While Squid Game's unpredictability leaves Gi-hun's season 2 fate ambiguous, his main character status improves his odds of surviving. In Squid Game season 1, Gi-hun makes several morally questionable decisions for survival, but he only does so out of sheer desperation. Even towards the end of season 1, Gi-hun somehow holds on to his humanity. In an attempt to revolt against everything he was put through during the games, he refuses to touch his Squid Game prize money. To conclude his season 1 journey with goodwill, he even gives Sae-byeok's younger brother Kang Cheol and Sang-woo's mother a share of his prize.
However, just when it looks like Gi-hun has found redemption, he turns away from the flight that reunites him with his daughter and paces toward the games to seek revenge. Although the plot details surrounding Gi-hun's Squid Game season 2 arc are shrouded in mystery, it is hard not to wonder how he will fight against the game's organizers. Will he join the battle royale again as a contestant or use the power of his newfound wealth to duke it out with the battle royale's bidders? Whatever path he treads, he will likely face even graver challenges and games in Squid Game season 2.
Squid Game Season 2 Will Follow Gi-Hun Again
Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed that Gi-hun begins season 2 exactly where he left season 1. This affirms that although the Korean series will add new characters to the mix, Gi-hun will still remain the primary protagonist. Without spoiling Squid Game season 2, Hwang also hinted at Gi-hun's season 2 journey by quoting one of his lines from season 1: "I’m not a horse, and I’m curious to know who did this to us." While this does not reveal much about Squid Game season 2's story details, it confirms that Gi-hun will be the follow-up's lead character.
It would also make narrative sense to maintain Gi-hun's status as Squid Game's main character, considering how all the primary characters of the Netflix drama die towards the end of season 1. Being the only connective thread between Squid Game's seasons 1 and 2, Gi-hun is the only character who maintains a semblance of consistency between the follow-up and its predecessor. Without him as the lead, Squid Game season 2 would likely not come off as an immediate successor of Squid Game season 1.
Gi-hun Surviving Season 2 Will Be Too Similar To Season 1
Gi-hun's Squid Game return promises that season 2 will likely harp on the same notes that made its predecessor so entertaining. However, it also comes with its own set of challenges. For instance, since Gi-hun is Squid Game's main character and the series has already invested a significant part of its runtime in his development, it would not make sense for the show to abruptly end his storyline in season 2. On the other hand, his survival in Squid Game season 2 would be too similar to his season 1 fate, which could diminish the nail-biting unpredictability season 1 brings to the table.
Gi-hun Might Be a Villain In Squid Game Season 2
Even though Gi-hun tries his best to preserve his humanity in Squid Game season 1, a part of him dies when he kills his childhood best friend to win the games and later returns home to find his mother dead. His biggest dilemma of not having enough money disappears, but so does everything else by season 1's finale. With almost nothing left to lose after his first run at the games, Gi-hun will return to them in Squid Game season 2 with only one harrowing purpose: to seek revenge against the game's creators and bidders.
Given how Gi-hun had to channel the worst side of himself to first manipulate the old man in Squid Game's marble challenge and then murder his best friend Cho Sang-woo to win the final game, he will have to bring out the villain inside him to survive season 2's games as a player. Maintaining his altruism as a powerful bidder in Squid Game season 2 would again be a slippery slope since he seems too blinded by his lust for vengeance to handle the immense responsibility that comes with power. Either way, Lee Jung-jae's Gi-hun will probably incline more toward becoming an anti-hero in Squid Game season 2 and will likely face many a moral dilemma before he finds peace.
Even if Gi-hun is not Squid Game season 2's antagonist, there is no way he can go back to filling the role of a hero. In season 1, it is his desperation to pay off his debts, raise his daughter, and treat his mother that drives him to return to the games. The fact that he still cooperates with his fellow players and shows compassion for them makes him worthy of being called a heroic figure. However, with none of these lower-middle-class pressures on his plate, Gi-hun will have the comfort of privilege in Squid Game season 2, regardless of how much he hates his prize money. This, by default, would make him the Netflix show's villain since he is nothing like the debt-ridden players.
Squid Game Season 2 Has To Keep Gi-hun Alive
Since Squid Game has established Gi-hun (aka Player 456) as its lead and killed off all the other primary characters, it will have to keep him alive in season 2. This may create some narrative redundancies, but will at least maintain some connection between Squid Game's seasons. By turning him into an antagonist, Squid Game's second installment can avoid repeating season 1's storylines while still keeping Gi-hun alive. However, to ensure that his transformation from a hero to a villain is not too big of a leap, the Netflix Korean drama will have to find a way to gradually portray the change in his characterization.
With that said, even if Squid Game season 2 borrows season 1's narrative structure, the tantalizing prospect of watching Gi-hun survive the games all over again would be quite enthralling. Changing the games alone could add a dash of novelty that season 2 needs. As long as Squid Game's creators stay true to the vision and thought-provoking themes of the series, the series will likely not disappoint with its future installments.