SQUID GAME, AT LAST

 

I am a frugal person, most of the time, anyway.  If there is a movie or a book I want, I would first check with the public library if the item is available for borrowing.  Enjoy the item then return it, zero dollar spent.  Then came the streaming services, the fragmented streaming services, to be exact.  To watch this movie you would need to subscribe to this service because no other services carry the movie.  I am no fan of monopoly but the whole situation is ridiculous.  Some years ago when the Netflix series "The Squid Game" was all the rage, my wife wanted to watch it but we didn't have the streaming service.  We still don't.  We have cable TV and we already barely use it, I see no point in getting into streaming service.  We survive.  Fast forward to the present, about a week ago at a free swap meet, someone donated a 3-disc set of Season 1 of the show!  It sat unwanted for a few minutes, then I snatched it.  It is a screener copy, probably something distributed to a limited test audience for feedback.  At the beginning of each disc, you are required to acknowledge that you would not copy, hold public performance, give away, etc the disc.  Oh well, it's been many years later, I suppose none of that sticks anymore.  I just looked around on the web, there are a few offers of the same disc set on eBay and elsewhere.  

Each of the three disc contain three episodes, for a total of nine episodes.  This past Friday and Saturday, I started watching the series and duly exercised self-restraint to not binge it.  The idea of people being killed in "games" is not new.  Many years ago I read "The Most Dangerous Game" in junior high school, although my English wasn't good back then I am not sure I understood what was going on.  Then along came The Running Man with Arnold Schwartzenegger.  More recently we had "The Hunger Game".  Killing of human beings for entertainment purpose.  Admittedly, I was entertained, although more annoyed, too, by the characters who sorta brought it upon themselves.  Just keep digging themselves deeper and deeper into the hole.

One thing I couldn't help thinking of is... Epstein Island.  There is no limit in what the rich and powerful will do and can get away with if the people let them.  It is entirely possible the girls that were abused on Epstein Island were in some sort of troubles and Epstein seemed to provide a way out, so they took the chance.  Maybe by the time I finish the Squid Game hopefully in real life the guilty parties of the Epstein scandal will suffer consequences.  Art imitates life, sometimes life is stranger than fiction...