Music History: Tupac

Episode six of Squid Game is “Gganbu”. Join Player 456’s hosts Jack and Colin as they deep dive into the sixth episode of Netflix’s most popular show of all time. They offer their insight, thoughts and appreciation, and also cover your questions, queries and theories.

Squid Game has largely eschewed tugging on the heartstrings - until now...

Apart from a short scene in which Jun-ho overhears the Front Man taking a telephone call about the arrival of the games’ VIPs, the action is focused on the players and their next game - marbles.

Player 101 vs Player 278:

Player 101 winds up winning after petitioning his guard to change the game they’d been playing (and at which he’d been losing badly).

Player 067 vs Player 240:

Neither Sae-byeok nor her partner 240 know how to play marbles - 240 dismisses the game as the province of “boomers”.

Player 218 vs Player 199:

Sang-woo and Ali begin by guessing whether their opponent is holding either an even or odd number of marbles in his hand. Sang-woo gets mad when Ali takes a big lead, accusing him of cheating, then begging for his life, and finally devising an alternate plan.

Player 456 vs Player 001:

Gi-hun and Player 001 also play the guessing game, though it takes some doing to get there, as the dementia-addled old man believes the fake street to be the street where he grew up.

One of the best things about Squid Game is that, for all its brutality, it does not seem to share the games’ sadism itself. The scenarios are awful to contemplate, but the awfulness is the point.

Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk values the interpersonal connections he’s creating, even as he destroys them. It’s an exploration of violence, not an exploitation of violence.

Dong-hyuk makes sure that when he kills people you care about, you know their names.

An original production from Glasgower

Produced by Jack Shaw and Colin McMilan

Twitter: @player456pod

Email: [email protected]

Jack and Colin also host Wrong Term Memory - a weekly podcast with episodes out every Monday.