Top TV Memes: The Best Formats From 'Squid Game'

Squid Game is Netflix is most popular new show. This Korean thriller series follows several hundred desperate people who sign up to compete in “The Games” in order to win their way out of severe poverty or debt. The Games, which consist of a number of children’s activities and challenges, are run by a mysterious masked staff and result in nearly all of the competitors dying, often at the hands of each other.

This is now on track to become the most watched Netflix show of all time. So, I'm willing to bet you've already watched it, but in case you haven't, here's your obligatory warning that there will be spoilers ahead. But if you’re one of the many millions of us who have seen it, you understand why no one can stop talking about Squid Game. There’s so much to discuss here, from a Train to Busan cameo to a debate over whether or not the English subtitled and dubbed versions are even the same story as the original at all. And, of course, there are the memes. Here’s the backstory behind some of the best memes and the episodes that created them.

Most Popular Memes: Episode 1: "Red Light, Green Light"

Unlike many of the games shown in this series, red light, green light is a game we in America regularly played as children. We all understand the simple rules behind it, so watching a bunch of people get murdered by a doll for not freezing well enough was some great ghoulish overkill we could all joke about. And obviously, the meme community loves dark, disturbing things, so this episode naturally produced hundreds of memes, including a moment in which fan favorite character Ali (played by Anupam Tripathi) holds on to another character to prevent him from falling and getting shot.

There’s also a disturbing number of memes out there devoted specifically to the doll. It’s not difficult to see why, since it’s like twelve feet tall and scans over everyone with its soulless electrical eyes. The best part is it’s linked with multiple automatic guns. And the ensuing massacre is really, really bloody, and you wonder how you would up watching this happen rather than just clicking on Stranger Things like you were supposed to. After all, it may be spooky season, but a pile of corpses and the old man dancing around them to win the game goes far beyond the standard level of spookiness you signed up for this October.

Most Meme Potential: Episode 6: "Gganbu"

I’m not saying Squid Game is a particularly wholesome show, but this is probably its darkest episode. In this game, the characters have chosen their own partners, only to discover that they will be playing marbles against their most trusted ally, meaning the loser will be shot by one of the weird people in geometry-themed masks who are somehow perfectly okay with watching all of this go down. There’s also a scene in which an old man with dementia wanders around refusing to play marbles, which is seriously frustrating for the viewer at the time but has wound up creating numerous jokes.

But an article about Squid Game wouldn’t be complete without discussing everyone’s sudden unhealthy simping over HoYeon Jung, who plays a female deuteragonist named Sae-Byeok. In this episode, she befriends fellow player Ji-Yeong (Lee Yoo-Mi) and partners up with her for the game, unaware that they will be competing against one another. Of course, this means the shippers found yet another pair of victims to force their fantasies upon, and things have gotten really obsessive. I know we’re all lonely, but if you feel the need to make extensive fan edits of two characters who only had one real conversation with one another, please turn the computer off and go outside for once.

---

Meme Insider is a Know Your Meme publication and the world's leading internet culture magazine. Find out how to get your first print copy for free, and check out the Meme Insider website for more info.