Squid Game is the number one show on Netflix and, for some reason, became wildly popular since its release on Sept. 17. The nine-episode TV show is favored by millions, and because of that, it rose to be the top show in 90 countries in ten days. 

   The name Squid Game comes from a popular game in Korea that kids often played. There are two teams: offense and defense. The offensive team must stay outside the drawn shapes- made to be a squid figure- and hop on one foot while the defensive team can run anywhere inside the game’s boundaries on two feet. 

   If an offensive player can out-run and cut across the middle of the triangle and square of the figure, they can run on two feet. The offensive goal is to do this, then get a foot in the top triangle of the figure while the defense tries to push them out of the entire squid. If either team completes their task, they win.

   Squid Game was filmed in South Korea by director Hwang Dong-hyuk. The show is about people in South Korea who are in tremendous debt and are offered a way to make 45.6 billion won– or 36 million dollars. All they have to do is play a few children’s games… but at what cost?

   These players accept the invitation to play the games because, well, they want money. What they are not told is that if they lose a game, they are eliminated and die. They literally get shot on the spot. As the show goes on, the players understand how important winning is and will do anything they can to stay alive and beat the other players, even if it means betraying their best friend.

   Squid Game is an extremely violent series and involves an excessive amount of blood. Wow, there was so much blood. This show is also quite graphic, there were definitely some organs. The episodes carry a great deal of death and a collection of emotions from all the players.

   Anabell Ledbetter, freshman, says, “Squid Game was very interesting but really graphic.” There are multiple scenes that were very detailed and, at that point, just cover young eyes.

   A few episodes into the show, there are scenes that reveal the main characters’ backgrounds. Each player has a different background and a different reason to participate in the game. The way the characters act in the games match the flashback scenes pretty well, and their attitudes and personalities make so much more sense once there is more information about them.

   Sophomore Katalyna Ortiz says, “The plot twists were seriously unexpected, like I enjoyed being surprised every episode.” Ortiz adds, “The show made me happy and it’s the best show I’ve seen in a while. It was very exciting but definitely very sad. I would rate it a nine and a half out of ten.”

   The plot twists and cliffhangers leave watchers on the edge of their seats, and it is a stressful yet exciting thing to experience. The whole series regularly gives anticipation and it is very nerve-wracking. Those who have already seen Squid Game want different players to be the winner and the main character, but the show was still intriguing and interesting. 

    Ledbetter agrees with Ortiz by saying, “I think the plot twists are so unexpected and really well crafted, like you wouldn’t know what was gonna happen.  It makes me feel a bunch of different things but mostly suspense. I would rate it an eleven out of ten. It was so good; I’d love to watch it again for the first time.”

   Although Squid Game is quite violent and an overall serious show, there are some funny and sympathetic moments. After the episode with some character backgrounds, there are feelings of sympathy and attachment to the players. 

   Squid Game became so popular that viewers are trying some of the challenges that the characters had to compete in. The most popular challenge is the Dalgona candy challenge. There are videos of them making the candy then being put under similar circumstances as the players were and they see if they would live or not if they were in the show.

   Overall, Squid Game is a pretty good show and is worth watching if blood, guts and bodies are not a problem. This is not a family show and should be kept away from younger kids, but it is a show that is hard to turn off and should be on everyone’s list to watch.