🚨 If you haven't finished Squid Game yet, you're probably gonna want to turn around and jog on because this post details one MAJOR spoiler! 🚨
Okay, I'm not gonna condescend to you, you know what Squid Game is by now – you're likely one of the 111 million Netflix accounts that watched it. But did you have any idea how it was going to end?
Well, you probably should have, because as it turns out there were a ton of clues that (FINAL SPOILER ALERT) Player 001 – AKA Oh Il-nam – was behind the games the whole time!
oh il-nam 💀 #SquidGame
One clue that's been floating around online is that during the Red Light, Green Light game, Il-nam was not being scanned by the robot. Upon revisiting this scene, however, I've discovered that he definitely was scanned... So, I'm not sure how wires got crossed there.
In any case, here are 18 legit clues I've dug up from rewatching Squid Game from the very beginning that point to Il-nam's involvement.
1. First off, Il-nam is MUCH older than everyone else. The rest of the contestants seem to range between 20 and 40 years old, and that immediately makes him stand out.
2. His motivation for competing in the games is also completely different to everyone else's.
3. In episode one, Il-nam is the player who has the deciding choice in the group vote, which subtly alludes to his power over the whole thing.
4. A huge hint is when police officer Jun-ho – on the hunt for information about the games – is looking through a binder that lists all of the players in the current game. The binder begins with Player 002, suggesting that Player 001 is not ~really~ competing.
5. A more subtle detail comes in episode two when everyone is seen living their normal daily lives in the real world. Unlike the other main characters, we are given zero context for Il-nam's daily living situation – he just rocks up one evening out of nowhere and meets Gi-hun.
6. Speaking of, that meeting just seemed too coincidental – almost like it was ~fate~ that they met outside of the game!
7. Back in the games, the moment when Il-nam is supposed to have peed himself, we can clearly see an empty water bottle beside him. This suggests that he poured the water on himself, which makes you wonder exactly why he would be manipulating the situation like that.
8. In a meme that's taken over Twitter, we see Il-nam continuing the pretence that he's very sick. He even sits alone during the selection process for the marble task, refusing to look for a partner until Gi-hun chooses him.
9. The horrendous fighting that breaks out after lights out in episode four only stops because Il-nam requests it.
10. Speaking of Il-nam being in control, these are clearly his hands taking off a VIP member mask, right?
11. In the tug-of-war challenge, all of the contestants are chained to the rope with padlocks except for Il-nam whose chains have no padlocks. This is presumably so he could break away if he wanted to had his team ultimately lost.
12. Unlike Sae-byeok, Sang-woo, and basically everyone else, Il-nam's death happens off screen – and you know that if someone dies off screen, it's not confirmed!
13. When Il-nam is shot, we do not hear his body fall to the ground. His body is also missing in the birds-eye shot straight afterwards, unlike the other bodies scattered around.
14. When he "lost his mind" during the marbles game, it not only seemed like an act, but Il-nam momentarily regains full mental capacity in order to accuse Gi-hun.
15. Il-nam was shown getting into a car to return to the games, but unlike Gi-hun, Sang-woo, Deok-su, Ali, and Sae-byeok, he wasn't shown being gassed and passing out.
16. Most people complained about the lunches they received, unlike Il-nam.
17. Il-nam consistently tells people that the games are things he's good at and he played as a kid.
18. And finally, he was just always smiling!
