Netflix’s Squid Game explores the recurring themes of duality. We, as human beings, are still not able to control our animal instinct, and from time to time fall prey to it. On the surface, we pretend to be civilized and cultured, because that’s what society expects us to be, but once that mask falls off, our true nature is revealed to the world. In Squid Game, almost all the players, guards, organizers, and VIPs have been hiding their true selves because they didn’t want the world to know who they really are. Well, except for Seong Gi-hun, of course. But that’s a story for another day. We are here to talk about Front Man, aka, In-ho.
Spoiler Alert
You might have noticed that, with masks on their faces, the players and the guards turned into the most vicious version of themselves, but that wasn’t exactly the case with In-ho. As Front Man, In-ho was one of the most rational people. He abided by the rules of the game to make sure that each and every player had an equal chance to win the prize and pay off their debts. But without the mask, In-ho was a flawed human being weighed down by his own guilt of the past. He didn’t have the courage to kill his younger brother, and therefore broke the rules of the game so his brother could live another day. As a friend and fellow human being, In-ho didn’t want Gi-hun to sacrifice his life by fighting against the Goliath. The thing is, neither In-ho nor his alter ego, Front Man, was ever able to understand Gi-hun, but they both respected his act of courage and his resilience, and therefore, as a fellow teammate, In-ho did what Gi-hun would have done for him, or for any other player for that matter.
In-ho Visits America
After Gi-hun’s death, In-ho paid a visit to the former’s daughter in America to hand over her father’s last belongings, along with the money he had won in the first game. Shortly after the Squid Game island was destroyed, In-ho broke into the Pink Motel and took out the money that Gi-hun had stashed in one of the rooms. Gi-hun never really used his share of the prize, as he always considered it blood money, but In-ho believed that, after his death, his possessions would help his daughter make something of her life. But if you think In-ho did something extraordinary, then you should really think twice. What In-ho did for Gi-hun was something Gi-hun had done for his own teammates in the past. After Sae-byeok’s death in the first game, Gi-hun used the prize money to get her younger brother a new home and hired an agent to look for their mother, who was left behind somewhere in North Korea. But even though we all want to believe that In-ho went to America just to meet Gi-hun’s daughter, I think there’s something more going on. In the closing shot of Squid Game season 3, In-ho saw an American recruiter trying to bring American players into the game, which means the next round of Squid Game is going to take place in the USA. Maybe on an island off the coast of Los Angeles, California. It is to be noted that the previous facility in South Korea has been blown to rubble, so it’s certain that the next games will be held somewhere else, and In-ho’s visit to LA cannot be a mere coincidence, right?
In-ho Will Return As Front Man
Before his death, Oh Il-nam, one of the first founders of the Squid Game, had placed all responsibilities over its operation into the hands of his most trusted man. He believed that he would not only take the games to new heights but also help people around the globe who have no other means left to pay off their debts. Furthermore, the VIPs had been particularly impressed by Front Man’s work, which suggests they might have arranged a similar setup overseas so that Front Man could start working on a new batch of games with new players and a new team of guards. Additionally, the brief exchange between the American recruiter and In-ho implied that the two might have known each other, and it was In-ho who hired her to recruit new players for the next game.
So based on these theories, I think it’s safe to assume that In-ho will once again don the mask of Front Man in the near future to organize another Squid Game in America. However, the question here is, will his brother, Jun-ho, travel overseas to hunt down his brother? And will any other surviving characters of Squid Game Korea return in the spin-off show? I think we’ll have to just patiently wait for whatever the makers have in store for us.
