Squid Game 2 Review: New Faces, Brutal Games, & Season 3 Theories

All The New Characters

Today, we’ll deeply dive into the new characters and games shaping this new season, break down the jaw-dropping finale, and explore the predictions for what’s to come in “Squid Game” Season 3. Ready? Let’s dive in!

The second season of “Squid Game” introduced us to various new characters, each with their own backstories and personalities. 

Im Si-wan as Myung-gi (Player 333) and Jo Yu-ri as Kim Jun-hee (Player 222)

One of the standout new faces is Myung-gi (Player 333), a crypto influencer and YouTuber played by K-Drama favorite Im Si-wan. In Myung-gi’s backstory, he lost all of his own money and his followers’ money after an online crypto scam. Trying to escape the financial ruin he’s caused, Myung-gi joins the deadly game. Still, he is in for a surprise when he finds out that his pregnant ex-girlfriend Kim Jun-hee (Player 222), played by K-Pop star Jo Yu-ri, is also in the games but wants nothing to do with him.

Choi Seung-hyun as Tanos (Player 230)

Another unforgettable character of this season is Thanos (Player 230), portrayed by Choi Seung-hyun, also known as T.O.P, a rapper from the iconic K-pop group BigBang. Thanos is an internet rapper known for his volatile personality, and his role as a player in the game brings a new kind of menace as his cruel determination to win pushes him to ruthless extremes while his drug-taking habit makes him dangerously unpredictable—Thanos’ cruelty is especially obvious when he is with Myung-gi, who he blames for all of his financial trouble. 

Park Sung-hoon as Hyun-ju (Player 120)

On the other hand, we also have some kindhearted new characters like Hyun-ju (Player 120), played by Park Sung-hoon. Hyun-ju, a transgender woman and former special forces soldier, is playing the game in hopes of funding her transition and getting enough money together to move to Thailand and start a new life away from the discrimination that she faces in Korea.

Played by a cisgender male actor due to the limited amount of openly transgender and LGBTQ+ actors in Korea, Hyun-ju’s storyline is both good social commentary, and her character is one of the gems of the season.

Other honorable mentions

Plus, we also run into Jung-bae (Player 390), Gi-hun’s close friend, again and meet Dae-ho (Player 388), a young marine soldier, who bonds with Jung-bae and Gi-hun because they were all marines. 

Finally, we have Geum-ja (Player 149), played by Kang Ae-sim, an older woman who joins the games to pay off her son’s debt, only to learn that he is also a player in the games. As Geum-ja becomes closer to Hyun-ju and Jun-hee, Geum-ja becomes the “mother of the group.” Her relationship with Hyun-ju is particularly heartwarming as these two unlikely characters bond—making you root for their (unlikely) survival.

All The New Games

In addition to the new characters, season two of “Squid Game” pushed the limits even further by introducing a series of new and brutal games. 

• Six-Legged Pentathlon

The third episode introduces us to the “Six-Legged Pentathlon.” In this game, the players are split into teams of five, with their legs tied together in pairs. The twist? Every few meters, one player has to take on a mini-game, ranging from Ddakji to Flying Stone to spinning a Spinning Top, and the team must succeed in all challenges to move forward. Fail or don’t finish the games within five minutes? You get shot, of course! The stakes are high, and the pressure is thick; this relay game needs a combo of quick thinking, teamwork, and precision—it’s nail-biting to watch. 

• Mingle

Another chilling addition to the season is the “Mingle” game, which takes place in episode 5. Here, players must quickly form groups based on a random number, and once they do, they must rush into one of the given rooms within 30 seconds. The game is made even more intense as the players are put on a spinning platform, disorienting them and making it harder to form groups and stay ahead of the clock. Full of betrayals, “Mingle” is rough on the contestants, both physically and psychologically.

Squid Game Season 3 Finale & Theories

Finally, the finale of Squid Game Season 2 left us all with a lot to unpack. Major spoilers alert!  

Where has the show left us

After having survived all the deadly challenges in season 1, Gi-hun decides to turn his attention to taking down the games from the inside by going in again for round two. By the end of the second season, Gi-hun and friends are battling their way deeper into the game, trying to make their way to the frontman’s operations room. However, they are unaware that the frontman has been among them this whole time as Player 001. At the very last moment, the frontman escapes Gi-hun’s team, secretly takes out the players he’d been with, puts on his frontman mask, and corners Gi-hun at gunpoint. Naturally, this is quite the cliffhanger ending—but we’re not done; in the post-credit scene, we see Chul-su, a new killer doll!

Introduction of Chul-su, has sparked a storm of theories

The cliffhanger finale, with the introduction of Chul-su, has sparked a storm of theories about what could be waiting ahead. For example, as the games become even more brutal, fans have been wondering whether, in season three, we will see Gi-hun go up against Chul-su. Commonly seen in Korean learning materials and cultural references, Chul-su is portrayed as a typical young Korean boy, often curious and energetic, while his sister, Young-hee, might be depicted as caring and perhaps more responsible, reflecting traditional family roles.

Plus, the introduction of the guards and their own internal conflicts also gives season 3 another interesting dynamic to explore further. The biggest theory is that Gi-hun might become the new frontman of the games. With his deep knowledge of how the games work and his mission to bring them down from within, Gi-hun being the frontman would make him both an insider and a manipulator, even maybe leading a takeover of the games. 

However, there is also the possibility that, after the death of Jung-bae, Gi-hun’s humanity might slip as well. Perhaps this insurrection that Gi-hun thinks he is leading is also part of the game (like how the players’ physical fight is a part of the game, despite the players thinking that they are acting independently). Maybe the insurrection was all the work of the games to lead Gi-hun to make more and more immoral decisions, sacrificing innocent people’s lives for his end goal and making him more like the frontman in the process.