The biggest twist in Squid Game season 2 saw Lee Byung-hun's Front Man join the game in disguise as a player, borrowing a trick from the former Host, Oh Il-nam, and going undercover as Player 001.
While the audience knew Oh Young-il was really Front Man (real name In-ho) himself, Gi-hun remained completely unaware – even during the dramatic Squid Game season 2 ending, which saw a newly re-masked Front Man shoot Gi-hun's best friend Jung-bae dead, right in front of him.
"In the first season, we also had a player number one, right? His name was Oh Il-nam, and he was the mastermind behind all of the games," said show creator Hwang Dong-hyuk at a Squid Game season 3 press conference attended by GamesRadar+.
"But as we all know, the audience didn't know of his true identity. Neither did Gi-hun or anyone else, for that matter. And it's towards the late end when we see that twist of his true identity being revealed. And that was actually a very important factor and tool as a means for entertainment. But in season 2 and 3, I wanted to sort of flip that around, where we again have the same player number one, but he's Front Man.
"And we all know that, the audience knows that, so we are all in on the secret, but it's Gi-hun who doesn't know. And so I thought that by having the audience on our side, in on the secret, it could create a different type and sense of tension as well as a gripping element to the story," director Hwang continued. "And that's one of the main differences of seasons 2 and 3. Gi-hun was almost mocked, really, he was manipulated by In-ho. And so in season 3, I think it's going to be really intriguing for the audience to look forward to when and how will Gi-hun find out, and how will that affect his decisions?"
Throughout season 2, Gi-hun and Front Man were at odds over their differing beliefs on the nature of humanity, with that ideological battle set to extend into season 3. But Lee Byung-hun isn't completely ruling out his character still having a glimmer of decency left within him. "I'm not sure how much of a change inside his emotional state you will get to see in seasons 2 and 3, but when he sneaked into the game as this fabricated player, Young-il, it's all performance for him," said Lee. "But still, because he played all the games together with the other players and felt all those emotions together with them, I think he did have a little bit of a change when it comes to his emotional state.
"He's no longer the very emotionless Front Man that he is. And when he shot Gi-hun's good buddy Jung-bae right in front of Gi-hun, because he's behind the mask, the audience believes that he's this cruel, merciless figure who could just shoot someone in the eye without a blink of an eye," he continued. "But I think maybe behind the mask, In-ho might have squinted a little before shooting Jung-bae to death. So I believe that after spending time with the players together and enjoying all those moments together with them, I think he still has that last remaining minimal amount of benevolence in him. While he still wants to push Gi-hun to the breaking point and wants to prove him wrong, I think in a corner of his heart, he wants to kind of root for him. He wants Gi-hun to prove that there is hope in humanity."
Squid Game season 3 arrives on Netflix this June 27. In the meantime, fill out your watchlist with our guide to the best Netflix shows, or see our roundup of all the most exciting new TV shows still to come this year.
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