Summary
- Death is the game in Squid Game – survival relies on betrayal and alliances.
- Season Two continues the brutal tradition with unexpected deaths and shocks.
- Characters like Se-mi, Gyeong-seok, and Sang-woo meet tragic ends for different reasons.
In Squid Game, death isn’t just part of the game, it itself is the game. The brutal, immoral competition pits contestants against each other, who are just in dire need, but their dreams and survival come at the cost of someone else’s life. While you expect a slaughter in such a cutthroat game, some deaths hit harder than others.
Season Two just dropped, and continues the bloody tradition, delivering the same shocker as its predecessor. Just, when you think you’ve braced yourself for destruction, the show finds new ways to shake your ground. Whether it’s through clever twists or the loss of a character you didn’t expect to grow attached to, Squid Game reminds viewers that in this game, no one is truly safe.
10
Se-mi
Gets Stabbed During A Riot
The darkest side of human nature in the show appeared when the players learned that each death increases the prize money, and Se-mi became prey to this. Se-mi, introduced as Player 380, is tied to the story of Min-su.
However, their brief connection isn’t enough to save her when she’s brutally murdered that night, with Min-su helplessly watching her die. While Se-mi’s role in the larger storyline is small, her death could pave the way for Min-su’s character development in the next season.
9
Park Gyeong-Seok
Shot By A Guard After Trying An Uprising
For the sake of family, a person can do anything, even risk their lives in a deathly competition, and that’s exactly what Gyeong-seok does for his daughter. Gyeong-seok is introduced as an artist working at an amusement park who plays the games to earn money for his daughter’s cancer treatment.
In the final episodes, he sides with Gi-hun in his revolt against the VIPs. Unfortunately, their plan fails, and Gyeong-seok is caught. Begging the guards for mercy so he can return to his sick daughter, he is shot. While it isn’t confirmed, it may be the end of his story.
8
Ji-Yeong
Finds A Purpose To Die For
Ji-Yeong was a young girl who joined the Squid Game, as she had nowhere to go, and lacked a sense of purpose in her life to continue further. In the first season’s emotional Gganbu episode, Ji-yeong is paired with Sae-byeok.
Neither wanted to compete, so they spent time talking and forming a beautiful bond within just half an hour. Ji-Yeong shares the story of her life and, in a selfless act, sacrifices herself so Sae-Byeok can win this stage. Her choice makes her death one of the most heartbreaking moments in the series.
7
Kang Sae-Byeok
Murdered Before The Final Game
Kang Sae-byeok is a North Korean defector who joins the games with the dream of giving her family a better life and fights her way to becoming one of the final three contestants in Season One.
But before the last game, Sang-woo makes a cold move, fearing that Sae-byeok and Gi-hun may team up to invoke the clause and end the games to split the prize money among all the contestants’ families. While the lights are out in the dormitories, he stabs Sae-Byeok in the neck, making sure that only one person can walk away is the winner.
6
Ali Abdul
His Kindness Is What Killed Him
Ali Abdul is easily one of the most loved characters in Squid Game. A kind-hearted Pakistani immigrant who joins the games to pay off a massive debt, unfortunately someone like him doesn’t belong in a place so ruthless.
From the start, Ali is shown as a guy who would go out of his way to help others. Sadly, he is betrayed by his own nature in Episode 6 during the Gganbu game. Thinking Sang-woo is his friend, Ali puts his faith in him, only to be betrayed when Sang-woo steals all his marbles to save himself. This costs him his life, as the guards execute him shortly after.
5
Cho Sang-woo
The Opportunist Kills Himself From Guilt
Cho Sang-woo’s character shows how greed can make someone forget their family, friends, and even morals. At first, he’s introduced as one of Gi-hun’s old friends who joins the games to pay off his debts. But as the games go on, Sang-woo’s true colors come out.
He’s simply an opportunist who’s willing to do whatever it takes to win, so much so that he even betrayed and murdered other players. In the final round, however, Gi-hun’s kindness makes him realize the weight of his actions. Filled with guilt, Sang-woo apologizes and takes his own life, ending the 33rd Squid Game with suicide.
4
The Recruiter
Dies In His Own Game By His Own Hand
The Recruiter, played by Gong Yoo, widely recognized for his role in Train to Busan, is a character who completely steals every scene he’s in. In Season One, he’s introduced as the salesman for the Squid Game, recruiting players by challenging them to a simple game of Ddakji and offering them a chance to change their lives by joining the deadly games.
Unfortunately, his screen time ends in Season Two, where he tests his luck against Gi-hun in a game of Russian Roulette and shockingly kills himself in the very first episode.
3
Thanos
The Rap God Gets Unexpectedly Stabbed In The Bathroom
Thanos was the most entertaining character of Season Two. He was so funny and chaotic on-screen that some viewers might forget how awful he really was.
Thanos was a broke rapper whose only purpose in the games was to make life miserable for everyone else while he danced in ecstasy, completely careless of the people around him who ran for their lives. But his story ends abruptly during a brawl between the players with circle tags and cross tags, where he is killed when Myung-gi stabs him with a fork.
2
Jung Bae
The Ex-Marine Got Caught & Was Promptly Shot
Much like Cho Sang-Woo in the first season, Jung Bae was someone Gi-hun had known for years and was willing to protect no matter what. The bond between Gi-hun and Jung Bae in Season Two was so strong that it felt too pure for such a terrible place, and sadly, that turned out to be true.
In the final episode, Gi-hun gathers allies to stage a revolt and put an end to the games once and for all. However, their plan falls apart, as the Front Man kills Jung Bae right in front of Gi-hun, leaving the season on a dramatic cliffhanger.
1
Oh Il-Nam
The Man Tricked Us All And Promptly Died In A Hospital
Oh Il-Nam is the mastermind behind the Squid Game, which he created to cure his boredom, basing it on the childhood games he used to play. Introduced in season one as Player 001, Oh Il-Nam comes across as a frail old man you can’t help but root for, knowing he seems unlikely to survive.
However, in a shocking plot twist, it’s revealed that he was the one behind it all along. His final scenes with Gi-hun are arguably the series’ most meaningful scene, as he reveals his truth and shares his philosophy behind creating the game, before dying in a hospital due to a brain tumor.