what was the inspiration behind the iconic murder doll?

If the second season of “Squid Game” introduced new twists and turns, the killer doll from season 1 remains a central element of the hit series.

“Squid Game” production designer Chae Kyoung-sun revealed the inspiration behind the murderous doll Young-hee, who made a comeback in the second season of the South Korean TV series, broadcast on November 26. “My daughter had a long bowl cut, which was very cute, so I decided to give her a very short fringe,” she told Reuters.

“His eyes are a little crazy. “He’s a killing machine and the movement of his eyes had to be easy to see, so we made his eyes quite big,” she continued. Wearing a simple orange dress and two pigtails, Young-hee became a viral meme on social media, and the centerpiece of the streaming giant’s promotional campaign.

Although the doll was not originally intended to have a specific gender, inspiration for the doll also came from an image on the cover of old Korean school textbooks, where a girl with the same name appeared. . In the series, the innocent-faced robotic toy actually plays a deadly role, spotting and eliminating participants who move during the game “One, Two, Three, Sun.”

“How can this cute kid suddenly turn into a killing machine? I think creating the world of ‘Squid Game’ through the adoption of unpredictable concepts and methods resonated with young people looking for something new,” she said of its success.

At the end of season 2, viewers discover Chul-su, a male doll who will appear in the following season alongside Young-hee. “When they said there would be a second season and Chul-su would appear, I brought back the drawings I had of Chul-su for the first season. Consider him as a friend, a partner,” added the designer.

If the first season of “Squid Game” became the most watched series on the streaming platform, the next one also broke a record, becoming the most watched series in its first week, with 68 million views. In addition, Netflix announced Tuesday January 21 that it had recorded a record number of 18.9 million new subscribers during its fourth quarter, in part thanks to the success of the second season of the series. The third and final season of “Squid Game” should be released later this year.