The Big Clue Nearly Everyone Missed In Squid Game Season 2
by Pauli Poisuo · /FilmThis article contains spoilers for "Squid Game" season 2.
A last-minute twist in "Squid Game" season 2 might take some viewers by surprise, but there are a few clues and hints to see it coming.
The titular deadly playground games of "Squid Game" are as surprising as they are dangerous, but arguably the biggest murderous twist in season 2 has nothing to do with Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) and the other players. In fact, it doesn't even take place at TV's most thrilling competition at all, but during the show's seafaring B-plot.
The honor for the most surprising kill of the season may very well go to Captain Park, the seemingly unassuming boat captain who backs up Gi-hun's fellow returning "Squid Game" character Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) and his crew of Gi-hun's hired henchmen as they try and fail to find the game organizers' island base. In "Squid Game" season 2, episode 7, titled "Friend Or Foe," one of Gi-huns mercenaries sees Park tinkering with their search drones, and the captain reveals his true nature by stabbing the hired gun. As it turns out, Park is a bad guy who seems to have been working with the Squid Game people this entire time.
However, only a particularly observant viewer might already have noticed something strange about the captain at this point. When one of Gi-hun's men meet the captain and discusses their mission with him, Park drops a major hint that he knows far more than he should. Damningly, he actually seems to know Gi-hun's name during the restaurant meeting — a surefire sign that something is wrong, since Gi-hun isn't a public figure and tends to keep a low profile whenever he's not playing the games. What's more, Park's behavior is noticeably shady at certain points during the sea mission before the mercenary blows his cover to the viewers — particularly when the drones start malfunctioning.
The characters are just as bad at noticing Park's shady antics as the viewers
You'd expect that the mercenary who's meeting Captain Park perks up when the guy clearly recognizes his boss. However, Gi-hun clearly hasn't recruited his mercenaries for their grey cells, and the goon misses the suspicious subtext Park slips into the conversation. As such, he's filed away as a generic, shady boatman who's willing to perform strange tasks for money, which is precisely what the team seeks for the island-finding quest. This, in turn, enables him to handily sabotage Jun-ho and the mercenaries' mission from the inside.
In fact, Park could be considerably more dangerous than season 2 reveals. Not only is he skilled enough to easily sabotage the drones during rough seas, but he's also so ruthless that he can deftly kill the mercenary who catches him red-handed in the season finale and throw the poor guy's body overboard. That's black ops stuff, right there. What's more, there's no telling whether he's working alone or if there are other Squid Game agents he's keeping in touch with. Because of this, Jun-ho's crew could be in for a fight of their life in "Squid Game" season 2 ... assuming Park won't just pick them off one by one.
Captain Park will be a handy antagonist for Jun-ho's story arc
A lot of the Jun-ho storyline in "Squid Game" season 2 is separated from the main plot within the game. In season 1, he's sneaking around the island James Bond-style and gathering evidence of the evils that take place during the games. Season 2 takes him even further away from the season's meat and potatoes, as his plot has zero antagonists to battle and no true connection to this year's game. In fact, his entire arc during the sophomore season sees him trying to find the more interesting events on the show — which, unfortunately, makes him a part of the less interesting events by default.
This is where Captain Park comes in. Though Jun-ho isn't aware of his true nature quite yet, the saboteur raises the stakes of the island-hopping mission considerably, and gives the cop a genuine antagonist to overcome. Yes, season 3 will likely bring him face to face with his stepbrother, the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) — but honestly? The game organizer is busy with a far more intriguing and immediate storyline with Gi-hun, so Jun-ho's role in the proceedings might turn out to be a comparatively brief and underwhelming experience. As such, Park seems like a suitably dangerous opponent for Jun-ho to focus on even if the inevitable step-sibling reunion goes awry.
"Squid Game" season 2 is now available for streaming on Netflix.