‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Creator Hwang Dong-Hyuk & Stars Lee Jung-Jae, Lee Byung-Hun On Crafting A Tale Of Friends Or Foes

SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains details of Season 2 of Netflix’s Squid Game.

A new series of sinister games are afoot. After three years of a highly anticipated wait, the record-breaking Netflix series Squid Game has re-entered the zeitgeist with the recent debut of Season 2.  

The latest season picks up a few years after the events of the first season, which ended with Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), also known as player 456, winning the initial games, earning the ₩45.6 billion cash-out prize. However, instead of enjoying his millions, he has nothing but trauma to show for it. Still grappling with survivors’ guilt, Gi-hun has spent three years steeped in paranoia and isolation while trying to come up with a plan to use his newfound wealth to not only stop the games but also to overthrow the system and its overseers. 

Upon hiring a team of local forces to help him find a way back into the games, Gi-hun proves successful and sets his plan in motion at the risk of further emotional damage from his previous survival. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Gi-hun, the current head of the Squid Game challenges—following the death of the game creator Oh Il-nam at the end of Season 1—is In-ho (Lee Byung-hun), also known as The Front Man, decides to enter the games with a new alias name, Young-il, as Player 001, to prove to Gi-hun that humanity is built on greed and not sacrifice for the greater good. The crux of Season 2 is anchored in the fact that while the audience knows In-ho’s true identity as The Front Man, Gi-hun, who has only ever encountered him in his traditional all-black uniform and mask, decides to befriend him in hopes of survival.

Here, series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk and stars Lee Jung-jae and Lee Byung-hun talk to Deadline about playing devil’s advocate and the fun creative challenges of making Season 2. 

DEADLINE: The main theme of this season, other than greed, seems to be about choices that can be made with pure intentions that lead to bad consequences. One of the things that Gi-hun says to the Front Man is, “The world doesn’t always go the way you want it to go.” How much of this is he projecting on himself as he’s not skipping off into the sunset with his millions instead of trying to topple this unjust system of riches? 

HWANG DONG-HYUK: Not necessarily. I don’t think he was projecting that on himself at that moment because Gi-hun has very good will, he has very good intentions, but it doesn’t always go as planned. As you can see, for instance, with the rebellion, that wasn’t how he expected it to end. In Episode 2, he does say to the Front Man that the world doesn’t go as you want it to be. But I think the words purely meant his goodwill to really turn this world over and just upend the system that he thinks is unjust and just wrong. It is his way of showing his willpower to the Front Man. Season 2 is basically about Gi-hun’s good intentions and conviction to upend the system and his clash with Front Man, who wants to go the other way. I hope people take Gi-hun’s words just as it is, as his willpower to make sure that he puts an end to the system. It might seem like he’s talking about himself, but not quite at that point.

DEADLINE: Your character is in the spotlight this season. Talk about your initial reaction to receiving the script. 

LEE BYUNG-HUN: When Director Hwang decided that we would proceed with Season 2, I was curious about how the narrative would evolve. When I first got the script, I thought it would be very challenging for me as an actor, but very fun and juicy at the same time to play this three persona character. Because I have to act as Front Man, but I’m also evil. Then, sometimes, he talks about his past truthfully when living as In-ho. Then, after he goes into the game, he takes on this fake identity of Oh Young-il. So, there’s three people that I have to portray, and I knew it was going to be fun, but I had a little pressure about whether I could really pull it off. But most importantly, my heart was fluttering to take on this character. 

DEADLINE: I love the six-legged relay race episode. What do you remember about that day between you and Lee Jung-jae? 

BYUNG-HUN: This was the first time I was truly taking on my fake identity, and I thought long and hard about whether I should really enjoy the games or how nervous I should be, so striking that balance was really important to me. I talked to Director Hwang about it, and we agreed. At one point, In-ho probably would have found it very suspenseful, but he was actually enjoying it himself. That’s how I try to portray my character in those scenes. Director Hwang told me that it was very fun to see In-ho intentionally not doing good with the spin top because that really escalates the tension and suspense. I enjoyed that part too.

HWANG: He practiced with his left hand because he’s supposed to be left-handed in the game. 

BYUNG-HUN: I’m an expert now [laughs]. 

DEADLINE: Which game are you all better at in real life?  

BYUNG-HUN: I got the spin top and practiced so much that I almost rig any game. If you want me to fail, I can fail. I can even use my right hand. I was so good at it [laughs]. 

HWANG: [turns to Lee Jung-jae] you practiced so many times. Do you play Jegichagi? 

LEE JUNG-JAE: It’s been so long since I’ve played Jegi. At first, I couldn’t really get it afloat, and I knew that I had to practice a lot, so I practiced a lot, but my pelvis hurt because I practiced too much. 

DEADLINE: Director Hwang, do you test these games before bringing them to the actors? Or do you suffer along with them on set as they play? 

HWANG: Of course. I always rehearse myself to see how happy [the challenge] is. I’m good at the spin top, but I am not good at Jegichagi. I was worried about him playing well on set, but he did such a great job. JJ was good at Jegi, but the timing is really important and hard to do. None of the actors got it right, but JJ got the jegi afloat in the frame. We were worried that we might have to use some CGI because nobody could get it to work, but he did a perfect job. 

DEADLINE: In Season 2, you get to play devil’s advocate in the reveals about The Front Man and the guards. Talk more about why you decided to uncover more secrets and whether there was fear in thinking you were revealing too much. 

HWANG: When I started writing the script for Season 2, I thought the most important thing about Season 2 and Season 3 is the clash between Gi-hun’s conviction to end the game and Front Man to stop him from doing that. I wanted to unmask him in Season 2, and I wanted him to take the place of Oh Il-nam, the old man in Season 1. In order to do that, I had to tell the viewers why he became Front Man. What’s the history? What’s the backstory behind him? I had lots of fun writing and filming the part when the Front Man comes to the bedside of Gi-hun, at Gi-hun still not knowing the true identity of this guy, he tells him about why he came into the game, and he tells the truth because he talks about why he first joined the game a dozen years ago. 

There’s that lie and truth element both playing in that scene. I thought it was very interesting how, while he is tricking, he is telling him about his true story. I also loved watching Byung-hun doing a great performance there. You asked me if I’m fearful about revealing too much about In-ho, but I think in Season 2, I haven’t revealed that much about In-ho, and you’ll find more of his backstories in Season 3. Stay tuned and check it out [laugh].

DEADLINE: The last episode in the season is called “Friend or Foe.” It begs the question: is it better to live ignorantly confined to the discriminatory ways the world works, or is it better to go against the system and risk lives in the process? How did both of you process your character’s journeys by the end of this season?  

JUNG-JAE: I found the most enjoyable part in the script is how Gi-hun’s thoughts and ideas evolve across his journey in Season 2. I hope viewers can sometimes relate to him, but sometimes they might disagree with him, and then all of a sudden, they might change their mind and say, “Actually, we need that benevolence in our society.” I think viewers will also be on this roller coaster of changing emotions. As Gi-hun’s emotions change, I hope viewers’ feelings will also follow that change and those twists and turns. If the creative intent of this show is portrayed very well and the viewers feel like they’re on that roller coaster. This feeling would be a big success, because it’s not about whether or not Season 2 beats Season 1. It’s really about conveying the message that we want to get across. 

BYUNG-HUN: When Front Man decides to join the game and goes into the game, he knows that Gi-hun wants to overthrow this whole system, but Front Man is there to stop him. The two people’s goals are very clear, but Front Man still stays by his side. He wants to see what he does and also sometimes tests Gi-hun to some extent. As the journey unfolds, I believe that they developed somewhat of a camaraderie as they’re playing the death games together, and they’re in it together.

There might’ve even been some moments when he found spots of his own self in Gi-hun, like his past self when he still had that benevolence left in him, and he probably had these new perspectives and new feelings about Gi-hun as they played the games together and went towards the end of the season. At the end, I think about how Gi-hun always sees that there is still hope in humanity. Front Man feels otherwise, but maybe there were moments when he hoped that Gi-hun was right, and there were some moments when he actually wanted to root for him to a small extent.

DEADLINE: In having these two play this nuanced balance of good and evil. What did you admire this time in their work for this season? 

HWANG: I enjoyed every moment of working with these two on the set. Every moment of working together with them on set was a joy. These two characters and these two actors evolved throughout the season. For the episode, “Friends or Foe,” I loved the rebellion scene. At first, In-ho, who’s playing Young-il, disagrees then when Gi-hun tells him that we have to end this game whether we have some sacrifices or not, and the facial expression of In-ho slightly changes at this moment, and then he agrees to work together with him for the rebellion. I guess it was the moment when they met in the gray area. Gi-hun always wanted to do something good. He was the good guy, but this time, he acknowledges that he might need some sacrifice to reach his goal. I love that change in character, and I think In-ho probably saw his older self in him. That might be something that he also thought to himself in the past.

Because they share that same emotion, that’s why they are in this rebellion together. Watching them perform this scene was fascinating for me as a director. It was just so interesting. My very favorite is the finale when they locked eyes, Gi-hun gives them the bullets that he got with his life on the line, and then In-ho just uses those bullets to annihilate all the people. After filming that scene, I just felt like I was so lucky that I have these two amazing actors. I loved working with them. I loved how they’re portraying the changes in their characters, but this is not the end. In Season 3, the two people go through another evolution. It’s going to be even more interesting. There’s going to be head-spinning surprises. So, once again, stay tuned [laughs]. 

DEADLINE: Was there a scene that resonated differently with you all after completing it that, while making it, you didn’t think it would translate well onscreen at first? 

JUNG-JAE: For me, I would have to say the Red Light, Green Light scene. I knew it had to be really good because it’s such a symbolic game. It was very symbolic in Season 1 and Season 2 because it was the first game, and we had to convey a new vibe of entertainment to the viewers. It’s Gi-hun’s new take on the same game, and the first one had to be good in order for the viewers to stick around and enjoy the other games as well. I felt a bit of pressure with that scene, especially because this time, Gi-hun is leading the 455 people to ensure that we don’t lose any lives anymore. I felt a lot of pressure while filming, but it turned out great later.

BYUNG-HUN: When I first read the script, it was the scene when we were playing the Mingle game, and then in the room, where there was Jung-bae, I had to kill a contestant. When I’m killing the contestant, I’m looking Jung-bae in the eye while I’m killing him. To Jung-bae, he thought that I was his own team, and I probably felt like a total stranger to him at that moment when he sees me killing this guy. and I wanted to make sure that when viewers saw me in that scene, they saw hints of Front Man, In-ho and Young-il all in myself. I was focused on portraying the scene, and I worked hard to make sure that I could pull off three characters in that scene.

HWANG: For me, not one scene was easy for me to shoot, but I would say that one of my favorite [films] is Hunt, and there’s a lot of Russian Roulette scenes in there, which I really love. I thought that in one of my projects, I really wanted to try out this Russian Roulette in my own style. There are two Russian Roulette scenes in Season 2, and the second one with Gi-hun and the Recruiter is the one that I really loved. I wanted my own signature Russian Roulette scene with my own twist to it, and I think I got it right. I worked hard on writing the script and filming the scene. When I saw it at the premiere, I thought the performance was breathtaking, and I really enjoyed how it turned out. I think there’s a lot of suspense and tension in that scene, and also, because it’s the finale of the first episode of Season 2, that made it even more important. After I saw it at the premiere, I had this long sigh of relief because I liked it.

[This interview, conducted through an interpreter, has been edited for length and clarity]