Front Man
Episode 8 of Squid Game begins with our three finalists making their way downstairs, a trail of blood following in their wake. While they make their way back to the dormitory, Joon-Ho manages to make it back to the island. His phone – kept in a watertight bag- is with him and seems to hold all the evidence to what’s going on here, especially if the dead VIP guest and the video logs are anything to go by. Joon-Ho hurries back to the main facility, away from the Front Man, who continues to hunt him. Joon-Ho realizes he’s in trouble though and phones the Chief, telling him to track his signal and arrive at the island with a whole squad of people. Unfortunately Joon-Ho runs into trouble when the Front Man and his goons corner him by the cliff edge. With one bullet left, things don’t look good. Back inside the games, Sang-Woo and Gi-Hun come to blows. Things are incredibly tense between them, until one of the guards arrives with a special gift for the three finalists. This happens to be an outfit for the trio, plus a lavish meal. The final supper perhaps? It certainly feels that way, as the trio are sat at a triangular table facing one another. After their main meal, each of them silently take a knife while their plates are cleared away. Sae-Byeok has barely been eating and that night, Gi-Hun decides to sit alongside her in the dorms, promising to beat Sang-Woo and split the money fairly with her. When Sang-Woo falls asleep, Gi-Hun thinks about killing his old friend but decides against it, leaving their fate for the arena. However, Sae-Byeok has been injured badly. She’s bleeding profusely from the stomach and so far, has been hiding it all this time. Now though, she’s fading fast. By the time Gi-Hun stands up to try and get her help from the guards, Sang-Woo has moved and killed the girl, quick as a flash. The guards eventually arrive with a casket to take her away as Gi-Hun finds himself enraged and out for blood. Back on the cliff-edge, Joon-Ho learns the identity of the Front Man. It turns out it’s his own brother, In-Ho. He’s been working here the whole time and it explains why he’s been missing from the mainland. Has he been brainwashed? Before we find out, he brandishes a gun of his own and shoots his brother. In-Ho is clearly affected by this though, and struggles to control his emotions as he looks in the mirror later on that day. As “Fly me to the moon” picks up again, Sae-Byeok’s body is put in the incinerator, leaving this finale down to two men.
The Episode Review
This shorter chapter feels like a real calm-before-the-storm moment. There’s a lot of tension during the final supper and it eventually culminates in Sae-Byeok losing her life thanks to Sang-Woo. Given how much money he owes, it’s perhaps unsurprising to see him take such a cowardly approach to all this. However, the episode does shed more light on the Front Man, who just so happens to be Joon-Ho’s brother. This is a nice little twist, although there hasn’t been a lot of development regarding the VIPs and what their deal in all this is. Where are they? Are they still in the facility? And who are the men behind the masks? Despite these pressing questions, the penultimate episode sets everything up for a very juicy finale to come.
