| Season One | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Light, Green Light | Hell | The Man with the Umbrella | Stick to the Team | A Fair World | Gganbu | V.I.P.S | Front Man | One Lucky Day | ||||||||||
| This article is about the episode. For the character, see: here |
Front Man (프론트맨 Peulonteu Maen?) is the 8th and penultimate episode of the Season 1 of the Netflix TV series Squid Game.
Official summary[]
Ahead of the last round, distrust and disgust run deep among the finalists. Jun-ho makes a getaway, determined to expose the game's dirty secrets.
- —Official Netflix synopsis
Plot[]
Hwang Jun-ho has escaped the island the games were being held at and manages to reach another nearby island. He checks his phone and sees that it has no signal so he runs towards a steep slope. However, the Front Man and a group of Soldiers are following Jun-ho and arrive on the island soon after. They find Jun-ho's diving pack and the Front Man orders the Soldiers to find Jun-ho and bring him back alive. Jun-ho sees them and hides in the bushes. He looks at his phone and finally gets a bit of signal so he calls the police for back up and tries to send the videos he took, but his police chief can barely hear him.
Meanwhile, the three remaining players are back in the lobby. Seong Gi-hun and Cho Sang-woo argue about whether Sang-woo pushing Player 017 was necessary while Kang Sae-byeok rests on her bed. Gi-hun accuses Sang-woo of killing Do Jung-soo unnecessarily in Glass Stepping Stones, but Sang-woo reminds Gi-hun that he was at the back and didn't have to dirty his hands when they were almost out of time to finish the game safely. Gi-hun asks Sang-woo if he would have killed him if he was in Player 017's position. Sang-woo doesn't answer, instead tearing into Gi-hun for being irresponsible and always getting into trouble; Gi-hun in turn throws that back at Sang-woo, pointing out that "The Pride of Ssangmun-dong" fell right into the same "shithole" and has no one to blame but himself for his own dire financial situation. The argument is interrupted by a Manager and some Workers carrying boxes into the lobby and congratulating them for being the finalists.
Sae-byeok goes into a bathroom to get ready. While changing, Sae-byeok is then revealed to have been impaled by a large shard of glass from when the bridge exploded in the previous game. She painfully removes the glass shard from her abdomen and quickly tears off her shirt to wrap it around the wound to prevent further bleeding. She then opens the box to reveal a tuxedo.
The finalists are given a nice steak dinner in the lobby as a prize for having come this far. Gi-hun and Sang-woo tear into their meals, eyeing each other down, while a clearly weakened Sae-byeok barely touches her food. After the meal, workers clean the table and leave the players' steak knives. The players keep the knives and go to their beds.
Jun-ho threatens the Front Man as the latter approaches him.
Meanwhile, The Front Man and several guards continue pursuing Jun-ho. He is now on the top of the slope and the Soldiers finally corner him. Jun-ho threatens them that he already sent the videos that he took to the police, but the Front Man doubts it because of the island's poor reception. As The Front Man gets walks closer, Jun-ho nervously steps back because of the edge and shoots The Front Man on his shoulder. The Soldiers get ready but The Front Man stops them and instead tells Jun-ho to come with them. Jun-ho demands that he identify himself. The Front Man doesn't answer but instead takes his mask off to reveal that he is Jun-ho's missing brother, In-ho. Jun-ho is shocked and speechless and when his brother extends his hand, asking him to join him, Jun-ho can only shake his head in disbelief. In-ho points his gun at his brother, and all Jun-ho can ask is "Why?" before In-ho shoots him in the shoulder, causing him to fall into the ocean, seemingly to his death. In-ho puts his mask again and goes back to his room where he remembers his brother asking "why" before shooting him.
Back in the dorms, the finalists rest on their beds. Gi-hun goes over to Sae-byeok, who readies her knife but Gi-hun assures her that he's not going to harm her and hides his knife in his jacket. They talk about what will they do after winning the money and their families, and promise each other that they will take care of them should one die. Gi-hun notices Sang-woo falling asleep and takes out his knife, but Sae-byeok stops him, telling him that he is not a killer. Gi-hun then hears Sae-byeok slump over in her bed, and uncovers her wound, which is bleeding profusely. Sae-byeok deliriously asks to go home. Gi-hun quickly runs to the door and begs for help. The doors finally open and the lights turn on but instead of help, the Workers walk past Gi-hun, carrying a coffin. Gi-hun turns around and sees Sang-woo covered in blood near Sae-byeok's bed. Gi-hun runs over to a lifeless Sae-byeok and cradles her in his arms, before discovering a stab wound in her neck. Realizing that Sang-woo had killed her with the knife in his hand, he furiously grabs his own knife to attack Sang-woo but both are quickly subdued by Soldiers. As the other Soldiers slowly carry Sae-byeok's body into her coffin, Gi-hun wails in agony.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun
- Park Hae-soo as Cho Sang-woo
- Wi Ha-joon as Hwang Jun-ho
- Jung Ho-yeon as Kang Sae-byeok
Special Guest Star[]
Guest Starring[]
- Kwon Yoo-joon as Masked Front Man Stand-in
- Kim Byung Chul as Instructions Guard
Deaths[]
- Kang Sae-byeok (Throat slit by Cho Sang-woo)
Trivia[]
- This is the shortest episode in the series, with the running time of 32 minutes.
- Because of this, and also the fact that there are less characters in this episode, this is considered a bottle episode.
- The Man with the Umbrella, 001, 222, and this episode are the only episodes that reference a character.
- This and "Hell" are the only 2 episodes of the first season that don't contain a game.
- In the Netflix special Squid Game in Conversation, director Hwang Dong-hyuk said the moment where Sae-byeok stops Gi-hun from killing Sang-woo is one of the most important scenes in Season 1, as it reminds Gi-hun of his remaining humanity. This moment would later impact a crucial decision Gi-hun makes in Season 3.