Squid Game Season 2 premiered on December 26th, 2024, with seven episodes to its name. With the new season came plenty of more characters and a lovable cast. Like the previous season, there are plenty of likable characters that have won over the viewers’ hearts with their personalities, sad backstories, or their closeness with Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae). Typically, viewers have grown to love characters who were on Gi-hun’s side, but surprisingly, this season had likable characters that opposed Gi-hun, like Thanos (T.O.P.).
However, while the Season 2 cast is pretty solid, one character this season stands out the most. This character is neither Gi-hun nor Young-il (Lee Byung-hun); rather, this character is Cho Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon), a transgender woman who has faced plenty of discrimination and prejudice. Ever since her first appearance in Squid Game, she has caught the attention of fans globally. From her courageous personality to her bold persona, Hyun-ju is the real MVP of Season 2 of Squid Game.
10
Helped Gi-hun Save an Eliminated Contestant
When Gi-hun rejoined the Squid Game competition, he was thrown back into a mix of challengers and competitors, all of whom did not know what to expect out of the games. But after alerting them of the danger that they were all in, everyone obeyed Gi-hun’s directions. However, on occasion, a few players ended up missing the mark and moved. In one player’s case, a dead body fell on him, causing him to move. As a result, he was shot in a non-fatal area, and while Gi-hun and others made it to the end, Gi-hun saw the player beg for help. In an attempt to save the injured contestant, Gi-hun ran back to help him up, encouraging the contestant to lean on him for support, but what Gi-hun didn’t realize was that one person could not save the eliminated player alone, especially in a game that qualifies the slightest movement as a means of elimination.
Before the two players could stumble forward during “red light,’ Gi-hun and the contestant are saved by a mysterious woman who helps support the injured contestant by helping him up from the opposite side as Gi-hun. Though she remains nameless for the remainder of the episode, Hyun-ju, from first impressions, is reminiscent of Ali from Season 1 of Squid Game, as he also assisted Gi-hun and helped him avoid getting eliminated immediately.
9
Served as a Supportive Team Member During the Six-Legged Pentathlon
The six-legged pentathlon was a five-partner race through a series of deadly childhood games: Ddakji, Flying Stone (Biseokchigi), Gonggi, Spinning Top and Jegi. Each player on the team had to pick a game to play, and the first two teams that attempted the pentathlon ended up being eliminated due to the high pressure and stress of the overall game. With it being timed, many players found themselves slipping up, and the first two teams did not survive.
The third team to go through the six-legged pentathlon was Hyun-ju’s team, which consisted of the following players: Hyun-ju, Geum-ja (Kang Ae-sim), Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun), Young-mi (Kim Shi-eun), and Seon-nyeo (Chae Kook-hee). While a strong team, all the players found themselves stressed out. However, Hyun-ju remained composed for the most part of the pentathlon, encouraging Young-mi and starting a trend of other team members encouraging and assisting one another. Not to mention, she knocked some sense into Seon-nyeo when she began to freak out too much.
8
Never Backed Down From Her Convictions
If there was one thing to love about Hyun-ju, it was her strongly-held convictions. Unlike many of the characters in the show, such as Young-mi or Yong-sik, Hyun-ju stood proud and loud about her own beliefs. She was certainly more on the quiet side at first, seemingly not interested in making friends as she had a goal in mind, but she never wavered. On the other hand, characters like Yong-sik never truly did what they believed in due to judgment or external factors.
One such conviction of Hyun-ju’s was continuing the game. While viewers may not agree with her stance, she never backed down under any influence and made her own decision to keep the game going. Unfortunately, after Young-mi’s death, Hyun-ju was inspired to stop the games, which made her an incredibly reliable ally for Gi-hun.
7
Remained Loyal to Her Comrades
In Squid Game, there are always factions and friends. Though plenty of players enter the games without planning on making friends, the opposite tends to happen, especially since traversing the games alone can be dangerous. This is especially the case since there are a few team-based games, and in such instances as Mingle, it’s good to have friends (except in the case of being Thanos’ friend).
Hyun-ju was a defiantly loyal friend to her comrades and fellow competitors. For the first group she formed, she made sure to help protect them during the games. This was especially important during Mingle, when competitors had to team up and gather themselves in a single room. In cases like these, Hyun-ju made sure to gather her friends and secure them a room. She even went as far as to dispose of a member who was questionable at best and to keep the other ones she trusted safe.
6
Never Judged a Single Contestant
Hyun-ju was very familiar with prejudice and discrimination. A former Special Forces sergeant, after coming out as transgender, Hyun-ju was blacklisted from employment and lost all her friends and associates.
Because of the prejudice she faced, Hyun-ju never judged anyone. She operated in silence, befriending contestants and helping everyone survive. When games got difficult, she offered a supporting hand. When players got scared or terrified, she remained understanding.
5
Didn’t Judge Dae-ho for His Misgivings
The final episode of Squid Game Season 2 was an intense one. With players killing the Pink Soldiers, it was an all-out war between the Pink Soldiers and Squid Game contestants. Guns and ammo were limited, but fortunately for Gi-hun, a good number of players were from the military, such as Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) and Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul). However, although Dae-ho has experience in the military, he seems to suffer from extreme PTSD, which causes him to flinch at the sound of bullets.
When Gi-hun requests for backup and additional ammo, Dae-ho volunteers himself. Terrified and out of ammo himself, Dae-ho races back to the sleeping quarters and gathers the ammo. Unfortunately, he becomes too anxiety-ridden to return to his post and instead hides in the bunker of beds. When Dae-ho doesn’t return, Hyun-ju goes to collect the ammo herself, and though Dae-ho reveals that he was too terrified to return the ammo, Hyun-ju instead doesn’t judge him. Rather, she goes to collect the ammo without criticizing Dae-ho.
4
Was Willing to Save Young-mi Last Minute
Mingle was one of the deadliest games in Squid Game, and it killed off a good amount of players. Mingle was about grouping up with a number of contestants and gathering inside a room. Those who didn’t have a team or room were eliminated, so this game required players to be quick on their feet.
For the most part, Young-mi and Hyun-ju stuck together, almost like glue. Hyun-ju was protective over Young-mi, and the two shared a sister-like relationship. However, during one of the last few rounds of Mingle, when players had to group up in teams of six, Young-mi was toppled over, and she never made it to the door. Hyun-ju noticed, and she immediately went to grab her. Unfortunately, Myungi-gi (Yim Siwan) knocked into Hyun-ju and closed the door behind him. Angry, Hyun-ju was ready to kill Myung-gi, but he pointed out that had he not run into the room, they all would have died. While true, it’s still very showing that Hyun-ju was so focused on saving Young-mi that she would have sacrificed everything to do it.
3
Helped Gi-hun in His Rebellion Against the Frontman
From the get-go, Gi-hun has always wanted to get his revenge against the Frontman. It’s been his main priority ever since he revolunteered for Squid Game. However, he had very few chances to do so due to the restrictions placed on the contestants. Then, toward the end of the season, Gi-hun comes up with a plan.
All around, Gi-hun’s plan sounds insanely crazy. His plan involved letting a few of his comrades die, all so that they could steal guns from the bodies of the Pink Soldiers they had planned to kill. Then, the idea was that the contestants would raid the entire building until they found the Frontman. Unsurprisingly, Hyun-ju was ready to throw down. After helping get the guns, she even went as far as to show everyone else how to use the guns. Without her, Gi-hun probably would not have made it as far as he did.
2
Remained Hopeful and Left to Retrieve Ammo and Find Dae-ho
When all odds were against them, she encouraged the other players to keep shooting and told them that she would retrieve the ammo. Remaining hopeful, she makes her way back to the sleeping quarters, searching for Dae-ho along the way. She eventually finds him, and she immediately checks up on him, concerned that something had happened to him on the way to get the ammo. After learning that he was unharmed physically, she goes to retrieve the ammo for her team.
1
Was Willing to Take on the Masked Men All on Her Own
After retrieving the ammo, Hyun-ju watched as the Pink Soldiers entered the sleeping quarters. This was bad news, specifically for Hyun-ju, since she was the only player who still carried a gun. Everyone else had been gunned down, though she was not aware of this at the time.
Instead of backing down, Hyun-ju was prepared to take on all the Pink Soldiers herself. She was only stopped by Jang Geum-ja who points out that she will be killed should she decide to go through with the internal war. Though viewers are left on this cliffhanger, Hyun-ju was an absolute powerhouse for taking on the soldiers as she did and for being willing to take them all on by herself. No other character comes close to Hyun-ju.
