Netflix’s Squid Game season 2 is in the works, but the show is in desperate need of a new main character. Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, was the protagonist of Squid Game season 1, rooting the series in an emotionally appealing and grounded character that carried the audience through the strange world of the games. However, Gi-hun is no longer needed as the audience avatar, and Squid Game needs to replace him with a new figure for season 2 to be as good as season 1.
Squid Game season 1 saw Seong Gi-hun going from a broke loser who was barely scraping by to an incredibly wealthy man after winning the games. However, the end of Squid Game season 1 teased that Gi-hun would be returning with a new motive and even a new hairstyle. It seems that Gi-hun in Squid Game season 2 will be returning to the games again, this time attempting to take down the organization from the inside. While this is an interesting premise, this storyline does not need to be the main focus of Squid Game season 2.
Why Squid Game Season 2 Should Replace Gi-Hun
Gi-hun shouldn’t be the main character of Squid Game season 2 for several reasons. Although Squid Game season 1 brought audiences to a fantastical new world, it was a character study at its heart. Gi-hun’s personality and moral center has already been thoroughly analyzed, and it would be hard to get a character arc as strong as season 1’s if Gi-hun’s only goal was to take down the Squid Games. Focusing on Gi-hun again would make Squid Game season 2 feel repetitive, meaning focusing on season 1’s Gi-hun tease as a main story is a bad idea.
Not only would Gi-hun’s arc be incredibly repetitive if he continued as the main character, but the story of Squid Game would be repetitive. Simply having Gi-hun participate in the Squid Games again, even if the games are different, wouldn’t add enough new angles to the story to warrant a season 2. Even if Squid Game season 2 featured Gi-hun secretly investigating the games while participating in them, that would also be repetitive. Squid Game season 1 was full of scenes of the detective, Hwang Jun-ho, looking into the games, so just having Gi-hun do that same thing would be treading on old ground.
Having Gi-hun be the main character of Squid Game season 2 would also take away from the show’s believability. The best part about Squid Game season 1 was that it felt like anybody could die. Many of Squid Game‘s main characters ended up dead, with Gi-hun’s survival having a lot to do with luck rather than skill. Having Gi-hun go through the Squid Games and survive again would be completely unbelievable, especially if the games were different from season 1’s challenges (as some theories speculate). While it seems like Gi-hun probably will be the main character of Squid Game season 2, that could hamstring the show’s quality.
Squid Game Season 2 Already Has The Perfect Protagonist
Squid Game season 2’s fix to the Gi-hun problem doesn’t necessarily have to be a main character, as season 1 has already introduced the perfect season 2 protagonist. Season 2 needs to star one of the most mysterious characters from the original season, Squid Game‘s Detective Hwang Jun-ho. In Squid Game season 1, Jun-ho infiltrated the Squid Games in an attempt to locate his missing brother, In-ho. Near the end of the season, Jun-ho was discovered, with the detective being confronted on top of a cliff. After the Front Man revealed that he was Jun-ho’s missing brother, he shot the detective, causing him to fall off the cliff.
Although Jun-ho’s dramatic cliff drop was the last time he was seen in Squid Game season 1, that doesn’t mean he’s dead. Jun-ho was only shot in the shoulder, and although his fall was from a great height, he landed in the water. These two facts have caused theories that Jun-ho is still alive to emerge, and they make a lot of sense. Jun-ho’s dead body was never seen in Squid Game season 1, and in a dramatic and twist-heavy show like this, a character is never confirmed dead unless the body can be seen.
Since Jun-ho’s arc wasn’t finished before he was shot, having Squid Game season 2 focus on him would be a great idea. While he did get a lot of screen time in season 1, most of it involved him investigating. There wasn’t much known about Jun-ho’s characterization, meaning that Squid Game season 2 would have many potential stories to explore. It’s possible that Jun-ho could even team up with Gi-hun, as they both share a common interest in putting an end to the games. However, Squid Game season 2 still needs to put more focus on Jun-ho than Gi-hun to avoid repetition.
Why Squid Game’s Detective Can Expand The Franchise
Netflix is interested in expanding the Squid Game franchise, even working on a real-life game show, and focusing on Detective Jun-ho would be the perfect way to do that. Switching focus to another character would show that Squid Game‘s side characters would be able to carry their own seasons and spin-offs in the future. On top of that, now that Jun-ho knows that his brother is the Front Man, the detective will probably be motivated to look into the games even more. This could lead to Jun-ho discovering the underlying story of a potential spin-off that has already been teased in Squid Game season 1.
Squid Game season 1 teased several spin-offs by having one of the VIPs refer to the events of the show as the “Korean games.” Specifying that the games are Korean implied that there may be other Squid Games going on in other countries, meaning that the Squid Game franchise may have an entire world of horrifying and dangerous games to explore. It’s possible that Detective Jun-ho could discover this while investigating the games in season 2, making this storyline a perfect way to raise the stakes of Squid Game season 2 while also setting up a plethora of spin-off shows.
