The South Korean death game thriller Squid Game shook the world when it first dropped on Netflix in 2021. This trend continued with the release of its highly anticipated second season. We see the return of our main hero, Seong Gi-Hun, in his attempt to stop the games for good. However, we get a deeper look into a character that leaves us both mystified, spellbound, and horrified in equal measure: The Front Man.
The leader of all the masked soldiers garbed in pink jumpsuits, The Front Man shows himself to be ruthless and exacting in his job as the overseer of the games. He did reveal his face at the end of the first season, but in a twist, we end up following his character in Season 2 as Player 001. But could they be the same person, and if so, what led him to assume the role in the first place? If you’re keen to find out, you’ve come to the right place.
Who Is The Front Man?
Duties And Responsibilities
Before his face is revealed, the Front Man goes about his duties with ruthless efficiency to ensure the rules for the games are met. He is the head of all the masked soldiers guarding the facility and its players. Mainly, he is in charge of making certain that all the games run smoothly. In the first season, one of the dialogues shows that the Front Man sounds passionate about preserving the ‘equality’ between all players.
Not only is he strict about keeping his mask on at all times, but he expects the same of the soldiers under his watch. He has been shown to instantly kill one of his own men after a player managed to wrench off his mask back in the first season, indicating how seriously the game’s staff take in preserving their identities. Moreover, the Front Man is tasked with making sure that the security of the island is airtight at all times.
As shown in the latter end of Season One, the VIPs start flooding onto the island as the game nearly reaches its end. The Front Man spends his time entertaining the VIPs and ensuring that all their needs (no matter how perverse) are met. But most importantly, the Front Man follows the orders of the Host, the founder of the games, and is later discovered to be Oh Il-Nam (aka the Old Man).
The Front Man’s Identity Revealed?
From the beginning of the show, we get a second perspective on the show’s events through undercover police officer Hwang Jun-ho, who is looking for his brother. The trail leads him to the island where the games are held. After disguising himself as one of the soldiers, he conducts his investigation. In the end, it turns out that the Front Man is the missing Hwang In-ho, the very man Hwang Jun-ho is seeking.
However, the show has a reputation for its twists and misdirecting of its audience, as evidenced by Oh Il-nam’s storyline. But we can definitively say that the Front Man is Hwang In-ho, based on clues built up in Season One and what occurred later on in Season Two. In Season Two, not only does In-ho join the game as Player 001 — possibly a nod to Oh Il-nam and mocking an oblivious Gi-hun to his face — but there are moments throughout that confirm his role as the Front Man even further.
For example, he briefly disappears during a round of Mingle, claiming to survive because he’s ‘good with people.’ He also knows Gi-hun’s name despite the man never mentioning it to him and betrays two of his supposed by shooting them in the back to purposefully cause Gi-hun’s plot to fail.
Hwang In-ho’s Backstory
Based on the clues we found following Hwang Jun-ho’s investigation and Hwang In-ho’s own confession later on, we can get a somewhat coherent picture of his backstory. Prior to becoming the Front Man, In-ho was once a police officer, just like his brother Jun-ho. However, after his wife fell deathly ill while pregnant, In-ho began to spiral out of control and started taking bribes, likely to cover his wife’s mounting hospital bills.
Unfortunately for In-ho, his misdemeanor was discovered and he was fired from his job. Furthermore, his wife died, and it’s suggested that In-ho was still struggling with debts since he was invited to play in the 2015 Squid Game due to the invitation card Jun-ho found in In-ho’s apartment. Enrolled as Player 132, In-ho came out on top and won the 2015 game, but interestingly, instead of running off with his winnings and leaving things behind him, In-ho did the total opposite of what Gi-hun did.
Why Did He Choose To Return?
It’s uncertain what exactly occurred after In-ho won the 2015 Squid Game, but it is known that he gradually lost contact with his family. Like Gi-hun, he couldn’t seem to let go of the Squid Game, but unlike Gi-hun, he returned to support the games and eventually rose to become the Front Man.
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But why return at all? There was never any outright explanation as to why so far in the show. However, we know that the death of his wife left him mentally scarred. It is possible that the belief that he has nothing to look forward to outside of the games, combined with the ‘equality’ he is so passionate about maintaining in the Squid Game, is why he chose to go back.
After all, it’s been hammered into us time and again that most players choose to remain in the Squid Game since reality is so much worse than playing a life-or-death competition. And despite having won in the past, In-ho is still mentally in the same boat as the participants and holds onto the Squid Game as his new life’s purpose.
What’s Next For The Front Man?
Despite successfully fooling Gi-hun and foiling his scheme, he didn’t reveal who he was to Gi-hun at the end of Season Two and instead made him believe that he had died with the rest of their allies. Although he was the main antagonist to the ignorant Gi-hun all this time, the show has given us signs that In-ho may begin to appear conflicted with his role and what he has to do.
We first see his worldview shaken after being forced to shoot his brother for the sake of the Squid Game, and despite intending to befriend and play mind games with Gi-hun, he isn’t left unaffected by certain contestants either. He is particularly kind to the pregnant contestant Kin Jun-hee, likely due to the loss of his own child, and appears to cheer on and admire the perseverance of the contestants he ‘befriends.’
However, he does still believe in the Squid Game based on his actions in Season Two, but he may have his world shattered again when he’s confronted by his brother in Season Three, though that remains to be seen.
- Release Date
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September 17, 2021
- Seasons
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2
- Writers
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Hwang Dong-hyuk
- Directors
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Hwang Dong-hyuk