In Star Trek , red shirts die first. In Squid Game , players in the 100-200 range (excluding 199) are cannon fodder. Player 198 has no character arc. He has no sympathetic violin music. He exists to show that the VIPs are betting on numbers , not people. When Player 198 dies, the camera lingers on his ID badge for exactly 1.5 seconds—just long enough for the audience to register that another human has been erased.
For many, the story of Player 198 ends during the traditional Korean game of , or "Flying Stone." This game, which requires a blend of aim, patience, and steady hands, proved to be a hurdle too high for several contestants. While other players like Park Yong-sik managed to succeed, Player 198 was eliminated after missing their crucial shot, a moment that underscored the thin margin between survival and death in the competition. Why We Care About the "Minor" Players player 198