Spoilers ahead for Squid Game. Squid Game is one of Netflix’s most violent shows with death looming on every corner. So, it’s no surprise that more characters have died in the second season for their pursuit of wealth. With Gi-hun’s (Lee Jung-jae) new plan to overthrow the game makers of the deadly games, each death has a particularly deep meaning to him.
The shocking twist is that The Frontman (Lee Byung-hun) joins the game as Player 001. Even though a majority of the players are Gi-hun’s allies, there are some who want glory and 456 billion won prize money for themselves. One particular death that hit Gi-hun hard was at the season finale. As to why creator Hwang Dong-hyuk chose this person’s death to round out the season, he told Variety, that it’s a catalyst for season 3. “When you think about Gi-hun’s journey, I thought that that was an adequate moment to put a stop and give him a little bit of closure along that long story arc,” he said. “And then from that moment on, in the third season, having that sense of huge guilt and sense of failure weighing heavily on him — how is Gi-hun going to carry on his mission? That’s the story that’ll further unfold.”
Read all about each death below.
Mr. Kim (Kim Pub-lae) was Gi-hun’s loan shark who worked with him in the first season for his debt. In season 2, Gi-hun hires Mr. Kim to find the Salesman who recruits people for Squid Game. He, along with Woo-seok, eventually finds him, but in order to get answers, the Salesman challenges them to deadly games. After losing a round of Russian Roulette and Rock Paper Scissors Minus One, Mr. Kim sacrifices himself for Woo-seok.
The Salesman (Gong Yoo) shoots himself in the last round of Russian Roulette. He’s confronted by Gi-hun and the two play a very intense game. The bullet is revealed to be the Salesman’s last round and doesn’t back down.
Player 196 (Song Ji-woo) was the first player to die in Season 2’s Squid Game. When Thanos points out that there’s a bee on her person during Red Light, Green Light, she freaks out and moves and jokes around that it’s not serious. She was immediately shot by a sniper.
During the Mingle Game, Young-mi (Kim Si-eun) trips and is left behind by the group led by Hyun-ju. Myeon-gi shuts the door before Young-mi could enter the safe chambers. Hyun-ju blames himself for her death.
Thanos (played by Choi Seung-hyun aka T.O.P.) is killed by Hyun-ju during Lights Out after she pulls out a fork to stab him in the throat. Thanos and Nam-gyu confront her after she switches teams to end the games, and they attempt to choke her. Safe to say, Thanos went out with a bang (bang bang).
Frontman Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun) attempted to thwart Gi-hun and Jung-bae’s plan to overthrow the control room by acting like he would attack the guards protecting it. The Frontman goes to the room with Players 015 and 047 who are armed. He shoots both of them dead and pretends that they got caught in the crossfire.
Kyung-seok (Lee Jin-wook) entered the games to find a way to pay for his daughter’s cancer treatment. After he runs out of bullets to protect himself from the guards, he pleads with the guards to spare him to help him save his daughter. They shoot him dead, or did they? Many fans believe that No-eul (Park Gyu-young) shot him with a dummy round because she knows about his backstory.
Se-mi (Won Ji-an) initially teamed up with Nam-gyu and Thanos in their attempts to stay in the games. However, when she betrayed them, Nam-gyu tried to stab her in the back (quite literally) during lights out while Min-su attempts to save her.
One of Gi-hun’s closest friends Jeong-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) enters the games and becomes his right hand man when he plans to overturn the games. When the Frontman reveals himself to both of them after they failed to take control of the Control Room, he shoots Jeong-bae dead. Gi-hun is left devastated and could cause vengeance for the third season.
