Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Squid Game.
Seong Gi-hun is the main protagonist of Squid Game season 1, but there are a number of clues throughout the show that he could become the new Front Man in season 2. After hitting rock bottom due to mounting gambling debts, Gi-hun enters the titular games to try to get his life back, help his ailing mother, and reconnect with his daughter. In the end, Gi-hun wins the Squid Game competition, but his fate thereafter isn’t fully explored.
After surviving the games and winning the 45.6 billion won, Gi-hun becomes paralyzed by the trauma and survivor’s guilt he suffered. Eventually, he’s called on by Oh Il-nam, who reveals himself to both be alive and the original founder of the Squid Game competition itself. Following their final meeting, Gi-hun cleans himself up and prepares to journey to see his daughter in America, but he decides to not get on the plane after seeing a Squid Game recruiter continuing the games’ dark work.
The implication is that Gi-hun intends to dismantle the games in Squid Game season 2, but his fate could be a lot darker. Because of what’s been revealed about the inner workings of the shadowy organization that runs the games, and because of Gi-hun’s own past transgressions, he could instead become the new Front Man in Squid Game season 2, taking the place of In-ho. Here’s how it could happen.
How Is Squid Game's Front Man Chosen?
Though the Front Man plays a huge role in the story of Squid Game, he mostly remains a mystery. The big reveal that the Front Man is actually In-ho is jarring to say the least, mostly because there’s no explanation given for how he went from a former Squid Game player to one of the most important people in the whole organization. In-ho won the games in 2015, and it's possible that he’s been involved with them ever since.
There are a lot of questions that need to be answered for Squid Game’s Front Man to be fully understood. The elaborate suit, mask, and persona of the Front Man imply that the role has been part of the games for a long time, suggesting that In-ho may not have been the first Front Man. However, that isn’t confirmed, and it’s equally plausible that, after In-ho won the games, a new role was created just for him because he caught the eye of the founder. His route from winner to Front Man suggests there could be some kind of natural pipeline there – a history of Squid Game winners becoming part of the organization – but as of now, no such direct connection has been confirmed.
The Founder's Death Means Big Changes For Squid Game
Secret villain and games founder Oh Il-nam dies by the end of Squid Game season 1, and his death could have massive repercussions for the organization he created. Il-nam left heightened power in the hands of the Front Man when he chose to join the games himself, suggesting that he came to trust In-ho immensely. In the wake of Il-nam’s death, In-ho could rise to an even higher position within the organization, leaving the role of the Front Man open for someone else to step into.
Il-nam’s death could lead to larger changes to the Squid Game games as well. In a group that’s so dependent on loyalty and secrecy, the loss of a longtime leader could be dangerous. There have already been clear instances of dissension within the ranks of the organization, such as when the henchmen harvested organs in Squid Game season 1. Without Il-nam there to maintain the same expectations of order and tradition, new power structures and systems could rise up – either alongside In-ho, or against him.
Squid Game's Gi-hun Could Still Turn Evil
The mystery surrounding Squid Game’s Front Man role and the potential shakeups in the organization following the founder’s death both open the opportunity for someone new to rise up as Front Man. However, Gi-hun might still seem like a bit of a stretch. Throughout the competition, he shows himself to be compassionate and mostly nonviolent, and he clearly detests the creators of the games by the end of the show. In fact, the last shot of Gi-hun not getting on the plane to America suggests he’s decided to fight the Squid Game villains as hard as he can.
However, none of that precludes Gi-hun from falling to the dark side in Squid Game season 2, as he’s also shown himself to be capable of deplorable behavior when he becomes desperate. At the start of the show, Gi-hun is depicted as a despicable person – a man who’s more than happy to leech off of his mother, steal her money, and ignore her pain, all to continue some self-indulgent fantasy. He doesn’t even seem to care for his daughter all that much until his mother berates him about their poor relationship. Does that guarantee that Gi-hun will revert to his old, less savory ways in Squid Game season 2? No, but it’s definitely within the realm of possibility for the character.
Theory: Gi-hun Becomes The Front Man In Squid Game Season 2
All of these different factors – Gi-hun’s past dalliances with selfish behavior, the precedent for a Squid Game winner becoming the Front Man, and the inevitable shifts within Il-nam’s organization following his death – open up the possibility for Gi-hun to become the Front Man in Squid Game season 2. It would be a huge twist, and one that could manifest in a number of different ways. Perhaps Squid Game season 2 features a time jump and follows a group of entirely new characters, one of whom eventually realizes the identity of the Front Man has changed. Or maybe Gi-hun’s quest for vengeance is turned on its head, with him ultimately being indoctrinated ion the same way that In-ho was.
It’s even possible that Gi-hun could work his way into the Front Man position to dismantle the Squid Game organization from within. Because the character wears a mask and distorts his voice, season 2 could pull off a huge twist by replacing the man inside the Front Man costume and only revealing it later on. In-ho’s story isn’t over by any means, and neither is Gi-hun’s. Given how many twists and turns are littered throughout the first season, Squid Game season 2 will surely be littered with even more. Nothing seems impossible – not even Gi-hun becoming the Front Man.