Most Arrogant Squid Game Characters

Summary

• Han Mi-nyeo flaunts arrogance but crumbles under pressure, belittling others to mask her weaknesses.
• The Recruiter preys on the vulnerable, showcasing condescending superiority and archaic views.
• Im Jeong-dae prioritizes personal greed over others, displaying bullying behavior and a disdain for empathy.

Squid Game is a show full of evil, hilarious, and caring characters, with all of them being piled into a series of childish games with a deadly twist. In the short period that these characters are seen on-screen, there is more than enough time for viewers to develop favorites and pick out the figures who are completely irredeemable or straight up awful.

Many of the characters enter the games with a sense of fear and doubt, struggling to keep composed and requiring the aid of others in order to make it through to the next game. But there are also those on the flip side, exhibiting a far more outwardly arrogant personality and having a complete disregard for those around them. Out of them all, here are the most arrogant characters in Squid Game.

8

Han Mi-nyeo

Manipulative And Persistent

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1: “Red Light, Green Light”
• Last Appearance: Season 1, Episode 7: “VIPS”

Han Mi-nyeo demonstrates her flair for egotistical behavior the second she steps on-screen. One of the most flip-flopping and irredeemable characters in the whole show, she constantly flaunts her abilities as an independent woman while leaning on others for help when things start to get tough.

She constantly feels the need to belittle those around her, particularly the other women in the games, like Sae-byeok, who she insults prior to the tug-of-war game, all in an attempt to make herself seem better than everyone else. However, the arrogance is all a facade, as is shown at several points where her weakness comes through, and the mask of confidence comes crumbling down.

7

The Recruiter

Condescension At Its Peak

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1: “Red Light, Green Light”
• Last Appearance: Season 2, Episode 2: “Halloween Party”

Pulling in the weak like a fisherman, the Recruiter marches across Seoul looking for prey to enter the games and enticing the less fortunate with promises of redemption. He is seen condescendingly clapping when players win the Ddakji game he tasks them with, and he very clearly has some kind of superiority complex, constantly looking down on the individuals he reels into the games.

Things only escalate further when he picks up a bunch of buns and lottery tickets and proceeds to enter a park full of homeless people, offering the choice of either whilst destroying the other. This was a hard scene to watch for many, further showcasing that the Recruiter’s view on people who come from lower-income backgrounds or who are struggling financially is truly archaic and awful.

6

Im Jeong-dae

Rallying The Troops

• First Appearance: Season 2, Episode 3: “001”
• Last Appearance: Season 2, Episode 7: “Friend or Foe”

When given the choice to stop the games, many players switch back and forth between sides, weighing up their odds and deciding whether it is worth risking their lives for potentially a big payout. Im Jeong-dae is a participant who wants to continue, convincing others to stay and choosing his own personal greed over the lives of everyone else.

His arrogance and self-centered nature go so far as to be disappointed with the number of remaining players after the second game, repeatedly bullying others and maintaining his leadership position on the money-oriented side. He also disregards the majority of what Gi-hun has to say, ignoring his cries and questioning his role in the games, assuming the worst despite being quite evil himself.

5

Seon-nyeo

The All-Seeing Eye

• First Appearance: Season 2, Episode 3: “001”
• Last Appearance: Season 2, Episode 7: “Friend or Foe”

The shaman herself, her ego is as big as her mouth, sitting high above the other players in the dormitory and asserting a level of dominance over all who stand in her way. A big valuer of loyalty, she holds grudges the second her trust is broken and demeans those who do not wish to follow her, assuming ignorance and a lack of intellect.

While she believes in a god or some higher power, it does seem at times as though she treats herself as a deity figure in the games and someone who should be looked up to and even worshiped. She manages to manipulate a few players into joining her cause as followers and makes quips and remarks at others from afar with little to no concern or consequence.

4

Jang Deok-su

Bullying Anyone In His Way

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1: “Red Light, Green Light”
• Last Appearance: Season 1, Episode 7: “VIPS”

Jang Deok-su is just straight-up mean. It doesn’t take long before his rowdy nature and bullish attitude are shown in the games, using physical violence and his past as a gangster to assert his position as someone who is not to be messed with. He sees others as objects or tools to be used for his cause. A good example oof this is Mi-nyeo, who he used for sexual favors before casting her aside in place of more useful teammates.

He really wants things to go his way, and when there is conflict in the group, he instigates a riot that leads to nearly 30 players losing their lives. Afterward, despite being covered in blood and bruises, he sees it as a victory, counting the corpses as small individual wins and paying no care to the lives that have been lost. All he wants is to win, and he does everything he can to make it happen all the way till his end.

3

Cho Sang-woo

A Friend Turned Foe

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1: “Red Light, Green Light”
• Last Appearance: Season 1, Episode 9: “One Lucky Day”

Sang-woo is up there with the most self-centered characters in Squid Game, clearly demonstrating a desire to win for himself and showing little to no care for others he comes up against. He manipulates Ali during the marbles game, chooses to conceal information regarding the Dalgona game, and constantly stays just outside the limelight to avoid being targeted and increase his odds at winning.

Despite being friends with Gi-hun, there are several moments where he chooses to intentionally hide something or undermine what he says, even if it means killing other players. Though he is incredibly intelligent, he flaunts his high-logical thinking and insults other players for making decisions that he deems stupid. Even in the end, he realizes his own arrogance and chooses a good ending for his otherwise gray character.

2

The VIPs

Seemingly Untouchable Arrogance

• First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 7: “VIPS”
• Last Appearance: Season 1, Episode 9: “One Lucky Day”

One of the most interesting sets of characters and one that isn’t seen for too long, the VIPs are a crowd of rich socialites who congregate in a nearby viewing room in order to watch the games unfold and be treated like royalty. From here, they stare at the players as they struggle through the glass bridge, making comments about each participant and how much better they are in comparison.

It would take a lot of guts to sit and watch other human beings die, on top of using several as pieces of furniture, seeing poorer or less fortunate individuals as items, not people. They are so condescending it hurts, laughing and discussing the players as if they were livestock in a field. On top of all this, they seem to feel absolutely no guilt for their participation.

1

Thanos

Walking Around Like He Owns The Place

• First Appearance: Season 2, Episode 3: “001”
• Last Appearance: Season 2, Episode 7: “Friend or Foe”

Of course, the gold medal for arrogance has to go to Thanos. He simply just does not care about anyone. Right from the start, he shows his disregard, pushing a group of players over in Red Light, Green Light and making advances on the female players, which are always unwelcome and just plain disgusting at times.

Despite all the death and chaos around him, he, in his drugged-up state, treats each game like, well, a game, dancing around in a jolly manner and aggressively pushing others around. He makes more friends than enemies and chooses fun over freedom more than once, parading around his self-importance with his self-proclaimed title as “Thanos the Great.”