Squid Game (Season 2): Official trailer
Squid Game enthusiasts are still buzzing with theories about Netflix's hit South Korean series since its Boxing Day return.
The gripping drama follows a sadistic series of games where desperate participants like Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae) risk their lives for the chance to win a massive jackpot.
However, the latest season threw several game-changing twists at the contenders, including the revelation that the previous tournament's Front Man, Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun), is secretly participating and seemingly sabotaging the competition from within.
This twist mirrors a similar one in the first season, where it was unveiled Player 001, Oh Il-nam (O Yeong-su) was the creator of the games and decided to participate before dying from a brain tumour.
Fans have since been convinced the Front Man and Il-nam were related and have been scouring both seasons looking for clues to support the theory.
One easily overlooked moment in the second season may have been the proof they were looking for - but it turns out the theory doesn't hold as much water as viewers might think.
During a moment of downtime after another gruelling challenge, the groups are given lunch including a carton of milk. In-ho offers his to his pregnant teammate Kim Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri) claiming he won't drink it anyway.
Viewers are now convinced this act of kindness links to an off-hand comment made by Il-nam in season one, reports the Mirror US.
A recent Reddit post caused a stir among Squid Game enthusiasts, suggesting that a subtle hint had been dropped about the connection between two key characters. The screengrab implied that Il-nam disclosed to Gi-hun his son's lactose intolerance, mirroring In-ho's condition.
However, eagle-eyed fans have called out this claim as false, pointing out that the screenshot in question misrepresents the actual dialogue from the show.
In season one, when Gi-hun opts for chocolate milk due to his own intolerance to plain milk, Il-nam quips, "As a kid I'm willing to bet you got spanked a lot... my son did too. He was just like you, friend."
Contrastingly, in the second season, In-ho's subtitle merely reads "I don't drink plain milk", without any mention of an intolerance.
The supposed link between Il-nam's son and the Front Man being lactose intolerant has always been weak, and with this latest revelation, it appears the evidence might be entirely concocted or exaggerated to back up the far-fetched theory.
Moreover, some fans argue that even if the debunked dialogue were accurate, the shared trait of lactose intolerance between Il-nam's son and the Front Man would be inconsequential.
One Reddit user highlighted: "This could foreshadow a connection or it could just be that more than 75% of Koreans are actually lactose intolerant." (Statistic corroborated by Cambridge University among other sources).
With one more season of Squid Game on the horizon later this year, the true nature of the Front Man's identity remains up in the air. Fans will have to continue watching to see if the theory holds any water.
Squid Game season 2 is available to stream on Netflix. Season 3 is coming in 2025.
