Squid Game Season 2's Worst New Character Feels Completely Out Of Place

Contains spoilers for "Squid Game" Season 2

"Squid Game" Season 2 brings Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) back into the deadly tournament, this time wanting to put a stop to them for good. But there's a whole new crop of competitors with their own reasons to risk their lives. It's all for the best as trying to bring characters back from the dead is one of the worst things another season of "Squid Game" could've done. Park Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun) needs to pay off gambling debts, and Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon) wants to pay for gender-affirming surgery. These characters are relatable and even when they make poor decisions, you understand where they're coming from. 

And then there's Thanos (Choi Seung-hyun).

Thanos, a rapper who lost all his money in a cryptocurrency scheme, is the main villain among the players. The game makers may pull all the strings, but he's the most outwardly antagonistic in the games, even pushing some players to their deaths during Red Light, Green Light. It's clear he's meant to represent the worst among the players, someone who has the same lot in life as the rest of them, but instead of showing any solidarity, he only looks out for his own best interest.

The main problem with this is that it feels so over-the-top. He's a jerk, sure, but he immediately crosses the line into utter villainy in a way that just feels so forced. With this, he's mostly just an annoyance than someone who feels like a real threat to everyone else. 

Thanos effectively fills the role Jang Deok-su (Heo Sung-tae) from the first season. Deok-su was a gangster who played the games to settle his debts. He had a violent past, so it makes sense that violence would follow him into the games. Not only that, he had a much more physically imposing presence. Any games that involved strength, it made sense he would dominate, and when the players were in their barracks, he was a threat there, too. 

It's a good thing "Squid Game" Season 2 doesn't just repeat itself by bringing in another gangster, instead focusing on a different type of jerk. Thanos is almost pathetic. He's a retired rapper, and it sounds like he wasn't even a very good one when he was active. Additionally, he takes drugs repeatedly, which perhaps alters his state of mind and makes him more prone to violence. It may even explain why he pushes those people over in Red Light, Green Light. 

But this only puts him in an odd middle ground. He's not a complete psychopath, which could be a lot of fun. He's also not fully a sympathetic villain, like how Marvel's Thanos was practically forced to become a villain. He's a step down from Deok-su, who was much more entertaining to watch plot and scheme. Thanos is merely an agent of chaos, and if that's the case, he probably should've been named Joker. 

"Squid Game" has always carried its share of controversies. In fact, Netflix was sued over "Squid Game" for allegations of plagiarism. And things only compounded upon Choi Seung-hyun getting cast as Thanos. No, Disney/Marvel wasn't upset about the Mad Titan getting mentioned in the show's critique on capitalism. Instead, many were upset over Choi getting cast due to his legal problems in the past. 

In 2017, Choi was arrested and sentenced to 10 months in prison for using marijuana. South Korea has an extremely strong stanceagainst weed. Therefore, there was a bit of outcry upon the news that Choi would be a new cast member on "Squid Game" Season 2. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk defended the casting to Maeil Business Newspaper (via Hindustan Times). "The incident happened a long time ago, and the sentence was completed," he stated. "Many artists have returned after similar incidents, so I thought it might be an appropriate time for him to return to work."

Regardless, Choi's back in the limelight with "Squid Game." And while his character may not have been as fleshed out as he could've been, at least Marvel fans wound up with some Infinity Stone references. 

"Squid Game" Season 2 is now available on Netflix.