Why Squid Game Season 2's Main Character Shouldn't Be Gi-hun
Warning: SPOILERS for Squid Game follow
South Korean's overnight sensation Squid Game is almost guaranteed to be renewed for season 2, but the hit Netflix series should not feature season 1 protagonist Seong Gi-hun in a lead role. Squid Game is officially a worldwide phenomenon, becoming the streaming giant's biggest new series launch to date. Thanks to the many twists and turns in its final episode leaving the door wide open for continuation, speculation abounds as to what direction an inevitable season 2 will take.
The final episode of Squid Game features Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) becoming the winner of the show's signature death games, but failing to adjust to normal life after returning home to find his mother dead. In a pivotal scene, after spotting the man who originally scouted him for the competition at the airport, Gi-hun decides not to board a plane for the U.S. to be with his daughter, and remains in Korea. All signs point to the character being a major player in season 2, as he presumably goes after the Front Man in an attempt to shut down the operation in some way. While this thread should certainly carry through, Gi-hun's story should come secondary to a totally new plot line.
Rather than focusing on Gi-hun, Squid Game season 2 should instead follow the journey of one of the game's many anonymous masked workers—specifically one with the circle design. So much of the series' success is due to its masterful use of suspense, surprise and surrealism, and after the revelations of season 1, Gi-hun simply knows too much. Though there are theories on how the Squid Game workers are chosen, nothing has been officially revealed, meaning that a season following a circle worker—the lowest level in the hierarchy—has huge potential for surprise and intrigue.
Police officer Hwang Jun-ho's storyline gave viewers an important glimpse into the inner workings of the games themselves, but even more interesting was the idea that low-level workers may have less freedom than the contestants. This gives a second season potential to explain what would make someone choose to work at the games. It's totally feasible that the low-level workers are in as much real-world trouble as the games' contestants, and given the game designer's clear love for twists and schemes, it's plausible Squid Game's masked workers are wrapped up in some kind of game of their own.
Following a circle worker could also keep contestants and the Front Man featured in the show while keeping it interesting. Too much time spent on Gi-hun's supposed revenge could change the tone of the show into something less surprising and gripping—even if he were eventually to take over the job, as some theories suggest. A circle worker's perspective, however, could give viewers a glimpse of how the Front Man reacts to Gi-hun's vendetta and how new contestants handle the game while still leaving plenty of room for surprises along the way. Perhaps it could also address the largely unexplained mystery of why henchmen were harvesting organs in season 1.
Finally, as Gi-hun is a fascinating character in his own right, he should, of course, feature in season 2. He could very successfully have an arc that mirror's Jun-ho's from season 1—that of an outsider infiltrating the games to take them down. This feels like a natural story line for Gi-hun, though to make it a major focus of a season may transform it into a heavy-handed retread of a story the audience has already seen. A circle worker forced into a morally bankrupt job, then given the chance to help Gi-hun, all while navigating an insane behind-the-scenes game-within-a-game, though—that sounds like it could be Squid Game at its finest.