] Yeah.

[01:04:50] I mean, the people in front are still in.

[01:04:52] In danger.

[01:04:54] So I guess it's just about having less exposure, you know, for more people.

[01:05:00] Right.

[01:05:01] And so one thing I wanted to point out, and this just makes me think, we see Noel and she's taking people out by shooting them in the head.

[01:05:11] Why was the guy shot in the leg?

[01:05:14] Like.

[01:05:15] I think it was just a mistake.

[01:05:17] I.

[01:05:18] I don't know.

[01:05:19] I think the point of it was to show something about Noel's character, you know, to correct what she considered a mistake.

[01:05:30] Yes.

[01:05:31] But I also.

[01:05:33] You think that they did it on purpose?

[01:05:35] I think that there could be something going on.

[01:05:38] And I don't know what.

[01:05:40] But remember, we had all that craziness in season one with all the organ harvesting.

[01:05:47] So who knows?

[01:05:48] They could be up to something again.

[01:05:50] Or not.

[01:05:50] It could just be one of those things that's just kind of, oh yeah, she was correcting a mistake.

[01:05:55] I don't know.

[01:05:57] I'll find out because I'll watch the next episode and keep going on the trail.

[01:06:04] But yeah, I think that how Gihan masterfully, it was like he was conducting an orchestra.

[01:06:12] Yeah.

[01:06:13] Honestly.

[01:06:13] A really intense one.

[01:06:15] Yeah.

[01:06:17] So yeah, I think that's all I had about red light.

[01:06:22] Okay.

[01:06:23] Green light.

[01:06:24] Let me talk about Noel a little bit.

[01:06:26] Okay.

[01:06:27] This is for people, I think everyone knows, but the woman who worked at the amusement park and she's trying to find her one-year-old daughter that she left when she defected from North Korea.

[01:06:41] And she met the little girl at the amusement park that had blood cancer and knows that she needs money for some kind of treatment medication.

[01:06:54] And her father, as you pointed out, is there at the squid game.

[01:06:58] And we see that she's a shooter.

[01:07:00] That was a shock.

[01:07:02] I mean, it was even for me, because if you listen last week, Veronica just thought, oh, she's this.

[01:07:11] She's a good person who probably will go into the squid game, you know, as a worker, but to make money to help this little girl.

[01:07:19] And maybe that is the truth, but I thought maybe there was a darkness to her.

[01:07:25] And I think that even more now.

[01:07:29] And I don't know.

[01:07:31] I still don't know exactly what to make of her, but she shoots this guy who, I mean, he lost, right?

[01:07:37] He moved and they said he was eliminated and he got shot in the leg, which I suspect, but I don't know for sure.

[01:07:44] It was just a mistake.

[01:07:45] And so you would think that he would have to be killed per the rules of the game.

[01:07:53] I'm not arguing for the squid game, but I'm just saying those are the rules.

[01:07:58] Well, the thing is, with number 444, it really wasn't his fault that he moved.

[01:08:06] It doesn't matter.

[01:08:07] It doesn't matter what his fault it was.

[01:08:10] You know, people get pushed, they get killed.

[01:08:13] True.

[01:08:14] True.

[01:08:15] So, so then, but then you see one of the other squid game workers after Noel shot the guy number, number 11.

[01:08:24] Was that you?

[01:08:25] She goes, I simply took out a loser.

[01:08:28] The way she put that, well, it was interesting that the other worker almost seemed to think she shouldn't have done that.

[01:08:34] That's interesting.

[01:08:35] Again, this weird gun, this thing.

[01:08:38] Like, was he shot like that for real?

[01:08:40] Right.

[01:08:40] What is up with that?

[01:08:41] I don't know.

[01:08:41] Like, and the guy thought she was being cruel.

[01:08:44] But anyway, to say in those words, I simply took out a loser.

[01:08:48] That reminds me of the recruiter guy, Dakchi guy, who just said people are worthless and useless and, you know, shot his own father.

[01:08:58] Mm-hmm.

[01:08:58] And we speculated whether they bring people with that mindset in to be workers and maybe, and I thought, you know, last week, maybe we don't know it, but Noel is like that.

[01:09:10] And she goes and does this and says this.

[01:09:12] So it makes me wonder if she's got that same cold mindset about the world as him and that people are mostly losers and have no purpose or value.

[01:09:20] I don't know yet, but, and I, and I still wonder, did she burn that picture that the little girl drew because she has no intention of helping her?

[01:09:30] Or was that just because she, you know, couldn't take it in there with her?

[01:09:33] And now that she sees the father's in there, does she consider him a loser or is she rooting for him?

[01:09:39] I don't know.

[01:09:40] And will she have the guts to pull the trigger if she has to?

[01:09:44] Right.

[01:09:45] Or maybe she'll do it gleefully.

[01:09:46] I just don't know.

[01:09:47] I don't think so.

[01:09:48] I think you're right.

[01:09:48] I think she feels a connection with him and the little girl, but she's my most interesting character.

[01:09:55] She's the most interesting character to me right now.

[01:09:58] I love that we're getting to see this side of it.

[01:10:00] Yeah.

[01:10:01] And not through June Ho playing that part.

[01:10:04] We're seeing it as one of the actual people.

[01:10:07] Yes.

[01:10:08] Yeah.

[01:10:08] She's there.

[01:10:09] Because she's, she's a worker.

[01:10:11] And I'm glad that we're getting to see that side of it.

[01:10:15] That's why I think there's still story to tell.

[01:10:18] Yeah.

[01:10:19] Because there are parts and pieces that we haven't really seen.

[01:10:23] And so we're getting to peek behind the curtain a little bit.

[01:10:26] And I like it.

[01:10:27] Me too.

[01:10:27] I mean, I listened to you and Veronica talk last week and just the very different way that the workers are taken to the island versus the competitors.

[01:10:41] It's just very different.

[01:10:44] Yeah, it is.

[01:10:45] And it's pretty interesting.

[01:10:48] Do you have any more points?

[01:10:50] Let me see.

[01:10:52] Before we go to notes.

[01:10:53] I have one more point.

[01:10:54] No, I don't.

[01:10:55] Take it away.

[01:10:56] Just one more kind of quick one about the nature of the red light green light game.

[01:11:01] Like all squid game games is based on a children's game.

[01:11:05] And the red light green light that most of us hearing this played when we were kids, the rules are that there's a person who's a caller and everyone else lines up opposite to them, just like in the squid game.

[01:11:19] But you're allowed to move forward when the caller shouts out green light.

[01:11:22] And then when they shout red light, you have to stop.

[01:11:25] And if they see you moving, then you're either out of the game or you have to go back to the beginning.

[01:11:30] And start over.

[01:11:31] Yeah.

[01:11:31] Whoever makes it across gets to be the caller.

[01:11:34] But they've never been playing this game in squid game.

[01:11:38] That's just the closest Western game.

[01:11:40] So that's what they call it.

[01:11:41] But the Korean game is called the hibiscus or mungangwa in Korean flower is blooming.

[01:11:49] The hibiscus flower is blooming.

[01:11:50] And the rules are that the leader, the caller turns their back to the group and chants the phrase mungangwa kochi piatsumni da or something like that, which translates to the hibiscus flower has bloomed.

[01:12:03] And then as the leader's chanting that, the players can move.

[01:12:07] And when they finish chanting, they quickly turn around and everyone freezes.

[01:12:11] So instead of like green light and then you wait or you can say red light at any time you want and surprise people with it.

[01:12:18] But there's a set phrase.

[01:12:21] And so and in red light, I mean, in squid game, the doll says it, I think, at the same tempo every time.

[01:12:30] So if you had your timing thing, if you had your wits about you, it would be pretty easy to do.

[01:12:35] You just know that you have three seconds or whatever you listen.

[01:12:39] But, you know, but I read that when the kids play it in Korea, they'll start it off really slow.

[01:12:45] You know, mungangwa kochi piatsumni da.

[01:12:48] They'll finish it up really fast, you know, just to mess with each other or they'll vary the tempo or it'll get faster and faster as they go along, which I think is is kind of fun.

[01:12:59] And that's all I had to say about that.

[01:13:01] All right.

[01:13:02] No, no, actually, in this, I noticed in this in season two, the dialogue reflected this so that in season one, they tried to for the American version anyway, and I'm assuming all English language versions, they tried to make it sound like the doll was saying red light, green light.

[01:13:21] I think if you played the dubbed version, she would say red light, green light, red light.

[01:13:26] But in season two, when they explained it, they said, as she's saying red light, green light, you can move.

[01:13:32] So they made it a little bit more like the Korean rules where you're moving while she's talking, not in between.

[01:13:39] If that makes any sense.

[01:13:42] Yeah, that does make sense.

[01:13:44] All right.

[01:13:45] Let's move on to notes.

[01:13:45] What do you got?

[01:13:47] All right.

[01:13:47] Well, one, we got to hear the beautiful blue Danube waltz again while they were all walking on the stairs.

[01:13:56] Something too that stood out to me.

[01:13:58] They have all of those stairs to walk to, to get to a challenge.

[01:14:03] Do you think that's to tire them out?

[01:14:08] Because I know that one of the characters commented on, you know, all these stairs, like they were tired from walking on all the stairs.

[01:14:16] And so it was like, oh.

[01:14:20] Yeah, maybe.

[01:14:20] I mean, I think the main reason for it is because it's a great visual for the show.

[01:14:28] Yeah.

[01:14:29] But, yeah.

[01:14:30] Yeah.

[01:14:31] Yeah.

[01:14:31] I mean, you'd be tired walking up and down and up and down and all around the stairs, like the never ending stay amaze.

[01:14:40] Joseph Hayden's trumpet concerto.

[01:14:42] Music is such a big thing for this show.

[01:14:45] And when Ki-Hoon is waking up in the game for the first time since the last time he played, Joseph Hayden's trumpet concerto, it's the third movement, is playing.

[01:14:59] And I just love the way that classical music is pulled into this game because it can be such a beautiful piece and it's going on or prefacing something terrible.

[01:15:15] So I really appreciate how they do that.

[01:15:18] There's a juxtaposition of the childlike with the horrific, but also this beautiful music with these bad things that are happening.

[01:15:25] Yeah.

[01:15:26] There's also, I think this was also in Red Light, Green Light, the first time, the Fly Me to the Moon cover.

[01:15:34] And it's Korean singer Shinjuwon.

[01:15:39] Fly me to the moon.

[01:15:41] When Thanos was doing his little jig, jumping up in the air and dancing around.

[01:15:48] Yep.

[01:15:50] I didn't have any notes.

[01:15:52] I think we...

[01:15:52] I'm just looking real quick to see.

[01:15:56] So I think that Inho was slightly impressed with what Ki-Hoon was doing or orchestrating with Red Light, Green Light.

[01:16:04] And after half of the people had crossed the finish line, that's when he left his chair.

[01:16:10] And I guess he decided he needed to go see for himself.

[01:16:15] I mean, he saw him play last time.

[01:16:17] It's just this Ki-Hoon that we're seeing play now is not the same person at all.

[01:16:24] He's still got the battle scars from...

[01:16:27] He's been changed.

[01:16:28] He's been changed, yeah.

[01:16:30] I look back at my notes for the first episode of the series and he very much was just in his addict mode.

[01:16:39] He was an addict, you know?

[01:16:41] And now he's...

[01:16:43] There's no sign of that.

[01:16:44] He's so...

[01:16:47] What's the word I'm looking for?

[01:16:49] He's purpose-driven and, you know, on task.

[01:16:54] Mm-hmm.

[01:16:55] He's a man on a mission with this one.

[01:16:58] Mm-hmm.

[01:16:58] For sure.

[01:17:41] All right, we're back.

[01:17:42] We got some feedback.

[01:17:43] We got a few here.

[01:17:45] People are into this episode.

[01:17:47] Want to go first?

[01:17:48] Sure.

[01:17:50] Wendy says, my favorite episode so far this season.

[01:17:53] Very cool to get back to the games with all the added layers of what we know so far.

[01:17:59] I think the last two episodes were needed set up episodes, but really like this one.

[01:18:05] I got to admit, I did too.

[01:18:06] I purposefully tried to find a lot to like about the first two, even though there was no games in them.

[01:18:12] But it was really...

[01:18:14] I mean, this show...

[01:18:15] Like, even the fact that Gi-hun is 456 again, right?

[01:18:20] And the title of the episode is 001, which just makes you wonder, wait, Oil Gnome's dead.

[01:18:26] Who is that going to be?

[01:18:28] You're wondering at the whole episode.

[01:18:29] And then they set up this vote.

[01:18:30] And then they have 001 walk up with his back to us so you can't see, and then turns around for the reveal at the end.

[01:18:37] Just this show is so good at setting up moments like that, especially in the context of the games themselves.

[01:18:44] So it's at its best, I think, when you're in the game.

[01:18:47] Well, and I feel like it distracted us until...

[01:18:51] Like, we have the episode title.

[01:18:54] We're like, oh, who's that going to be?

[01:18:55] But then there's all these other things happening, so I'm not really thinking about it.

[01:19:00] And then they're voting, and they have to do it in reverse order.

[01:19:03] And I'm like, okay, that's when it really hit me.

[01:19:05] Right, right.

[01:19:06] That's awesome.

[01:19:08] Jennifer McGinley says, definitely my most favorite game.

[01:19:12] Unintentionally, maybe hilarious.

[01:19:13] I'd have been utter shite at it.

[01:19:15] I think this show does have a sense of humor, honestly.

[01:19:19] But yeah.

[01:19:19] She says, I love Thanos as much as I loved Armand in White Lotus.

[01:19:24] Whoever dreamed up that character has my greatest gratitude.

[01:19:30] Jijo says, I feel that Gi-hun and the story in general can be analogous to the story of any union organizer or even prophet who is trying to warn the people of their impending doom.

[01:19:43] Although some will listen, the majority go with their momentary obsession with a want for more money.

[01:19:51] Greed is really the root of all evil.

[01:19:54] Well said.

[01:19:55] I agree with that.

[01:19:57] Becky Anderson says,

[01:20:15] Why do people not trust the boat captain?

[01:20:22] I don't get it.

[01:20:23] He seemed fine to me.

[01:20:24] Because, you know, and I didn't bring this up during the episode, but I have reservations about him because he seemed to really, he wasn't happy that Jun-ho wasn't giving this up.

[01:20:39] He's like, dude, you made your word.

[01:20:41] Why are you doing, you know?

[01:20:42] He doesn't really want him.

[01:20:45] He doesn't seem to want him to be doing this.

[01:20:48] But if he is going to do it, then he'll be the one to drive him.

[01:20:52] And so I didn't suspect him at first.

[01:20:56] But then in this episode, I'm like, why do you keep wanting him to stop?

[01:21:01] So I'm with Becky.

[01:21:03] I think something up about that boat captain.

[01:21:06] I mean, yeah, personally, I don't think so.

[01:21:11] I think he just likes the guy and has seen him on this mission.

[01:21:18] Well, he's the guy who saved him out of the harbor.

[01:21:20] Yeah.

[01:21:21] Yeah.

[01:21:21] But I think he was glad to see him finally just letting go of all this turmoil or whatever.

[01:21:28] But I could be totally wrong because, as you said, he was the person that saved him.

[01:21:32] And maybe that's suspicious in and of itself, you know, that he was there and maybe he's affiliated or something.

[01:21:39] Who knows?

[01:21:40] Maybe we'll get answers and maybe we won't.

[01:21:43] Who knows?

[01:21:46] Catherine says, best episode so far.

[01:21:48] I'm still expecting a few different games this season.

[01:21:51] This episode proved that repeating the same game can be just as intense.

[01:21:55] They were doing so great working together until that.

[01:21:58] B. I didn't understand why 444 was allowed to continue because of a bad shot and thought they were just going to let him bleed out until the shot.

[01:22:08] I'm already invested in so many of these new characters, especially the mother and son.

[01:22:12] And as much as I don't like Thanos, he's going to make things very interesting.

[01:22:19] Alma Contreras says, I finally got caught up.

[01:22:22] Poor 456 back in the games.

[01:22:24] I really thought the cop guy was on the right track when they were flying the drone.

[01:22:28] Me too.

[01:22:28] Good job, Squid Games.

[01:22:30] You fooled me.

[01:22:31] I wonder how they found the tracker in 456's tooth.

[01:22:35] And can I say how much I can't stand purple hair, dude?

[01:22:39] Kind of interesting how this season they've actually put faces on the game's workers.

[01:22:43] Something is going to come of it, I'm sure.

[01:22:46] I'm trying not to go forward, but I'm a weak woman.

[01:22:49] LOL.

[01:22:50] I look forward to tuning into the cast.

[01:22:52] I don't blame you.

[01:22:53] Go ahead.

[01:22:53] It's very hard.

[01:22:57] Maria says, oh, well, look at who cast the deciding vote.

[01:23:03] Seems a bit against the whole everyone has free will and equal chances if 001 just came in to vote and not play in the actual games.

[01:23:12] Well, we don't know yet.

[01:23:13] Yeah, he may.

[01:23:14] I'm re-watching now to make sure we really did see him watching the game.

[01:23:20] Maybe he was re-watching it.

[01:23:22] I guess player 230, purple hair, is going to be our new bad guy of the players, but not in the same super evil way Dook Su was last season.

[01:23:32] The players are different this time and asking way more questions, which seems more realistic to me.

[01:23:38] Poor Gi-hun.

[01:23:39] He tried to save everyone.

[01:23:42] He did better than I expected, but getting a group of strangers to listen is nearly impossible, even under the best circumstances.

[01:23:50] Seeing player 246 in the game seem to get to the soldier, but will it be what turns her from the dark side?

[01:23:58] It looks like the games may be on the wall of their dorm again, and I wonder if Gi-hun will pick up on it.

[01:24:06] Great episode, and I'm excited to hear your thoughts on it.

[01:24:09] Yeah.

[01:24:10] I wonder if he will pick up on it, because you'd think the players last season would have picked up on it, and they didn't really talk about it.

[01:24:20] No.

[01:24:21] So I don't know.

[01:24:21] I'm curious about that, too.

[01:24:23] But you're saying Thanos is going to be a new bad guy, but not in the same super evil way Dook Su was.

[01:24:31] I don't know if that's-

[01:24:33] Dook Su was more of a prisoner.

[01:24:35] He was bad.

[01:24:37] I don't know, Maria, if you caught that Thanos pushed a couple of guys, got them killed, had a shitting grin on his face, and said bye, and raised his eyebrows.

[01:24:51] Because that's pretty fucking evil.

[01:24:52] It is.

[01:24:53] That's just as bad as anything Dook Su's ever done, in my opinion.

[01:24:57] Yeah.

[01:24:59] All right.

[01:24:59] We got a couple of calls.

[01:25:00] Here's Jenny Ryan.

[01:25:03] Hello, Squid Game folks.

[01:25:05] Jenny from Saskatoon here.

[01:25:07] I just wanted to mention something about the classical music that's played throughout Squid Game.

[01:25:12] In particular, it's played when the Dutch guy is doing his Russian roulette, and then they play it throughout the games.

[01:25:22] And I think it's used in other places, too.

[01:25:24] And I don't know how many people are aware of how classical music is often used in public places.

[01:25:34] So outdoor spaces, often they'll play classical music sort of like outdoor outside of a library or outside a city hall or outside a public space where people gather.

[01:25:43] And part of the reason to do this is because you play music loudly to drive people away.

[01:25:49] So they don't gather.

[01:25:50] So maybe you don't want people gathering outside of your building.

[01:25:54] And so you play music, and classical music is, you know, no lyrics.

[01:25:58] It's fairly innocuous.

[01:25:59] It's easy to obtain.

[01:26:00] And so they'll play music.

[01:26:03] But another reason to play classical music is because there's this theory that playing classical music will edify the masses.

[01:26:12] And so there is an argument to be made against having classical music played in a public space because it is, in fact, classist.

[01:26:21] It's potentially racist.

[01:26:23] It's very Eurocentric.

[01:26:25] It's a way of saying my culture is superior, and I'm going to play it for you so that you – it rubs off on you and you can get some of the shine or the, you know, the classiness of this European culture.

[01:26:38] Sure.

[01:26:39] And so I was thinking about the fact that if they're using classical music in the Squid Game, is that part of it?

[01:26:48] Is that – are they highlighting the class difference between the people?

[01:26:54] The classical music is being listened to by the wealthy elite, and classical music is not something that perhaps is listened to by the unwashed masses who are playing Squid Game.

[01:27:04] Are they hoping – I don't think they care about edifying them, but I do think it is used to highlight or the disparity between the two groups, the people who watch the Squid Game and the people who play the Squid Game.

[01:27:20] So anyway, yeah, I thought that was kind of potentially an interesting point of discussion.

[01:27:26] Okay, bye.

[01:27:28] That was great.

[01:27:29] Thank you, Jenny.

[01:27:30] Yeah, I think it is an interesting point of discussion.

[01:27:34] Yeah.

[01:27:35] What do you think?

[01:27:36] I agree with her.

[01:27:37] I am always – with this show, especially the way that they use classical music, as Jenny was explaining, it really affects – I don't know.

[01:27:53] It's kind of like she's saying, like a rich and poor breakdown.

[01:27:58] Like visually, you're getting this terrible thing that's happening, and in your ears, you're getting this music.

[01:28:07] Because I think I brought it up, too, because I mentioned in episode one what the selections were that they were using during the Russian roulette scene.

[01:28:17] And then – well, both of the Russian roulette and then the rock, paper, scissors Russian roulette that we had.

[01:28:24] Those were two different pieces.

[01:28:26] Yep.

[01:28:26] Music can be a character all its own in a TV show or a movie.

[01:28:31] And I think a lot of series have upped their game when it comes to using music to be – to really hit it home with this particular scene.

[01:28:41] And it definitely did and does with this show.

[01:28:45] Yeah.

[01:28:45] I love that you brought this up, Jenny.

[01:28:47] Up until now, I hadn't really thought about how classical music often pairs with wealth.

[01:28:54] And I enjoy classical music.

[01:28:57] I'm not wealthy.

[01:28:58] I was in a band when I was a kid and exposed to some of it and piano and stuff.

[01:29:04] And I remember actually once we were – I was on a family vacation when I was probably a teenager.

[01:29:09] And I put on Chopin's CD, one of my favorite verses of Chopin.

[01:29:17] And my grandma after a while was like, turn off this highbrow crap.

[01:29:22] And I'm like, all right, all right.

[01:29:24] So we put on Willie Nelson or whatever.

[01:29:26] Oh, my goodness.

[01:29:27] I totally think, yeah, it is.

[01:29:29] I don't know.

[01:29:29] I feel like it's a bit – I don't want to cynically say that classical music is evil, you know, that it should never be played because it's sort of trying to force people's values or whatever on everyone.

[01:29:41] I think it's beautiful.

[01:29:42] But I do think it is meant to echo the wealth of the people behind the Squid Games here.

[01:29:49] And it also is just another great juxtaposition of beauty and horror together.

[01:29:55] Agreed.

[01:29:56] All right.

[01:29:57] We have one more call from Sam.

[01:30:01] Hey, guys.

[01:30:02] It's Sam.

[01:30:04] Oof.

[01:30:04] Episode three really dumped us right back into that Squid Game brand of despair.

[01:30:12] Yikes.

[01:30:13] That voting process towards the end was just a little too painfully close to the most recent U.S. elections.

[01:30:25] To be fair, the last decade.

[01:30:27] Of U.S. elections.

[01:30:30] Yeah.

[01:30:31] That cognitive dissonance is just a little too on the nose.

[01:30:37] And also a great example of why I hate group projects.

[01:30:43] So, yeah.

[01:30:44] I felt really bad for all the people who wanted to leave that now have to stay in the game because a significant amount of people are stupid and entitled and think that they know better.

[01:30:55] Yep.

[01:30:57] That doesn't seem familiar at all or painful.

[01:31:01] Yeah.

[01:31:01] We have our very own brand of Squid Game about to commence in the U.S.

[01:31:06] And it's, oddly enough, a season two of that.

[01:31:10] But I was very curious about the new rules of the game.

[01:31:15] And I wonder why the cop's brother, I'm guessing, who's in charge of that, changed it all up that they could leave.

[01:31:24] Is it to further cement that people want to be there and they have this coming because they repeatedly keep choosing it?

[01:31:33] I think that's right.

[01:31:34] It's really a little uncomfortable to know that these people are willingly engaging in it all the time.

[01:31:40] Not just like, okay, we'll vote to leave and then we won't get any money.

[01:31:45] So, yeah, they sort of sweetened the deal a bit for people to stay.

[01:31:50] And it speaks more to that gambling thing.

[01:31:53] And it's just really painful.

[01:31:55] Also, speaking of painful, the little attack does a millennial in the beginning with the very clearly millennial and Gen Xers.

[01:32:05] And they're not inaccurate portrayal.

[01:32:12] Okay, this feels a little too close to home.

[01:32:15] All right.

[01:32:15] I get you.

[01:32:16] I get you.

[01:32:17] Thank you.

[01:32:17] Thank you.

[01:32:18] And I full on gasped at the end.

[01:32:22] What do you guys think?

[01:32:23] Why is he in the game?

[01:32:26] What's going on?

[01:32:27] Is he just following Il-Nam's example?

[01:32:31] I'm so curious.

[01:32:33] Can't wait to hear the pod.

[01:32:36] I know that Sam knows now, probably because she sent another message for the next episode, which we'll listen to next time.

[01:32:46] Which I love.

[01:32:47] Love that you watch ahead and keep sending stuff in.

[01:32:50] If anybody else wants to do that, that's great.

[01:32:53] It's so hard with a show like this.

[01:32:56] Oh, yeah.

[01:32:57] I wish they would release it weekly.

[01:33:00] But what are you going to do?

[01:33:02] It's not the Netflix way.

[01:33:04] I mean, at the very, what they could do is what they have done with other shows where they'll release three at a time.

[01:33:12] Yeah.

[01:33:13] People hate that, but I love it as a podcaster.

[01:33:16] Yeah.

[01:33:17] It doesn't work so much for the bingers.

[01:33:20] Yep.

[01:33:21] People who want the right now answers.

[01:33:24] I say we all take a vote.

[01:33:26] And if half of us vote to wait, then we'll wait.

[01:33:30] I'm going to lose that one.

[01:33:31] I know it.

[01:33:43] All right.

[01:33:43] That is our show.

[01:33:44] Thanks so much for listening, everybody.

[01:33:46] Thanks, Daphne.

[01:33:46] Good to have you back.

[01:33:47] We won't see you again until, what, the finale, right?

[01:33:51] Finale, yeah.

[01:33:51] Maybe you can jump back on if you decide you want to.

[01:33:54] Maybe it'll work out to come back on.

[01:33:55] All right.

[01:33:56] I'll think about it.

[01:33:57] I'll see what I have time for.

[01:33:58] Okay.

[01:33:59] Well, next up, we'll be talking about Squid Game Season 2, Episode 4, Six Legs, which sounds

[01:34:04] like some kind of weird game.

[01:34:06] Yep.

[01:34:08] I think that any title that we see coming out of this is some weird twisted game, except

[01:34:16] for 001.

[01:34:17] I don't think that was a weird twisted game.

[01:34:20] If you want to write in or send us a voice message about it, you can find all our contact

[01:34:25] information at podcastico.com.

[01:34:28] Yeah.

[01:34:28] And while you're there, be sure to check out our other shows.

[01:34:31] Daphne's doing a couple different things right now.

[01:34:33] Skeleton Crew, the Star Wars kind of Steven Spielbergian show that's on right now.

[01:34:40] But also, you've been doing your long-running Run for Your Lives podcast, and I see you have

[01:34:45] the Season 8 Run for Your Lives Awards.

[01:34:47] What's that all about?

[01:34:48] Okay.

[01:34:49] So that's our 200th episode of Run for Your Lives.

[01:34:53] Wow.

[01:34:54] That is where, at the end of our season, we look back at our favorite characters, side characters,

[01:35:00] threats, episodes, and movies, and we determine which ones are our favorites.

[01:35:05] And sometimes it's easy to come to a consensus between the two of us, and sometimes it isn't.

[01:35:13] That's cool, man.

[01:35:13] You guys have some good ideas for those episodes you do where you're not reviewing a movie and

[01:35:18] you want to do something a little different.

[01:35:20] Yeah.

[01:35:21] We're always trying to come up with something else that's fun.

[01:35:24] Super cool.

[01:35:25] All right.

[01:35:26] That is our show.

[01:35:27] Thanks for listening.