Characters Who Should Have Survived Longer

Squid Game is regarded as one of the best live action series of recent times for many reasons, with one of them being its innate unpredictability. Hwang Dong-hyuk’s critically acclaimed dystopian thriller does an excellent job at making the viewer feel that every character is unsafe, and that they can die at any point in the story.

This narrative device is a double-edged sword. While it has led to many unforgettable death scenes, it has also resulted in the sudden deaths of many beloved and/or well-written characters that should have lasted way longer. For some, it’s because they were skilled enough to survive for more episodes. For others, it was because they had an interesting story to tell or simply because they had entertaining personalities. There are a fair number of players in Squid Game that died way too soon.

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7

Kang Mi-Na

Had A Fun Personality, But She Was Ruined By A Single Bee

• Player: 196
• Died In: “001” (Season 2, Episode 3)

Season 2 introduced a slew of intriguing new characters to participate in the 2024 edition of the games, with one of the biggest standouts being Kang Mi-na. This young girl was arrogant, superficial and had a fascinating dynamic with Thanos, rejecting his flirting during the first game.

It seemed like Kang Mi-na was going to be one of the second season’s biggest characters, but she was the first player to die, after a small bee on her neck made her move during Red Light, Green Light. This was understandably done to drive home the point of how unpredictable Squid Game is, but it would have been entertaining to see her last a bit longer.

6

Se-Mi

A Strong Girl Who Was Betrayed By Her Friend (Twice)

• Player: 380
• Died In: “Friend or Foe” (Season 2, Episode 7)

Park Min-su is a timid player who is bullied by Thanos and Nam-gyu throughout most of Season 2. Fortunately for him, a smart and bold young woman named Se-mi stands up for him, protects him from the bullies, and even becomes his new friend. Despite their endearing new dynamic, Min-su betrays her during Mingle, souring their new friendship.

Unfortunately, an ecstatic Nam-gyu later attacked Se-mi during the battle at the dormitory, which led to her sudden and violent death. To make things even worse, Min-su watched everything but didn’t interfere. This is all a real shame, because she was quite a likable and skillful character. She didn’t deserve to die so soon, let alone be betrayed by the person she had defended on multiple occasions.

5

Han Mi-Nyeo

Prioritized Her Revenge Over Her Own Survival

• Player: 212
• Died In: “VIPS” (Season 1, Episode 7)

There’s no denying that Han Mi-nyeo was one of the most memorable and fascinating characters from Season 1, mainly due to her abrasive personality and manipulative tendencies. Not to mention, she had many close calls where it seemed like she was going to die, only to be saved at the last minute.

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But everything changed when she was betrayed by Jang Deok-su, her fellow teammate and the man she was having a physical relationship with. From that point onwards, Mi-nyeo was set on taking revenge on him, which she eventually did during Glass Stepping Stones by throwing herself to the ground alongside Deok-su. As satisfying as this moment was, Mi-nyeo was a solid player who could have used her strategic mind for something more productive than revenge and, thus, could have survived way longer.

4

Park Jung-Bae

Didn’t Make It To The Second Half Of The 2024 Games

• Player: 212
• Died In: “Friend or Foe” (Season 2, Episode 7)

Park Jung-bae was one of the biggest surprises of Season 2. Seong Gi-hun’s childhood friend (who was introduced at the start of Season 1) not only revealed that he used to be part of the Korean Marine Corps, but he also performed surprisingly well in the games, and even played a huge part in his friend’s climactic rebellion.

With his personality, skills, and leadership, Jung-bae had everything to either get very far in the games, or succeed in taking down the Front Man. But he made one big mistake: not telling Gi-hun that Oh Young-il had killed someone in cool blood right during Mingle. Young-il was actually the Front Man in disguise, who stopped their rebellion and murdered Jung-bae to punish Gi-hun. Because of this, it’s sad to think that Park Jung-bae is not going to participate in the second half of the 2024 games that will take place in the upcoming Season 3.

3

Ali Abdul

A Good And Skillful Man That Was Betrayed By His New “Friend”

• Player: 199
• Died In: “Gganbu” (Season 1, Episode 6)

Because of his kind personality and tragic but relatable backstory, Ali Abdul became a fan favorite during Season 1, which made his eventual and inevitable death all the more heartbreaking. During the game of Marbles, Ali teamed up with Cho Sang-woo, only to find out that they had to play against each other.

This is the moment that proved that Ali’s friendly personality and blind trust were actually his two biggest weaknesses. Sang-woo used them to his advantage and betrayed him by replacing the marbles in his bag with pebbles. Ali Abdul’s death remains one of the most frustrating moments in Squid Game to this day. He had performed quite well throughout the game, only to be ruined by Sang-woo’s sudden (and cowardly) betrayal.

2

Kang Sae-Byeok

Survived For A Long Time, But Died For A Very Dumb Reason

• Player: 067
• Died In: “Front Man” (Season 1, Episode 8)

Kang Sae-byeok was definitely “main character” material, thanks to her stoic personality, interesting development, and noble motivations (since she wants to bring her family back from North Korea). While the protagonist of Squid Game is obviously Seong Gi-hun, many viewers believed that Sae-byeok should have won the 2020 edition of the games, a sentiment that was further fueled by Ji-yeong’s tragic and heroic sacrifice.

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But then, she was severely injured by the sudden explosion of the glass panels after she survived Glass Stepping Stones, which to this day remains one of the most bizarre writing choices in all of Squid Game. Because of this injury, Sang-woo was able to kill her that very same night. It would have been interesting to see Sae-byeok participate in the final game, and maybe even win, but it was obvious that the writers had to find an excuse to kill her off and let Sang-woo and Gi-hun face each other in the Squid Game.

1

Choi Su-Bong (Thanos)

The Best Character In Season 2 Won’t Even Appear In Season 3

• Player: 230
• Died In: “Friend or Foe” (Season 2, Episode 7)

When the professional rapper known as Thanos (real name: Choi Su-bong) was first introduced at the start of Season 2, it seemed like he was going to be a boring rethread of Jang Deok-su. Nevertheless, to the surprise of the audience, he ended up becoming one of the best characters of the new season. He was an unpredictable villain with an entertaining personality, not to mention that his actor, Choi Seung-hyun, gave an award-winning performance.

Due to his drug addiction, resentment towards MG Coin, and complicated relationships with the other players, it seemed like the show was setting up Thanos to be the main antagonist of the season, alongside the Front Man. But, he was unceremoniously stabbed to death by Lee Myung-gi in the season finale. While this was a satisfying development for that character, it also left viewers dumbfounded. Thanos was a fun character, so it’s unfortunate that he won’t even be featured in Season 3. Even though Nam-gyu will seemingly take his place, Thanos will be missed.

Squid Game

Release Date

2021 – 2024

Network

Netflix

Showrunner

Hwang Dong-hyuk

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  Lee Jung-jae

  Seong Gi-hun / ‘No. 456’

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