SPOILER ALERT: This text incorporates main spoilers from “Squid Sport” Season 2 finale, now streaming on Netflix.

Going through betrayal from an inside man infiltrating the Squid Video games is nothing new for Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) inside the twisted “Squid Sport” universe.

When the primary season of the Korean drama launched on Netflix in 2021, watching Participant 001, the previous man Oh Il-nam (Oh Yeong-su), be revealed because the creator of the video games got here as a complete shock for each Gi-hun and the viewer. However in “Squid Sport” Season 2, which dropped Thursday, the sudden involvement of head sport guard The Entrance Man (Lee Byung-hun), whose actual title is In-ho, is dealt with fairly in a different way when he joins the video games as Participant 001 upon Gi-hun’s reentry into the competitors.

In-ho makes use of the faux title Younger-il when he introduces himself to Gi-hun, who has returned to the video games in “Squid Sport” Season 2 to attempt to take them down from the within, and conceals his actual id and motives whereas slowly trying to achieve Gi-hun’s belief and construct a bunch of likeminded gamers.

“I believe it’s form of enjoyable as a result of solely the viewers is aware of that it’s him so it’s extra tense for them to look at him within the sport, forming this alliance with Gi-hun,” Lee Jung-jae tells Selection. “I believe all of the viewers can be serious about is when Gi-hun will lastly notice that he’s The Entrance Man, or what sport he can go till with out revealing his id.”

When Lee Byung-hun first met with “Squid Sport” creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk to debate doable instructions for Season 2, they casually speculated over drinks about In-ho’s backstory. Whereas Season 2 in the end doesn’t present his previous — selecting as a substitute to present particulars by dialogue about In-ho’s late spouse who died of sickness once they had been destitute — Lee Byung-hun saved serious about how his character entered the Squid Sport the primary time he performed and, like Gi-hun after him, received the competitors, and the way his spirit has modified since.

“He’s actually seen form of the underside pit of humanity and within the midst of the violence and desperation of Squid Sport, his hope for humanity and the world has actually dwindled,” Lee Byung-hun explains. “He has this very pessimistic view of the folks on this planet round him.”

One other one of many returning “Squid Sport” characters is detective Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon), who groups up with Gi-hun initially of Season 2 to try to discover the Squid Sport island once more. Jun-ho made his approach there in Season 1 trying to find his lacking brother, In-ho, later discovering out that his brother has gone from a former competitor within the video games to turning into The Entrance Man himself. Jun-ho was shot by his brother upon this revelation in Season 1 and barely survived falling off the cliffs of the Squid Sport island. When he groups up with Gi-hun to attempt to get again to the island once more and finish the video games in Season 2, he decides to not inform Gi-hun that The Entrance Man is his brother.

Exhibiting In-ho taking part in the video games alongside Gi-hun, who nonetheless fights to imagine in the most effective in folks and humanity — regardless of the cruelty of the Squid Sport — pits two opposing characters collectively. Lee Byung-hun was tasked to behave out a lot of this subtly as In-ho (who watched Gi-hun from behind a masks in Season 1) research Gi-hun by the assorted video games whereas forming a bond with him and never letting his true ideas out.

Lee Byung-hun describes how “when [In-ho] meets Gi-hun, who continues to be making an attempt to interrupt down the system, who returns to the video games to have the ability to change one thing, as a result of he nonetheless has hope for humanity — I believe In-ho actually needs to interrupt Gi-hun’s spirit, and that’s why you see him observing him all through the video games and really meticulously making a plan to dismantle a number of what he’s doing.”

“Squid Sport” Season 2 comes with a brand new set of violent video games that take a look at the alliances fashioned with a largely new solid of gamers. But it surely all begins off with the identical “Crimson Gentle, Inexperienced Gentle” competitors that kicked off the primary season. Whereas Lee Jung-jae says it was a tough five-day shoot, he discovered it to be essentially the most enjoyable of the Season 2 video games to movie.

Lee Jung-jae explains: “It’s very completely different as a result of this time round, Gi-hun’s aim is to avoid wasting as many individuals as doable. The ‘Crimson Gentle, Inexperienced Gentle’ sport gave a giant shock to followers in Season 1 however now, it has a completely completely different ambiance.”

Lee Byung-hun says that for In-ho, whereas he’s collaborating within the video games as Younger-il, “you do discover him virtually momentarily having fun with the state of affairs.” “And I believe that is only a very small glimpse of his previous self,” he added.

Probably the most difficult a part of the season from an emotional standpoint for Lee Jung-jae was the rise up scene within the Season 2 finale. Within the last episode, Gi-hun watches his shut buddy, Jung-bae (Lee Search engine marketing-hwan), die by the hands of The Entrance Man, marking the top of any hope for the rising rise up. The Entrance Man places his masks again on out of sight, so Gi-hun doesn’t know it’s In-ho/Younger-Il, who Gi-hun really thinks has already been killed throughout this battle.

Lee Byung-hun explains why In-ho makes the selection to kill Jung-bae in entrance of Gi-hun after going out of his strategy to save his life earlier through the bloody musical-chairs-esque Mingle sport, the place he killed one other man along with his naked arms to maintain Jung-bae alive.

“I might say that till the Mingle sport, In-ho continues to be a participant or a member of this very tight-knit group with Jung-bae and Gi-hyun,” Lee Byung-hun stated. “So even supposing he exhibits Jung-bae this very violent aspect of him by killing somebody inside the room, he nonetheless wants to keep up this air that he’s one crew with Gi-hun and Jung-bae. On the very finish of Season 2, I actually considered, what’s he feeling when he has to kill Jung-bae as a result of on the finish of the day, he’s nonetheless a human being, and he goes by the video games collectively, and there needs to be a minimum of some form of emotional bond that’s constructed between him and Gi-hun and Jung-bae. Nonetheless, I do perceive that him killing Jung-bae is a instrument to have the ability to awaken Gi-hun to the fact of what’s occurring. And a dialog I had with director Hwang was, how does In-ho, or The Entrance Man, really feel when he’s killing Jung-bae? And I believe it’s a feeling of form of bitterness, nonetheless, I believe the way in which In-ho understands it’s that he’s giving up one thing small for a much bigger message to Gi-hun.”

The Entrance Man’s actions (a betrayal that has but to completely reveal itself to Gi-hun till he is aware of In-ho is the one behind the masks) sting much more as Gi-hun and his crew of mates come so near pulling off the rise up and escaping the video games for good.

“I believe the finale did a superb job maximizing the feelings for viewers so it seems like they’re on an emotional curler coaster journey,” Lee Jung-jae says. “They’re left on the very peak.”

Lee Byung-hun feels that In-ho’s betrayal confirms that “within the course of of those actually grueling and violent video games, his emotions light.” “Emotions of hope and pleasure are lengthy gone within the In-ho you meet in Season 2,” he stated.

With “Squid Sport” Season 2 solely consisting of seven episodes versus the primary season’s 9, and the foremost cliffhanger that the second-season story ends on, Lee Jung-jae isn’t positive how viewers will obtain it. “Possibly they’ll curse us for stopping there on the finale,” he wonders with fun.

Whereas Season 2 leaves many questions unanswered, the installment was filmed back-to-back with the present’s third and last season, which is confirmed for a 2025 launch. So followers received’t should be cursing the crew for too lengthy earlier than discovering out how this showdown between Gi-hun and In-ho involves an finish. And it’s wanting like it is going to be a really darkish conclusion certainly, if In-ho has his approach.

“In-ho is a personality that now not has perception or hope within the outdoors world,” Lee Byung-hun says. “So it’s virtually like he has nowhere to go, as a result of that isn’t actually a world that he seems like he’s part of anymore. So it’s much less so the truth that he needs to guard the world of Squid Sport, it’s extra in order that he feels that it’s fully hopeless outdoors. All these persons are going to die in a extremely form of pathetic approach anyway, so why not play the video games, and why not give a minimum of one particular person a brand new life and a way of alternative? As a result of he has this very pessimistic view of the world, he does really feel just like the world of Squid Sport a minimum of makes extra sense than the world outdoors of it.”