'Squid Game: The Challenge' May Differ From the Original Show in One Very Specific Way

Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for Episodes 1-5 of Squid Game: The Challenge.

The Gist:

• Squid Game: The Challenge includes some similar aspects found in the original Squid Game series.
• The original Squid Game features a player who isn't who he says he is.
• The Netflix reality series includes players from all walks of life.

When fans of the Netflix series Squid Game heard about the reality show spinoff, there was plenty of skepticism and questions about how different it would be from the original series. However, for the most part, Squid Game: The Challenge appears to be pretty similar to the Squid Game that subscribers fell in love with, except without all of the violence.

But one aspect you can't help but wonder about is if there is a mole in Squid Game: The Challenge. In the scripted series, one of the players is revealed to have been the wealthy mastermind behind the game all along. While we doubt there is a high-ranking Netflix executive among the 456 players on Squid Game: The Challenge, it's hard not to see how perfectly mind-blowing it would be if there was a fake player among them.

Ahead of the Squid Game: The Challenge premiere, not much was teased about the contestants, let alone the possibility of one of them not being who they say they are. And in the first five episodes, there is no announcement from the speakers that lets players know that someone along them is not who they say they are — as exciting as that would be.

Still, it's possible that one of the contestants is someone posing as a player and that, in the end, they'll reveal their true identity. It could be a player who gets to the final two and they allow the other contestant to win by default. Or, a big reveal happens before that point. But even if there isn't a mole in Squid Game: The Challenge, there are plenty of other surprises and shocking moments in the first half alone.

The original Netflix scripted series features 456 players who are eliminated one by one in each game. And Squid Game: The Challenge also features 456 players who all signed up to be part of the show. Of course we see a generous amount of them sent packing after the first competition, Red Light, Green Light. But many of them are here to give the game their all and we see some surprising front-runners early on.

Like players 301 and 302, a mother/son duo. And player 432, whose pompous attitude wins favor with some competitors and results in animosity from others. The underdogs and villains are nothing new, however, since we see those same kinds of players in the scripted version of Squid Game. Only in this case, they're real people battling it out for real money and the stakes are incredibly high.

Watch Squid Game: The Challenge on Netflix.