‘Squid Game’ Creator Reflects On ‘Heavy’ Death In Season 2 Finale

The lethal stakes of “Squid Game” have all the time been matched by their emotional weight, and Season 2’s finale delivers one of the gut-wrenching moments but.

In a current interview, “Squid Sport” creator Hwang Dong-hyuk opened up about crafting this pivotal scene, the emotional weight it carries, and why it was the appropriate second to ship such a devastating blow to each the characters and the viewers.

Warning: Main spoilers forward for the Season 2 finale of “Squid Sport,” now streaming on Netflix.

“Squid Sport” Season 2 wraps up its intense seventh and remaining episode with a devastating blow: Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) witnesses the brutal execution of his closest ally, Jung-bae (Lee Search engine marketing-hwan). The deadly shot is delivered by The Entrance Man (Lee Byung-hun) after Gi-hun sparks a rise up among the many remaining gamers.

Whereas Jung-bae’s dying is already a stunning and gut-wrenching second, it carries a fair heavier weight for viewers. Not like Gi-hun, the viewers is painfully conscious of The Entrance Man’s true identification: In-ho, a former Squid Sport champion who has since risen to grow to be the enigmatic head enforcer of the lethal competitors.

All through the sport, In-ho has been masquerading as Participant 001 underneath the alias Younger-il, embedding himself inside Gi-hun and Jung-bae’s interior circle. By constructing belief and feigning loyalty to their trigger and rebellion, he expertly manipulates their bond.

However in a chilling flip, In-ho sheds his disguise, reassumes his function as The Entrance Man, and delivers the deadly shot to Jung-bae—an act of brutal punishment aimed immediately at Gi-hun.

“Squid Game” Season 2 concludes with a jaw-dropping cliffhanger as The Entrance Man (In-ho, disguised as Younger-il—although Gi-hun stays unaware) mercilessly kills Jung-bae proper earlier than Gi-hun’s eyes. Held down by the pink guards, Gi-hun is pressured to look at in horror as his pal bleeds out, his screams echoing in despair.

“Once I first wrote the story of Seasons 2 and three it was one lengthy story arc,” “Squid Sport” creator Hwang Dong-hyuk advised Variety. “And I used to be initially planning to put in writing this story throughout a span of about eight to 9 episodes, however as soon as I completed the story, it got here to over 10 episodes, which I believed was too lengthy to comprise in a single season.”

“And so I needed to have an satisfactory level the place I may give closure as a second season after which transfer on with the third. And whenever you take a look at Gi-hun’s story, all of his makes an attempt that he places in to cease the sport: the primary one being getting these mercenaries and making an attempt to plant a monitoring machine, that goes to fail; the second try of making an attempt to influence individuals to vote in order that they’ll go away the sport, that goes to fail as nicely; after which the third and final try of bringing individuals collectively and inflicting the rise up, it additionally all goes to fail.”

Hwang Dong-hyuk went on to clarify how all of his failures “result in this heavy, heavy disaster of getting to lose his best possible pal, Jung-bae, by the hands of The Entrance Man.”

“And when you concentrate on Gi-hun’s journey, I believed that that was an satisfactory second to place a cease and provides him somewhat little bit of closure alongside that lengthy story arc,” he continued. “After which from that second on, within the third season, having that sense of big guilt and sense of failure weighing closely on him — how is Gi-hun going to hold on his mission? That’s the story that’ll additional unfold.”

As of early November, “Squid Sport” Season 1 has amassed a powerful 330 million viewers and over 2.8 billion hours watched since its premiere on September 17, 2021.

“You watch the present, and you’ll’t assist however begin to marvel — how would I react if I have been put in certainly one of these conditions,” Josh Simon, Netflix’s VP of shopper merchandise and dwell experiences, stated. “The video games within the collection and the unscripted present are based mostly on easy, well-known video games that individuals play rising up, so the foundations aren’t tremendous sophisticated. It’s extra concerning the strain of that surroundings.”

The streamer additionally reported a 60% surge in Season 1 viewership following the discharge of the primary Season 2 teaser on October 31. Season 1 beforehand earned six Emmy Awards, together with Finest Lead Actor in a Drama Collection for Lee Jung-jae.