The Front Man is the main villain in Squid Game, yet he barely says anything in all three seasons. After 22 episodes, he remains a bit of an enigma. The moment in which the Front Man encourages Gi-hun to murder the other finalists is extra jarring, because we don’t know what the Front Man want Gi-hun to do. Thankfully for us, Lee Byung-hun, who stars as the Front Man, has broken down what Front Man was really thinking in this crucial part if Squid Game with Gi-hun.
The Front Man offers Gi-hun a knife, and promises that if he kills the other players in their sleep, he and the baby will win the final Squid Game together. A flashback reveals this is the very same strategy the Front Man used to win the games way back in 2015.
Lee Byung-hun told The Hollywood Reporter: “Uncertainty is exactly what I wanted viewers to feel when they watched that scene. I played that scene thinking there are both sides to him.
I’ve got chills
(Credit: No Ju-han / Netflix)
“I believe the Front Man wanted Gi-hun to live, because Gi-hun is someone he feels differently about compared to the other players, because of the time they spent together inside the Game. So if Gi-hun had killed everyone just as the Front Man did, the Front Man would have felt a sense of victory, because he would have been proven right in his core belief. He could say, ‘See? You’ve ended up just like me.’
“On the other hand, if Gi-hun doesn’t go through with it — which is what happens — the Front Man will feel a sense of defeat. He would also feel a form of self-reproach, or even envy, in seeing Gi-hun protect his values in precisely the way that he failed to do.
“However, I think deep inside him, part of him was almost rooting for Gi-hun. The deepest part of him wanted to see Gi-hun not give in and continue to hold onto hope for the world and for humanity. So I played that scene thinking that he was feeling all of these things, but in the deepest sense, the latter.”
Wow, this show has so many levels.
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Featured image credit: Netflix
