Editor’s note: extreme spoilers ahead!
“Have you watched ‘Squid Game’ yet?”
My husband’s best friend asked us as we were finishing “Lucifer” on Netflix. We played the first episode, and as I watched through the first 10 minutes, I asked my husband to stop it.
If you’re anything like me, you don’t like to read subtitles. Fast forward 10 hours, my husband decided to watch it alone since I wasn’t interested. I was reading a book when he played the first episode.
When the Red Light, Green Light game started, I closed the book, put it aside, and my eyes were locked on the screen. “F*ck subtitles! Play the second episode!” I screamed with excitement.
That night, I slept at 3:00 a.m. Enough said.
“Squid Game” is a South Korean survival drama, and if you haven’t watched it yet, well, you’re missing out. Folks, I cried; I laughed; I was filled with excitement and stress and anxiety; I was angry; I was relieved; I was shocked; I was stupefied; I was everything all at once.
Trust me, “Squid Game” will let you experience every single emotion that has ever existed in your body. It’s full of suspense, action, and surprise. For me, it’s also original. I’ve watched thousands of movies and series, but I’ve never watched something as innovative and as clever as “Squid Game.”
What I like the most about it are the infinite lessons you get to learn. Sometimes I stopped watching to reflect on some scenes. I had to pause, walk across the living room, and with the remote control in my hand say, “No f*cking way! Wow!”
Whether you watched “Squid Game” or not, you will be able to relate to these lessons.
Here are five lessons that I have personally learned:
1. The importance of saving money. Spending all your money has repercussions. If there’s anything that “Squid Game” teaches us is that having savings set aside might help us lead a more secure life. As we can see in the first couple of episodes, those who have made poor financial choices in their lives ended up risking their lives to rectify their financial status. So pay your debts and save the extra money you make.
2. The dangers of attachment. If you watched “Squid Game,” you definitely noticed how amazing it was to see what human beings would do to stay alive. We saw players who renounced their lives rather easily, like Ji-yeong who just got out of prison and “had nothing to lose,” but we saw other players who would kill someone else just so they wouldn’t die. Come to think of it, we’re not scared of death itself—we’re scared of losing the life we have built up and all our worldly attachments.
3. Don’t trust anyone. “Squid Game” nailed the concept of trust. If you’re wondering what trust looks like in real life, watch every goddamn episode of that show. When Cho Sang-woo betrayed Ali, I burst into tears. I was irritated. But the truth is, this is the nature of human beings. No matter how close we are to someone, that someone is unpredictable, and we can never know the outcome of the relationship. Remember, everyone might be player 218.
4. Work smarter, not harder. I hate the fact that Sang-woo betrayed Ali, but I respect this man’s intelligence. For me, that was what kept him alive. We saw the majority of players always in a hurry and too reckless. But San-woo proved to us that brains are more important than brawns. As the old man, Gi Hun, said before playing Tug of War, “Tug of War isn’t really about strength.” So work smarter, not harder!
5. Money is not everything. Money is important, but the ending shows us that despite its importance, money isn’t everything. When the game was over and player 456, Gi-hun, won, he made it home only to discover that his mother had died. A year later, we see him traumatized, spiraling into depression, and he hasn’t used his hard-earned wealth. This could have many interpretations, but for me, that wealth was tainted by his loved ones’ blood. His grief and the loss of his friends were more important than richness.
Have you watched “Squid Game?” If yes, what have you learnt? If no, come on, what are you waiting for?
Oh, and if you have any idea why Gi-hun dyed his hair red, please enlighten me.
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