SPOILERS! Squid Game, why the twist at the end
I read a few reviews that were upset about the spoiler involving a certain old guy at the end of Squid Game. That it reversed an earlier pathos to the main characters sadness, that it took away that moment of self sacrifice that viewers found so compelling. Thinking about it, I think I know why the twist had to happen.
Squid Game is full of characters we like because they feel ‘real’, they feel real because they aren’t just placed in the narrative to act in their archetype. They contradict their ideals for survival, extreme situations force them to act in extreme ways, like what a real person would do. It was compelling to see the main character, who has been shown to be the emotional anchor, the man who acts emotionally and not always smartly (and certainly not with good self restraint) but will show heart and reach out to those around him. To see him trick an old main in that marble game was compelling to us. It is also the only time that he is shown to outright trick someone else- knowing that this will kill them. He just got lucky, clever, or was saved most of the other times. He can be dumb and irresponsible, but he isn’t a murderer in the other situations he is faced with.
In the denouement, when he is too depressed to take any action. His guilt is part of his paralysis. He is reflecting on what he has done. Il-nam’s reveal cleanses him of that guilt- and all that is left is anger. He realizes the extent to which he has been manipulated by a way too powerful system and is now able to act. It makes sense looking at it this way.