The many Squid Game plot holes don't ruin Netflix's survival drama, but they can leave viewers scratching their heads out of confusion. Squid Game could be the most popular K-drama of all time, and while fans are already clamoring for Netflix to make a second season, the show's various plot holes, head scratchers, and inconsistencies cannot be ignored.
Squid Game did manage to tie up most of its loose ends during its finale. Seong Gi-hun hit two birds with one stone by taking Kang Sae-byeok’s little brother from the orphanage, put him in the care of Cho Sang-woo’s grieving mother, and then gave them enough money to live comfortably. Oh Il-Nam also revealed his real identity to Gi-hun before he dies. In the final scenes when Gi-hun learns that the games are ongoing, he abandons his flight to see his daughter in the U.S., seemingly with the intention to disrupt the games—potentially setting up Squid Game season 2.
While the ending satisfied most fans, many can’t help but point out some of the Squid Game plot holes that the series left unfixed. So what are these Squid Game plot holes and inconsistencies? How do these head scratchers affect the series' final outcome?
How Did Gi-Hun Not Get Killed By Loan Sharks When He Refused To Spend Squid Game’s Prize Money?
Earlier in Squid Game, it’s revealed that Gi-hun’s mom has diabetes and needs surgery and medical attention, which neither Gi-hun nor his mom can afford. After Gi-hun won Squid Game, he returns home to find his mom dead. Gi-hun then spirals into depression and refuses to spend most of his 45.6 billion won prize money. Before Gi-hun finally uses the money, he spends around a year living the same downtrodden life he lived before he became a billionaire in the Squid Game ending. This sidelines the loan sharks from episode 1—the ones that threatened to kill Gi-hun and take his organs if he doesn’t pay his debts. The scene showing Gi-hun checking the ATM confirms that he’s barely touched the money, which means that he hasn’t paid any of the millions that he owes. If gambling and debt is such a dangerous thing to get involved with in Seoul, how did the deeply indebted character just walk around the city for a year without getting killed for his organs?
Wasn’t It Too Dangerous To Let Squid Game Founder Il-Nam Play Tug Of War?
Il-nam, the oldest player in the death games, is revealed to be the billionaire founder of Squid Game, who joined the games just for fun. The way Il-nam acts and is treated during the games actually reveal clues about this Squid Game finale twist. This includes having the perfect strategy for each game that Il-nam played, especially during tug of war, in which his advice helped their team overcome a stronger team. However, if Sang-woo hadn’t interjected with his own tactic, the entire team, along with Il-nam, would be dead. The guards saving Il-nam in plain sight, and having to save other players in the process, would invalidate the Darwinian approach to fairness espoused by the Front Man. And while there are many ways for Il-nam to get saved in the other games, this isn’t the case during tug of war. Why did the Squid Game organization, which is supposedly a well-oiled machine, allow their founder to join the death games for fun in the first place?
Why Is In-Ho AKA Squid Game Leader The Front Man So Inconsistent?
Easily the most mysterious character in Squid Game is the Front Man, also known as In-ho. He’s also the most inconsistent. In-ho not only killed the doctor and the workers caught cheating, but also displayed their bodies as a warning about not adhering to Squid Game’s rules and philosophy of fairness. At the same time, In-ho didn’t punish the other players involved in the cheating incident. More importantly, despite In-ho’s speech about equality, he does allow Il-nam to have unfair advantages and even cheat death. During the tempered glass game, Il-nam also had no qualms about tipping the odds. And when In-ho shoots the intruder, who turns out to be his little brother Jun-ho who’s looking for him, he tags Jun-ho non-fatally in the shoulder, possibly saving him. There’s also the question of why and how he became the Front Man after he won the game in 2015. In-ho, who is Squid Game’s biggest star, is also its most conflicted and inconsistent character.
How Come Jun-Ho’s Phone Has Unlimited Battery Life And Even Great Reception On The Secluded Squid Game Island?
In a drama series in which people play traditional playground games to the death on a high-tech island, the most unbelievable element in Squid Game is Jun-ho’s phone. The phone isn’t even fully charged when Jun-ho infiltrates the island, and he is never shown charging the device. Despite this, he manages to spend around a week taking pictures and videos, writing notes, and even sending the evidence to his peers online – on a secluded island with very bad reception. And when he dives into the water, he also manages to find a perfectly waterproof Ziploc bag for keeping the phone completely dry. While it remains unclear whether or not Jun-ho is still alive, his phone definitely survived.
Why Is Security So Poor On The Extremely Well-Funded Squid Game Island?
Squid Game is supposedly ran by a tight-knit circle of billionaires, who also appears to spend a lot on the island’s security measures. At the same time, it was fairly easy for Jun-ho to infiltrate the island and gather evidence for days disguised as a Squid Game worker. The Squid Game workers also show a lot of leniency for Jun-ho’s mistakes, even though other workers were shown no mercy. Moreover, it was also quite easy for Sae-byeok to climb the vents and find her way to a utility room, which gave her a clue about the next game. Although Han Mi-nyeo, also known as Squid Game player 212, was covering for Sae-byeok, they were clearly left alone by the guards for far too long. Also, along with Mi-nyeo, many of the other players managed to smuggle in lighters, knives, and other items into the island. And this is despite the Squid Game guards knowing that the players chose to return to the island, which means that they could be coming prepared.
Despite The Vast Number Of Missing Persons It’s Responsible For, How Has Squid Game Managed To Remain A Secret?
When Gi-hun tries to tell the police about Squid Game, the authorities dismiss his insane claims about deadly children’s games being played on a secluded island. For years, The Salesman has also been giving out mysterious cards with the same geometric shapes, to thousands of people in the city of Seoul. And after the old man voted no in episode 2 of Squid Game, those who chose not to go apparently kept their mouths shut. While it can be argued that Squid Game’s VIPs are powerful and rich enough to pay people off and keep things quiet, the organization’s many security mishaps still make it weird that Jun-ho is the only detective with a clue about the island’s existence.