Does free will exist or is it an illusion?

According to player 456 (Seong Gi-hun), free will is an illusion – it does not exist – which is why he tries to end the Squid Game for good. He mentions this to The Salesman, telling him that they are purposefully targeting people with an insane debt; who do not have the choice – cannot reject – the option of participating in the games. According to The Salesman and Front Man (player 001), free will does exist. The people, though they were in debt, had the option to go home. Though they initially had no idea what they were getting themselves into, they had the option of not trusting a complete stranger, and they had the option of voting to go home after every game. But, as we have seen, the majority chose to let the games continue. They were not threatened to participate in these games, they were not threatened to continue to play after each round, and they were not lied to. So their free will could not have been manipulated to continue with the games… right?

So who do you agree with? Do you agree with Gi-hun, and believe that free will is an illusion? Or do you agree with The Salesman and Front Man, and believe that free will does exist, and that whatever choice you make is YOUR choice, and that there are no outside forces that control your decisions? I personally agree with player 456 (Seong Gi-hun) – free will is an illusion. I mean, how can free will exist if you can manipulate people’s decisions without them knowing, to make the choices you want them to make? The players of The Squid Game all believe that they randomly encountered The Salesman, and were met with the opportunity of joining the game. They do not know that they have been monitored and selected to play these games. Even the player nicknamed Thanos mentioned that – as he was about to end his life – The Salesman appeared and offered him the opportunity to join the Squid Game. He interpreted that instance as divine intervention.

Do you see how free will is an illusion? They handpicked these people with an insane dept, people who were suicidal, so they could ensure that the squid game would continue to the end. The manipulation of them to participate in the game extends further than the handpicking process. Have you noticed how The Salesman is presented? He wears a suit, he has a briefcase, he is well-groomed, and he also “happens” to fit the beauty standard. From a first-hand impression, he does not appear to be shady, and certainly not capable of murder. The Halo Effect is at play. Do you think that any of the participants would have had the patience to be slapped across the face multiple times, by someone shady-looking, and who they found unappealing to look at? Do you think that they even would have heard him out, if he wore a hoodie and sweatpants, and had messy hair? You see how they have been manipulated to join the game from the very beginning? The moment they entered the game, you would think that the majority would have voted to go home, after becoming aware that their lives were at stake, but that was not the case. Was that really because of free will? Notice the voting process: if you want to go home, you have to press the red X button (red is the color of danger), and the sound it makes is a loud threatening sound (the sound of error). If you want to continue the game, you have to press the blue O button (blue is the color of serenity), and it makes an innocent light sound (you made the right decision). If free will does exist – as The Front Man and Salesman claim – then why are they taking all these measurements that they know will influence people’s decision-making process?

They have altered the game this season – allowing the winners after each round the opportunity to go home – to prove to Seong Gi-hun that his quest to end the game is crazy, and without merit, as the players are exercising their free will. From their perspective, Gi-hun is the villain in this story. From Gi-hun’s perspective, they are the villains as the players only participate in the Squid Game, because their reality back home is not more appealing than their current situation (it is not a life worth living). So why not take the chance and win the game? How is free will at play if the players feel that, they do not have any other choice but to continue playing these games?

Food for thought: If God is All-Knowing, does free will then exist?

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