Red light…green light. Don’t get caught by the scary killer doll this December because once you’re caught, it’s game over. But maybe the odds are in your favor this time with Seong Gi-hun back in Squid Game and determined to save as many people as possible.
The death game phenomenon Squid Game returns with Season 2 in just a few weeks. Season 1’s cliffhanger hinted at what Seong Gi-hun will do and why he has chosen to return to the games despite all he endured. Netflix has released a video introducing the new cast and the characters they portray.
The following are the new cast:
- Yim Si-wan who plays Myung-gi (383), a former YouTuber turned fugitive who loses a lot of money and subsequently causes his subscribers to lose money when he gets entangled in a crypto scam. He is also Jun-hee’s ex-boyfriend.
- Jo Yuri who plays Jun-hee (222). She joins Squid Game to earn a living and was given terrible investment advice by Myung-gi.
- Yang Dong-eun who plays Yong-sik (7), an immature gambler who has incurred a lot of debt.
- Kang Ae-sim who plays Geum-ja (149), Yong-sik’s mother. She gets dragged into the game as she wants to pay off her son’s debt, and will always put her son first.
- Lee Seo-hwan Jung-Bae (390) who viewers met back in Season 1 and is a good friend of Gi-hun.
- Kang Ha-neul who plays Dae-ho (388), an ex-marine. He’s tough but it’s only a front.
- Park Sung-hoon who plays Hyun-ju (120), a former special forces soldier and a transgender woman. She joins the game to get enough money for her gender affirming surgery.
- Lee Jin-uk who plays Gyeong-seok (246), a father who is working to earn enough money to save his daughter who has cancer.
- Park Gyu-young who plays No-Eul, a former soldier and North Korean defector who is dedicated to reuniting with her newborn baby she had to leave behind.
- Chae Kook-hee who plays Seon-nyeo (44), a formerly powerful Korean shaman who enjoys cursing people and telling prophecies
- Lee David who plays Min-su (125), a super timid member of the Thanos Team who is more of a follower than a leader.
- Choi Seung-hyun who plays Thanos (230), a retired rapper who gets caught up in Myung-gi’s scam and loses his money.
- Roh Jae-won who plays Nam-Gyu (124), who teams up with Thanos. He thrives on other people’s weaknesses and falters around the strong.
- Won Ji-an who plays Se-mi (380) is the opposite of Nam-Gyu as she tends to be gentle around the weak and strong around the strong.
Most characters in Season 1 were older, in their 30s and 40s, but Season 2 introduces a much younger cast. Director, writer, and creator Hwang Dong-hyuk deliberately included younger characters, reflecting global events. This sense of hopelessness isn’t limited to middle-aged people—young people also experience this feeling of powerlessness.
In Variety, Hwang revealed a new twist for Season 2. Contestants can now leave Squid Game if the majority votes to do so. While Season 1 had the same rule, Season 2 allows participants to split the money earned so far among those still alive.
Season 2 pits Gi-hun against Front Man In-ho. “For In-ho to secure a clean, perfect win, he needed to prove to Gi-hun just how greedy humans can be,” Hwang said. “He wanted to lay everything out for Gi-hun, saying, ‘See, I give you this rule and opportunity to leave, but do you think they’ll choose to? With each passing day and round, their greed will snowball.’ In-ho wanted to show Gi-hun what true human nature looks like.”
Though Season 1 featured many heartbreaking storylines for the main cast, the director noticed fans focused on the minor characters and made sure to include side character storylines in the new season.
Season 1 premiered on September 17, 2021, with eight episodes. Squid Game adds a lethal twist to children’s games, where 456 players facing severe financial hardship compete for 45.6 billion won. The show centers on Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), a notorious gambler and divorced father, who joins the game. Squid Game has earned widespread acclaim for its themes, brutality, and storylines.
With a video introducing a large, diverse cast of new characters, the question arises: will they all survive? Or is this just another way for the show to make fans root for characters before axing them? Squid Game Season 2 streams on Netflix on December 26.
Source: YouTube, Variety
