The popular survival drama on Netflix lends a lot of evidence to the theory that the old man Il-nam is actually Gi-Hun’s father. While the ending of Squid Game wrapped up many of the series mysteries, a couple of questions were left for audiences to ponder, including the possibility that players 001 and 456 are actually related.
Even without considering the hard evidence that points to this possibility, the relationship between Squid Game protagonist Gi-Hun and the old man Il-nam is obviously suggestive of a fatherly attachment.
Throughout Squid Game, Gi-Hun feels a sense of responsibility to Il-nam and treats him not as competition, but as an old man that he needs to save from danger. While most players distrust and scheme against one another, Gi-Hun and Il-nam remained a team which is even represented by them exchanging jackets with both spotting the number 001 in the marble round.
Finally, during the Squid Game finale’s twist, Il-nam revealed to Gi-Hun his secret that he’s actually the billionaire host and founder of the games, after which he died with his gamble by his side. However, as several clues suggest, it would seem the that Il-nam didn’t reveal one crucial fact to Gi-Hun. Which is the fact that Gi-Hun is his son.
Another clue that points to the fact that Il-nam could be Gi-Hun’s father came from his mother Oh Mal-soon. Gi-Hun stole his mother’s bank card which revealed that the name of Gi-Hun’s mother is Oh Mal-soon. She has the same family name as old man Oh Il-nam.
Read: Biggest clues about Il-nam you may have missed in Squid Game Season 1.
While Oh Mal-soon retained her husband’s surname, Gi-Hun chose to use his mother’s surname for an unexplained reason and this could be because his father abandoned them when he was a child. This abandonment could have contributed to how Squid Game winner Gi-Hun despite his upright morals is a compulsive gambler who steals from his mother.
There are no photos of Gi-Hun’s father in their home and they also never talked about the man at any point in Squid Game. Recall that they discussed how Gi-Hun should be a better father to his daughter, this could be a hint that Gi-Hun’s father either abandoned them or died a long time ago.
Whatever happened, it’s enough for both Gi-Hun and Oh Mal-soon to throw out all his pictures and never discuss him. Meanwhile, Il-nam’s mysterious son and Gi-Hun happens to also share the same birthday.
In the Squid Game’s marble round, both Gi-Hun and Il-nam recognized the recreated residential neighborhood to be the same neighborhood which they used to live in. This suggests there could be a close connection between Il-nam and Gi-Hun.
Finally, Gi-Hun can’t digest milk just like old man illness unknown son. At one time when the players lined up to receive their meals, Gi-Hun asked a worker for chocolate milk claiming that he can’t digest regular milk. The Squid Game worker doesn’t respond at all and keeps holding out the milk for Gi-Hun who then takes it despite his earlier objections.
