Squid Game’s reveal about the Front Man’s true identity is actually foreshadowed by several clues. Since it was released by Netflix in October 2021, Squid Game quickly became the most popular K-drama on the streaming platform, for audiences not just in the U.S., but across the world. And much of this can be attributed not just to Squid Game’s colorful and unique take on death games, but also to the show’s twists.
One of these twists involves the true identity of the Front Man, the mysterious leader of the Squid Game organization. Throughout most of the series, the Front Man remains behind his ominous mask, which is congruent with the strict rules of anonymity for all Squid Game workers and staff. But in Squid Game, episode 8 – the second-to-the-last episode of the survival drama – he finally takes off his iconic mask to reveal his face.
After Squid Game hides its biggest star in the first 7 episodes, episode 8 finally reveals that the Front Man is In-ho, played by Korean superstar Lee Byung-hun. In-ho is the long-lost older brother that police officer Hwang Jun-ho has been looking for all these years. And while this was a genuine surprise to many viewers, keen-eyed fans were quick to point out several clues that foreshadowed this twist.
Back in Squid Game, episode 2, Jun-ho investigates the apartment of his missing older brother. He finds several art and philosophy books, including one that’s called “Theory of Desire” by Jacques Lacan, and a book about surrealist painter René Magritte, which serve as subtle clues about what his brother might be up to. However, what really catches Jun-ho’s attention is the black box with a pink ribbon containing one of Squid Game’s iconic cards – the first real clue to the identity of the Front Man. The black box is the same exact design as the boxes that the Squid Game workers use to dispose of dead bodies. Squid Game protagonist Seong Gi-hun also uses a similarly designed box in Squid Game, episode 1, in which he accidentally gifts his daughter with a lighter shaped like a pistol.
In Squid Game, episode 7, Jun-ho has just confronted and killed a Squid Game worker who was part of the organ-harvesting operation on the island. Before Jun-ho killed the worker, he confirmed that his brother wasn’t harvested for their organs like the others, suggesting that In-ho is somewhere else. After Jun-ho escapes, he inadvertently leaves behind his police ID. And when the Front Man investigates the corpse of Jun-ho’s victim, one of the Squid Game workers retrieves the ID and shows it to their leader. Rather than simply looking at the police ID and pocketing the evidence, the Front Man stares at it for far too long, suggesting that he knows the cop.
The Front Man’s orders to his henchmen regarding the intruder is to capture him alive. Apart from when he stopped the riot in the dorm room at the old man’s behest, this is the only other time in which the Squid Game leader shows mercy. While players and workers alike get a bullet for violating the strict rules, the police officer Jun-ho, who has infiltrated and threatened the secrecy of the entire operation, is somehow worthy of the Front Man’s mercy. In relation to this, when the Front Man reveals himself to be In-ho, he shoots Jun-ho non-fatally in the shoulder, which has fueled the theory about how Jun-ho is still alive.
As Jun-ho stealthily makes his way into the Front Man’s inner sanctum, the police officer manages to find the comprehensive archive of files on every single Squid Game player in history. While the files that Jun-ho finds catalog players from the present Squid Game, and then all the way back to the ‘90s, the sheer size of the archives suggests that Squid Game has been going on for even longer than that. Before Jun-ho finds the files for the players of the current iteration of Squid Game, he first unearths In-ho’s player file, which reveals that In-ho won the game in 2015. This is a key piece of the puzzle in Jun-ho’s investigations about his brother’s whereabouts. It also suggests that In-ho is still somehow involved in the death games. At the same time, the revelation raises even more unanswered questions and mysteries regarding the Squid Game organization, such as how and why In-ho became the Front Man in the first place.
Before the round of marbles in Squid Game, episode 6, the players are made to team-up into pairs. As the previous tug of war game also separated players into teams to compete against one another, most of the Squid Game players picked a teammate which they believed would give their pair an advantage. However, the Squid Game staff announces that the players will be playing a round of marbles – against the person that they picked to be their teammate. North Korean defector Kang Sae-byeok, also known as Squid Game player 067, is teamed up with Ji-yeong, whom she recruited earlier for their tug of war team.
Sae-byeok is distraught that she now has to play against Ji-yeong, as she seems to have found a genuine connection with the young player. Ji-yeong calms down Sae-byeok by getting her to agree to delay their marble game until the last minute, as the outcome would be the same, and it would give them time to speak. During this conversation, they share their backstories with one another, and Ji-yeong mentions the famous actor Lee Byung-hun. While this can be dismissed as just a random pop culture reference, no other famous figure is referenced throughout the show. Moreover, the best K-dramas are known for using famous faces for cameo roles, such as how Squid Game’s recruiter, The Salesman, is played by Gong Yoo of Train to Busan, Coffee Prince, and Goblin. In addition, while Lee Byung-hun is listed in the official cast, he hasn’t made an appearance prior to the mention of his name in the series, suggesting that he could be one of the faces behind the Squid Game masks.
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