Warning! Spoilers ahead for Squid Game.
Lee Byung-hun's Front Man identity plot twist in Squid Game creates a timeline plot hole. Netflix's latest hit is the South Korean series inspired by the country's penchant for game shows. Fresh and innovative, it's no wonder Squid Game has quickly become popular around the world; and perhaps, it could even be the streaming service's biggest show ever.
Squid Game is primarily about a group of people recruited to play traditional children's games for a massive cash prize amounting to 45.6 billion won. However, there's a caveat - each game has a deadly twist, and every single one who is unable to finish a level is killed. Aside from this, the show also features a side-story that centers on police officer Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) who joins the game in the hopes of finding his lost brother, Hwang In-ho. Instead of becoming a player, he's able to sneak in and pose as a worker. Eventually, it's revealed in Squid Game episode 8 that his brother has become Squid Game's mysterious Front Man.
Not much is known about In-ho thus far - only that he joined and became the winner of Squid Game back in 2015. But the show gives the impression that he's been involved in the underground event for quite some time now, to the point that he's considered Oh Il-nam's (O Yeong-su) right-hand-man. It's unclear if he immediately boarded as one of its facilitators after he won, but chances are that it didn't take long for him to become involved. From there, he climbed his way up to his current position. That would've taken at least several years, so it's curious why it's only recently that Jun-ho and his family started looking for his brother. According to the conversation he had with his mom, In-ho has been unreachable for a few days, causing her to worry. This prompts the police officer to personally visit his brother's apartment, which is where he found the Squid Game calling card.
Since In-ho has been part of the deadly games for a while now, it doesn't make sense that his latest disappearance suddenly causes a family frenzy. It's likely that over the last several years, he was also out of reach while he hosted the annual Squid Game. In-ho explains that his brother goes under the radar occasionally, but there's no explanation why they seem more worried about it this time. Of course, it's possible that it just so happens that his mother tried calling him this year while the underground event was happening. But that seems like a lazy justification, especially for such a well-thought-out show as Squid Game. It's also interesting why In-ho decided to stay in his cramped apartment. According to the landlady, In-ho has been a good renter, until he missed paying his rent a week before the events of the show. Aside from the money he won in 2015, he is also likely compensated for his role as Front Man, so why not move to a better place?
Director and writer Hwang Dong-hyuk maintains that he has no plans for Squid Game season 2. But aside from the cliffhanger finale which sets up Seong Gi-hun/No. 456's (Lee Jung-jae) plan to come after the VIPs who patronize the deadly game, questions about the Front Man's past prove that the show needs a sequel. In any case, considering the show's popularity, there's a slim chance that Netflix wouldn't want to capitalize on it and not make a follow-up.