15 genius Squid Game easter eggs that you probably missed the first time around

8 October 2021, 16:36

Squid Game promo reveals behind-the-scenes of the glass bridge game

By Katie Louise Smith

From all the clues about the old man to the foreshadowed deaths...

Three weeks after it was released on Netflix, Squid Game has become one of the most-watched and most talked about TV shows in the streaming services' history.

By now, you'll have probably already read about all the hidden clues that hinted at Squid Game's twist ending, but if you're yet to rewatch the show for a second time, there might have been quite a few details that passed you by on your first watch.

Here's your breakdown of all the important details, foreshadowing moments, hidden easter eggs and clues you might have missed while watching Squid Game the first time around.

15 Squid Game details you missed. Picture: Netflix

1) All the players choose the blue tile with the Salesman.

In episode 1, the players start to question why they've all been 'kidnapped', they are shown a video of the players all playing Ddakji with the Salesman. In the footage shown on screen, we see that they all chose the blue tile at the start of the game. We're not shown anyone choosing a red tile.

Squid Game details you missed. Picture: Netflix

2) The games are hidden on the walls in the dorm room.

As early as episode 4, you can see illustrations on the walls behind the beds but you'll have to be paying very close attention to the background. Once Gi-hun, Sang-woo and Sae-byeok make it to the final three in episode 8 after completing the glass stepping stones game, the drawings on the wall are as clear as day.

3) All the deaths are low-key foreshadowed in episode 2...

Squid Game episode 2 contains several huge hints that all foreshadow the deaths of a handful of major characters.

Ali steals (or rather, takes what he's rightfully owed) from his boss, and is later betrayed by Sang-woo who steals his marbles.
Deok-su jumps off a bridge to avoid being killed by gang members, and later dies after falling off the glass bridge.
Sae-byeok threatens to slash a man's throat, and is later killed by Sang-woo who, you guessed it, slashes her throat.
Sang-woo tries to take his own life, and later kills himself in order for Gi-hun to win the game and the money.

4) ... as well as Gi-hun’s own mother.

While Gi-hun doesn't die in Squid Game, he carelessly swears on his own mother's life while tricking Sae-byeok to trust him. In the end, that catches up with him as he arrives home from the games and finds his mother dead at home.

5) Mi-nyeo even foreshadows her own death in a subtle way.

In episode 5, Mi-nyeo describes how powerful she felt when the team all leaned back in order to win the Tug of War game. In episode 7, when she finally makes good on her promise to Deok-su that she'd kill him if he ever betrayed her, she grabs him and falls backwards, dragging him to his death with her in a final act of sacrifice.

6) Sae-byeok’s accent changes slightly, depending on who she is talking to.

A small yet important detail that you may have missed if you watched a dubbed version of the show (opposed to the original Korean) is that Sae-byeok switches accents depending on who she is talking to.

While talking to the other players, she speaks with a standard South Korean accent, but when she's comforting her younger brother, she returns to her true North Korean accent.

7) Player 001's details are missing from the 2020 players file.

When Hwang Jun-ho opens the 2020 file in order to see if his brother is one of the players, the first page is that of Player 002. Player 001's page is not included in the folder because he was never an official player of the game.

8) Player 001 sitting alone while everyone chose their teams of two for the marble game.

We soon find out that the player left without a partner ahead of the marble game survives and is taken back to the dorm without having to play the game. If this is a long-standing rule of the competition, then Oh Il-nam's decision to sit in the corner alone and avoid pairing up with anyone could hint that he was planning on using the rule as an exit strategy as it would have allowed him to leave the competition without being killed or raising any suspicions.

Whether he played the game or not, it seems Il-nam was always going to exit the game either before or after the marble round, as he would not have been killed. Il-nam would likely not have survived the glass bridge game that came next.

9) The doll doesn't appear to scan Player 001 properly.

Some say this is a reach but to be honest, it looks pretty convincing to us... During Red Light, Green Light, there is a considerable less amount of green over Il-nam and the players around him when the doll scans for movement. It becomes even more clear when compared to scanned players that are nowhere near Il-nam.

Was the doll programmed to not shoot him, or anyone within his vicinity, to ensure his survival of the first round?

10) In fact... there's several other details that hint at Oh Il-nam's true identity throughout the show.

The way that Il-nam knew and loved every single game in the competition – and laughed and joked while playing them all. The way he rejected Gi-hun's offer to swap shapes in the honeycomb challenge. The way an exact recreation of his neighbourhood and house appeared in the marble game. The way the Front Man only stopped the fight when Il-nam requested it...

We also don't see him get knocked out by the gas when he gets into the van to go back to the games, and we don't see him die on screen either. All red flags that the viewers should have clocked ahead of the final reveal.

11) Even his name revealed who he actually is.

Il-nam's name can translate loosely to "first man". 'Il', or '일', can mean 'one'. While 'Nam', or '남', means 'male' or 'man'. Il-nam is Player 001, and he was also the original founder and creator – or quite literally, the first man – to create the game.

12) Ji-yeong mentions the actor who plays the Front Man by name in episode 6.

In episode 6, when Sae-byeok and Ji-yeong are sharing their stories, Sae-byeok tells her friend that she wants to visit Jeju Island. Ji-yeong then suggests that she visit somewhere like Hawaii or the Maldives instead, and have a mojito.

Ji-yeong then references a famous line in the South Korean film 'Inside Men', starring Lee Byung-hun. Lee later makes a cameo appearance in Squid Game as the Front Man.

13) The gift box Gi-hun gave his daughter is wrapped the same as the game coffins.

You probably already noticed that the box that Gi-hun wins in the grabber machine is pretty much the same as the coffins the dead players are placed in once they die in the games, except with a different colour ribbon.

The 'gift box' detail is deliberate. In an interview with Netflix Korea, art director Chae Kyung-sun said: "I think I focused on the mind of the person who came up with the game. I imagined he’d think he gave the contestants a chance as if he’s a god. This is my gift to you. Even your bodies being disposed in the incinerator is a show of my mercy."

Inside the box that Gi-hun wins is a gun-shaped lighter. Some viewers have taken this to be another foreshadowing moment, as players in the game are killed by a gun and then burnt by fire.

14) The number 456 followed Gi-hun before he even joined the game.

If you don't speak Korean, you'll have to put the English subtitles on for this one. In episode 1, Gi-hun beats on the horses and wins. His winnings? 4.56 million won.

15) The doll's hair clip is the Squid Game court symbol.

Not that anyone would have have been paying attention to the tiny hair clip in the scary giant doll's hair as they were trying to avoid getting shot but again, the inclusion of the three symbols synonymous with the titular game could have been another hint to players of what games were ahead.

The actual Squid Game, which is shown at the very start of the show, ends up being the final round's game.