By now, everyone in the world knows what “Squid Game” is. In fact, last Sunday (Halloween), many people dressed up as either one of the participants or one of the guards with pink suits and full-face masks! That show is a megahit, and everyone in the world is still talking about it.
The MBC’s new variety show, “Bloody Game”, is set to fill the empty space that Squid Game left. “Bloody Game” aired its first episode on November 1, and started off with a viewership rating of 1.8%, which is not so high, but we cannot judge the show yet!
DISCLAIMER: SPOILER ALERT!
In this first episode, there are a total of 10 participants of different ages and professions who have no clue about what will happen in the luxurious mansion they have entered. All they know is that the winner will receive about USD 300,000 (300 million Won)!! There are 6 hosts who are carefully watching these participants as they try to survive in this psychological game that they are put in.
When I first watched this episode, it kind of reminded me of the recent Spanish Netflix show called “Insiders.” I am not sure how many of you guys are familiar with this show, but it has a somewhat similar element where there are 12 participants put into an experiment where the hosts are secretly watching them. It’s different but it’s somewhat similar.
Anyways, only a few minutes have passed where everyone has just met, and when they are going around introducing themselves, one contestant lies about his age! In Korea, a young age is considered vulnerable or weak, so that is why this contestant lied and said he was 24 when he is actually 22. Did the psychological game between the participants start already?!?!?
Let’s not forget this is a reality game show. Which is why a scary, creepy voice, quite similar to the one in “Squid Game,” tells all the participants the rules of the game in a very concise manner. “The game will be very unfair and irrational.” The first game, or so called mission, is to eliminate one person in one hour!! Which is crazy because they have just met! How can you eliminate someone that fast without knowing any background information?
But the game must go one, and Lee Na Young gets eliminated. This is where the show gets interesting because Lee Na Young actually wasn’t eliminated. She was sent to the basement where the rustic, dirty, shabby condition of the rooms are totally opposite of the elegant rooms in the upper ground of this mansion.
Now Lee Na Young needs to work her way back up to the luxurious upper ground again by earning coins. She starts to fold pizza boxes and start her own game in the basement so she can get back to where she started.
Nobody upstairs knows she is in the basement yet Lee Na Young can hear everything the people upstairs are saying. HOW SCARY!
MUST KNOW: P (first letter of Parasite) = 피 (a Korean word for blood which sounds the same as P)
The title of the show AND the game uses a play on words with the letter “P.” The game that they play is literally said as ”P Game” which in Korean is “피 게임.” This has a dual meaning where the “P” can stand for “Parasite Game,” where eliminated participants play a separate game in the downstairs basement (similar to Parasite the movie) and or it can be 피 as in blood, which is a bloody game that they play upstairs.
What did you guys think of this show? I, for one, am getting hooked. “Bloody Game” is literally as if “Squid Game” was put into a reality show. Will people start to form allies? Or will they lie to each other to win? How will Lee Na Young, who is in the basement, survive?
Stay tuned for the second episode next Monday, 8th KST. And don’t forget to watch it on KOCOWA!
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