<

What If “Squid Game” Were Adapted to Philippine Television?

Article by: Kerwin de Dios
Due to the massive success of Squid Gameย around the world, many people are doing their take on the hit Netflix series, whether in costumes, vlogs, or funny Tiktok videos. It’s a social media craze, as one may say. Still, it continues to become one of the biggest series of all time. Anyway, I started thinking… What if it gets adapted to Philippine television? So, here we go… Red Light, Green Light Go!
Squid Game 3 e1632375901980

Image Courtesy of Netflix

The Setting

It would be very costly for a Pinoy series to transport hundreds of extras, as well as the cast and crew to a remote island somewhere in the country. so the best option would be: in an abandoned warehouse somewhere in the Metro. This is a Classic Pinoy Mob Boss HQ. Quoting MTV Cribs “This is where the magic happens!”

The Goons, The Bad, and The Ugly

They’d be wearing black leather jackets and robber masks each with proper identifying shapes just like in the Korean series.
The Masks in the original series look expensive to produce so I was thinking the show’s producers would recommend something cheaper and have its own Pinoy twist.
Squid Game 2 e1632375819357

Image Courtesy of Netflix

Place Your Bets

Due to the pandemic, many businesses closed. Another one of the industries that took a downturn during these times is the casino industry. However, as they say: one may close its doors, but a window will open. Sabong or cock fighting took another form and here comes, E-Sabong. Gi-hun, the series’ protagonist, will lose all his money and get addicted to E-Sabong instead of the online horse betting shown in the series. (Please note that we are not promoting any kind of gambling here.)

The Games

Ddakji – Pogs
Red Light, Green Light – Hagarang Upo / Stop Dance
Honeycomb Game – ?? Katol
Tug of War – Hilahang Lubid
Death Glass Step No, Step Yes – Piko
Squid Game – Patintero
Though there is no Pinoy game equivalent to the Honeycomb game, the writer / director could opt to give the task of separating two mosquito coils. It is very similar to the former as it can break easily if not taken care of. The downside is: they can’t lick it like Gi-hun did in the series to survive the game.
squid game lee jung jae 1

The Love Square

Sunghaetae will have a wife in the game. However, he will also have a mistress, and together, they’ll (surprisingly) meet inside the game arena. Sunghaetae’s wife will fall in love with Gi-hun ,but the mistress will still be jealous of her. They’ll probably slap each other every time they meet and will have catfights until the very end of their characters.

Tearjerker

Every time there is a drama scene, Gary Valenciano’s cover of the SugarFree classic “Wag Ka Nang Umiyak” will play in the background.

The Frontman’s Line

The frontman will have limited dialogue in the series and these will be some of his lines:
“Mga Inutil” every time the henchmen would f*ck up
“Magsikalat Kayo” when searching for the other protagonist.

2 Minutes

Since this would be a top rating program for the Filipinos, every two minutes of the program, a barrage of TV commercials will appear and it would take approximately five years for the series to end.
Squid Game 4 e1632376013634

Image Courtesy of Netflix

The Plot Twist

On his deathbed, Il-nam will confess that Gi-hun is actually his real son and was switched at birth with his adopted son. He will then become the sole heir to continue the legacy of the Squid Game.

The Latecomers

Police will come in late to investigate the murders.
How do you think things would pan out if Squid Game were on Philippine television?