10 Best TV Episodes Of 2021
2. Squid Game - “Gganbu”
“Best” isn’t quite the word to use here, as “Gganbu” was about the most heart wrenchingly unfun time you could possibly have watching telly. All the same, it was the daring apex of 2021’s most talked about show, flawlessly executed (no pun intended), and utterly unforgettable.
The premise in brief for those dwelling underground: a few hundred desperate folk in Korea are assembled to play kids’ games. One wins 45.6 billion won. The others are killed horribly. For their fourth game, the remaining players are asked to pair off. They assume they'll be acting as teammates; instead, the partner you pick is your opponent. They’re handed sacks of marbles and are told to play for the tokens in any format they wish. Whoever loses their marbles will be killed.
When the reveal comes that their partners are in fact their opponents, it’s sickening. Many of the pairs comprise two main characters - protagonist Gi-hun and affable old timer Oh Il-nam; loveably naive Ali and smart but cutthroat Sang-woo.
TV shows tease the deaths of main characters all the time, but Squid Game doesn’t mess about. This is brutal telly, heartbreaking but admirable in its willingness to go all out, to commit where most shows would flinch.