Betrayal is a deep knife that only heals with time, though viewers of Squid Game 2 couldn’t say the same for the show’s main character Seong Gi Hun.
Portrayed by Lee Jung Jae, Gi Hun returns to the mysterious island with a vengeful spirit and a goal: to infiltrate the bloody game.
In the first season, Gi Hun was at his absolute lowest despite winning the game. His friend Cho Sang Woo (Park Hae Soo) died, so was his allies Kang Sae Byeok (Jung Ho Yeon) and Oh Il Nam (Oh Yeong Su) who turned out to be the original creator of the Squid Game.
The same subterfuge happened to him in the second season: the last episode sees Gi Hun mourning the death of his other friend Jung Bae (Lee Seo Hwan) who was killed by Front Man (Lee Byung Hun). Little did he know that Front Man is Young Il or Player 001, one of his closest allies in the new game.
“The end of Season 2 is going to make people more curious about how Gi-hun will do in the game now that this traumatic event has happened to him. After what’s happened to his friend, can he still maintain his objective of saving the other people in the game?” Jung Jae said.
The two characters’ conflict is one of the few sub stories of the show, Byung Hun highlighted.
“It’s almost as if they’re betting against each other. The Front Man is asking questions like, ‘Do you really think you’re going to be able to end the game? Do you really think there’s hope in people? Do you think the world’s going to change?” he said.
Will Gi Hun’s failed attempts to put an end to the game affect what’s next for the hit global show? Director Hwang Dong Hyuk replies, “Is he still going to believe that he will be able to persuade others and leave together or put an end to the game? Or will he give in and become a completely different person? Someone just like the Front Man, who thinks, ‘What can I change?’.”
Squid Game Season 2 continues to skyrocket to world rankings, amassing an astounding 68 million views in its debut, ranking number one in 92 countries, breaking the record for most views for a show in its premiere week.
According to Netflix, these impressive records can be accounted with its global marketing efforts such as fan activations in more than 25 countries across six continents. Marquee events in 10 countries drew six million online and 52,000 in-person fans with nearly 37,000 participants and 1,700 pink guards in one-of-a-kind races, mazes and other games inspired by the series. These activities helped drove three billion impressions across Netflix global social channels in the months leading up to the second season premiere and even surpassed the first season’s lifetime impressions.
The show’s video game counterpart is the number one action game on the App Store in 57 countries and the first Top Free Game in 24 countries.
Squid Game 3 is set to be released this year.