His brother is most definitely alive. All other instances of Front Man shooting someone have been instant kills

Non lethal shoulder shots are classic movie talk for "this character will return"

If the front man loved his brother enough to give him his own kidney then I doubt he’d be ruthless enough to make sure he was actually dead. I suspect he purposely aimed for a non-fatal shot and hoped he would survive.

Theory: the Front Man's motive for participating in the Game in 2015, wasn't just to pay off his own debts. It was also to win the money his family would need to pay for his brother's medical treatment. Imagine the stakes. Like, not only do you have the clock ticking on your brother's survival and the money for his surgery on the line. But as his donor, if you die, then your brother's last chance at life is gone too. Imagine how desperate that would make you, what you would find yourself capable of doing, how much of your soul you would sacrifice in order to win...

The game traumatized the Front Man to the extent, that his only advice to Gi-hun was to think that the entire squid game experience was a dream.

The only other person to "die" off screen was the old man No1. The detective survived the shot and the fall- no one looked over the cliff edge to confirm his body had fallen to ground and that he'd died. I hope season 2 doesn't disappoint- I also hope it doesn't run for 7/8/9 seasons with diminishing returns.

What I want for season 2: • Gi-Hun returning to the games in some way. • Flashbacks to the frontman’s games in 2015. • Flashbacks to when Oh Il-Nam started the games in 1988. • Jun-Ho survives and gets police involved. • Backstories/side-stories of VIP’s. • Squid games in different countries.

We saw how traumatized and broken the squid games made Gi-Hun. No doubt the same happened to the Front Man.

This is the best frontman deep dive. Yo noticed all the smaller details nobody else did

I'm fascinated how deep these series are, how many details are there and how deep actors feel and understand their role, just fantastic!

I was actually suprised that the guy behind the mask wasn't the one who slapped people !

I think his obsession with the "fairness/equality" of the games was a pretty obvious cope; he *has* to believe in the games' morality because he won and now runs them. He's probably suffering a mix of survivor's guilt as well as maybe some kind of gratefulness for what the games did for him.

He's obviously going to go to Bikini Bottom to be Squidward's house. That's why it's called Squid Game.

To win the Squid Game, every winner has to go through a lot of death and emotional trauma. The marble game and the final round are explicitly designed to do so. It changes the person. Maybe he changed so much he couldn't go back to his old life. Having done what he did to win.

The Front Man was such a badass in this series

The front man = Kylo Ren syndrome. He lived simple after the games (rejected the money just like our main character), planned to come back and destroy the games from the inside. Became the front man. Purposefully misses the shots on his brother to give him a chance to live while keeping his role believeable in front of the organization. He’s plotting revenge, you bet!

Would love to see season 2 explore the frontmans games in 2015 and how he won in flashbacks or something

I would like to suggest that the reason the games begin in 1988 is not because of events in 1987, but rather because 1988 is an extremely important year in Korean culture. It was the year they hosted the Olympics (another international game), and was widely seen as their emergence from being "the Hermit Kingdom" to a major figure on the international scene. Indeed, for many years "Brand 88" was the most popular brand of cigarettes in the country.

That actor Lee Byung hun is a pure genius in acting I had mixed emotions seeing him play the " front man" in squid games with a mask over his face for most of the show. My first time watching this guy in action was in a movie called " I saw the devil" awesome film became a fan of his after that film. I really hope we get a season 2 and maybe 3 😍💘

Front Man: our most important principle is the fairness of the games Also Front Man: This guy worked at a glass factory?! Turn off the lights!

My theory is that being a former police officer he had seen many unequal treatment in Korean society in which the rich and powerful can get away with crimes in which a normal person who would have been jailed instantly and maybe he had been made a scapegoat of a bribery case when he try to be a whistleblower or something to discredit him. Experiencing all these, he became a true believer of the games in which everyone had equal chance to win.

just a fun fact, in kidney transplants the defunct kidneys aren't typically removed. so the recipient has three kidneys inside their body while the donor is left with just one :D

I strongly believe that the front man returned to the game for a bigger cause...He might be of a good character like Gi-hun(player 456) as he didn't use up his won money. He could have returned to stop this game permanently( like Gi-hun). He knew what his brother was unaware of. This would be a great twist and would certainly justify him shooting his brother as his ultimate aim was to stop the game but he knew that this was a very high profile thing and local cops couldn't deal with it.

The front man was giving me mad Amon vibes from legend of Korra!! If they ever decide to do a live action he will be perfect to play him👏🏾👏🏾

This man cares about everyone but his daughter

I kind of want a prequel to squid game where it’s 2015 and it shows the front man playing

I learned so much from this, not only about the series but general knowledge. Exceptional video!!!

The Salesman (Gong Yoo) and the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) sold this entire show for me. Bringing in Seong Gi-hun and Oh Yeong-Su was just the icing on the cake.

I don’t let my turtle watch TV. I guess you could call him *sheltered*

6:02 I disagree. I think that the Front Man was keeping that small apartment as a cover, as it would have been too suspicious if he possessed a mansion or if he lived luxuriously all of a sudden. The Front Man does enjoy luxury, you can tell by his room in the game, or by the expensive wine he drinks.

We don't know when the front man gave "his kidney" to his brother. I wonder if the kidney was actually harvested from the games and the front man still has both his kidneys.

bruh that’s crazy how theories and stuff work together so nicely. like the mentioning of Black Monday was so good. It really makes us amazed at how much detail and thought was put into this show. Like a lot of these small details are overlooked by many. So the fact that the producers spent this much time on making everything make sense just for it to go unnoticed is crazy. Makes it so fun to look back and find all this stuff out

I believe his brother is still alive. The Front Man has nailed dudes straight in the head multiple times, he's an ex-police officer, so he's got good aim. The fact that he didn't kills hot his brother tells me he was allowing him to survive. Coastguard potentially was called and picked him up.

Gihun is definitely not going to end up working for the Squid Game apparat, he’s a good person, he wanted to give up the money so Sangwoo wouldn’t die and the reason why he wasn’t spending the money was because he couldn’t get over all of the deaths he witnessed in the games, including his friends. He only started to spend the money after Il Nam died and he probably thought that the games were over but then he saw at the airport that the games are still going on, he decided to give up his happiness (to see his daughter) and to stop the game from killing more people.

Great video! I love the Front Man, he immediately leapt out as the most intriguing character to me! I was puzzling over that Theory of Desire clue but you explained it really well! 👍

This might be the best analysis of a SG character I've seen on YT so far!

The front mans hand is also trembeling when he pours a glas of whiskey during the redlight greenlight game. Might show he's not really comfortably during the games.

The more I look at these explanation videos, the more I realize the work put into this series, so much attention to detail.

‼️SPOILER AHEAD READ AT YOUR OUN RISK‼️ It’s sad to see how damage Sangi-hun became after wining and finding his mom dead,he had such a friendly and goofy personality

Greatly explained. I wondered how the Front Man became a Front man after his winning. Which makes me wonder now that the host is dead, like you have speculated the game might need a new front man. I hope it’s not 456 since he was the winner. He was my fave character. Kind, helpful and showed empathy. I hope they would not lure him to the dark side if there’s ever season 2!

Awesome job deciphering the clues in the front man’s apartment. I had a crazy thought. I think the front man once wanted to take down the games like Gi-hun, but he somehow got convinced to become the front man by Il Nam. I think Il Nam “recruited” the front man like he is somehow recruiting Gi-Hun over the course of the games. I don’t think striking a friendship was coincidental. I think it was a tryout for the next front man.

Points to document: You can see he served as a police officer Me: Well actually I don't speak Korean.

This was so interesting! I love when people snuff out all the little details! 🙌🏾

Thanks Bryce! Your analysis is the best on KZfaq . I’ve watched all your black mirror vids multiple times and was so excited when I saw you did squid game ! The one before was great. This also was really well done . I like your voice and the way you think . Keep ‘em comin

This is the most in-depth and comprehensive guide to the Front Man that I've ever seen! Thank you so much for being so detail oriented. I love that you even broke down the art found in the Front Man's apartment. Excellent work and excellent video. Subscribed!

Good observation,"Both Frontman and Seong Gi-hun found no satisfaction in the money they won".

Still can’t get over the sad yet beautiful loved story he shared with go ae shin in Mr Sunshine 🙃an amazing actor loved him in squid game can’t wait for season 2😍

Wow, this video was amazing! Made me appreciate their attention to detail even more!

I believe he won't pull his brother out of the water but left him a fair chance to swim or die as his wound was't fatal. He could've just ended his brother there but chose not to because the Front Man's not a cruel man just trying to be fair to the game but he also can't let his own brother anywhere near the game as he would be 'eliminated'.. The Front Man's only weak spot is his brother who has never given up hope for finding him, he needs to protect him likewise. (He will not leave the island btw. ) This video was a good perspective with lots of details. :)

My mom figured out who the Front Man was just by looking at this guys apartment. She was like, " He reads 'Theory of Desire'...he must be one of the organisers." And I was like sitting next to her, trying so hard not to say, "What the...how did you know?"

Awesome vid! Great show and characters! I liked how you tied the art work together with the character development 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽

I have a feeling that the game the old man played before dying, he played that with the frontman before he became the frontman and the old man won and that's why the apartment was so normal and not rich looking and the frontman saw no hope for humanity like the old man

Director has already confirmed that s2 will be story about front man and his brother along with ddakji man(recruiter).

The Front Man also ordered that the intruder be brought to him alive. Why would he make such an order only to kill his unarmed brother? Yeah, I think the Front Man pulled his wounded brother out of the water, had him patched up, and put him in a cell for season 2. From a writing perspective having the Front Man talk to his little brother would be a great way to get some exposition across about how the Front Man got to where he is.

c: “we need to match the rotation” t: “it’s not possible” c: “no, IT’S NECESSARY”

Good analysis. This is prolly the first one that didn't wanna make me tear my face off. I think I'm honestly happy if they leave the show here because by time people are done picking it apart, they probably won't have any decent plot routes to take.

Loved this analysis, especially about the brothers being mirrored versions of themselves! I believe the front man constantly convinces himself that the game itself is 'fair and equal' because he has to in order to play his role, and that it's his twisted way of dealing with his trauma. The game itself is completely unfair by design because it's inhumane from the get go and they also change the rules on a whim (Sae Byeok was injured by the glass shard though she passed the round, the glassmaster wasn't allowed to continue analysing the glass, the games usually played to more masculine strengths rather than agility which in theory is allows more advantage for women, etc). But denial and unhealthy ways of coping plague him, so he continues on because the game is all he knows now. However when he finally faces his brother, his doubts rise to the surface but he ultimately chooses to 'kill' his brother, but gives him a chance to survive by shooting him in the shoulder. I think he probably leaves his body in the ocean on purpose since the guards have to listen to what he says, especially since Il Nam and the VIPs weren't there to see the gamemaster deal with an intruder. As meticulous as he is, he's conflicted enough with the whole situation, so I can imagine him purposely being sloppy in hopes his brother finds a way to live.

Also.. when has anyone else really been shot in the shoulder? Its always a headshot. I dont think the Frontman was trying to kill his brother.

LOVE the Rene Magritte observations!

That was excellent. Thanks for all the art insight as well!

Ive always wondered about the contents in the front mans apartment. Nothing in film is accidental

Another reason that the first Game was in 1988 could be because in 1988 South Korea hosted the summer Olympics. Olympics being the biggest sports event and the Squid Game being another sports event only with death being the consequence of losing. Also the Olympics could have been a sort of inspiration to Il Nam to start the games.

Thank you so much. This was the best explanation I've seen !!!

love how you picked apart every detail lol it all makes sense now

Everytime I think my respect for this series can’t grow any bigger, you come along with these amazing analyses!

I don't think that the frontman really enjoys the games tbh. I was surprised at his appearance when he took off his mask. He has bags under his eyes and looks haggard and fatigued. I was concerned about gihun's future life post win after seeing a previous winner look so haggard. Eye bags are not usually so defined in Korean shows unless the character is being portrayed in a miserable/desolate light. And there is always an emphasis on fresh skin/appearance. Just like you said, when the frontman looks in the mirror he sees his brother but it's alarming because they do not mirror each other instead they give off a different aura. Loved the video btw!

I just finished watching Squid Game last night and I loved it. Episodes 6-9 was an emotional rollercoaster. I read an article about 067 & the theories that she could be alive. So if you could do a video on 067 & 240 I'd appreciate that. I loved those characters.

Your attention to detail is amazing.

Kudos to the dude who had to sit behind a desk for a couple years trying to add meaningful significance to random actions and things in squid game

This video showed me just how much detail was put into squid game. Amazing! Definitely deserves the hype

just fyi- the creator has confirmed he has no plans for a season 2. not denying the fact there could be a possibility (given that it’s still #1, and extremely popular) but there’s not one planned or in motion.

This is one of the most researched videos I’ve ever seen on KZfaq

Another flaw in the explanation fo the game and why I don’t think it’s “fair” is because it’s never said that only one person can win. Technically that isn’t the case but the game is clearly designed that one person wins as it seems every year there is one winner. People go back thinking “if I just survive every game like I did the first one, I can win some money” which is very different thinking from “I have to outlive everyone else to win”. There is no talk of brutally murdering each other during the night. These players never get the full story even after the first game. It’s not set up to be “fair” as the 5th game is total luck, and made for only the last few to be able to win. The amount of tiles/rows is probably determined after knowing how many survived to assure this. Even when the one guy could tell the glass, they made that impossible by turning off the lights. The front man might think it’s fair but I don’t really think he thinks it’s fair. I think he’s just mad that someone was getting help just like he was mad that the guy knew to tell the glass apart. That’s really exciting and tense to see if he could tell the glass apart if you’re thinking about “entertainment” like horse racing. But he didn’t want too many people alive at the end Bc only one can survive. Hell, two games forced half the players to die. Technically the last game did as well. No matter how you spin it, it’s not fair and not consensual REALLY. Similar to how an older person/person in power can technically have sex with a minor/person under them and that person could say yes, it’s still seen as non consensual because of the power play and lack of knowledge/control on the part of the other person. It is also never fully consensual if a person can’t stop at any point. They could stop based on a vote, but individually they couldn’t stop. They all accepted their fate clearly as we can tell they had no life in a way. It’s a disturbing story.

Jun-Ho: *takes out a guard to take his place* I did a thing!

Wow, this is Such a great attention to detail and your input are amazing. Wow

This was so informational thank you!!!

The frontman storyline & mystery is honestly one of my favorite parts of the show

I have a theory, might be the best one, as the script secretly portrays the front man to be of a dual personality, the one we see during the red light green light, and the one we see when he hallucinates about his brother being shot when he asked, “why“, his brother asking this question who has known him for years indicates that the front man isnt a bad guy, he has a motive, a reason to do all this which is yet hidden from the audience, and as the director also said that the second season will be about the front man, maybe the front man after winning in 2015 found out that the games were much bigger than to be handled by just the state police, so he decides to work for Ilnam to know more about the games(Detective 101), maybe he is working on something for years and pretending to be the right hand of Ilnam who trusts him to be believing what he himself believed till the end, but the front man cant just stop his motive at this point and shot his brother on the shoulder(on purpose) so that he lives, he asked his brother to come with him, not for the game, but probably for the secret motive he’s working on to destroy the games as he was a cop/detective too who was convicted of bribes and wants to clear his bad image as well in the society. All of this gives his character automatically more screen time as the director himself confirmed it recently. I even think that the front man will turn out to be the bigger protagnist than Gi-hun

Great great analysis. Haven’t seen these things in anyone else’s videos.

Whoa, this is a deep dive lol awesome 👏🏼👏🏼

If the Front Man takes Il-nam's place and then tries to take Gi-Hun as his "apprentice", that would be ridiculously similar to how the sith lords work in Star Wars. I think that would be too far removed from the reality of the characters, that this show presented so perfectly so far.

I’m fully convinced we’ll see a much more intense brother vs brother fight in the future (assuming we’re getting a season 2) cause the one we got was mildly anticlimactic. Front man definitely had reservations about killing his own little brother (I mean, he even gave the dude his kidney) so he just shot him in the shoulder. We didn’t get a confirmed death.

Best details on this show, thank you

I just loved it. Can’t wait to get to see next year’s.

Jun-Ho to Front Man: You killed my brother! Front Man: No Jun-Ho, I AM YOUR BROTHER. Front Man takes off mask. I referred to Front Man as Darth Vader, anyone else? Good reasoning here. Let's see what happens as we find out more about him.

1988 is Seoul Summer Olympics. That's another connection to OH IL Nam Starting the games.

This was amazing thank You

Amazing observation and detailed explanation 👌 👍

Just binged the series and you’re about the 16th video I clicked on but this was the most out of bounds theory, and I dig it. Great stuff

Front man clearly seems to be very inspired by Darth vader. Mercilessly killing his own men,strictly enforcing the rule and being the right arm of an old mastermind. Also he was a cop (servant of justice)who go to a darker side. Also the confrontation between the 2 brother remind me the vader VS luke fight in Ep5,with vader asking luke to join him only for luke to refuse and fall after vader reveals his true identity.

Okay so this explanation is top notch 👌🏽👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

1M Congrats!

What a brillant and detail oriented analysis! My own grain of salt. Maybe the front man wants to end the games but as it's going on on an international level and involving very powerful people it will be hard to destroy . The police will most likely look the other way so he had to infiltrate the highest ranks and make powerful allies himself to stop it . His brother was naive to think that sending a few videos would be enough to end it .

This was an amazing analysis

Great video, The Frontman was so cool 🙌

You a smart man you picked up alot out of the episodes and I like your take on it

My theory is that the front man went back to kill the front man that orchestrated the squid game he was involved in, but there is some kind of underlying rule that if you kill the front man, you become the front man which is sadly where we might see Gi Hun end up

The way the front man was clearing his living quarters made me think he had some special training as well.

this is such ana amzing video essay! thank you

This just made me appreciate the show 10x more for how nuanced it is