Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Squid Game season 2.Cho Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon) consistently steals the show inSquid Gameseason 2. Hyun-ju is a transgender woman who joins the games so she can afford gender-affirming care and to get a fresh start in Thailand, where she will be more accepted. Unlike many otherSquid Gameplayers, Hyun-ju is competing for a reason that goes far beyond dire financial straits. Her reasons tie into another level of injustice and inequality that exists outside the games.
As a brave, likable, and complex individual, Hyun-ju is easily one ofSquid Gameseason 2’s best new characters. One of the most important relationships she forms is with Kim Young-mi (Kim Si-eun), a sweet-natured and fearful individual who Hyun-ju befriends and supports throughout the games. Regardless of whether she shares the screen with Young-mi or another character,Hyun-ju is one of the most compelling characters to watch, especially during anew game inSquid Gameseason 2–the six-legged pentathlon.
10Hyun-ju Slaps Seon-nyeo
Season 2, Episode 5: “One More Game”
During the six-legged pentathlon, Seon-nyeo (Chae Kook-hee) is on Hyun-ju’s team. Seon-nyeo is responsible for the spinning top game, but when she struggles to wrap the rope around the metal top, she descends into panic, and starts screaming about how she and everyone else present are going to die. Hyun-ju snaps Seon-nyeo out of this by slapping her twice, picking up the top, and declaring that she will kill Seon-nyeo if she chooses to give up now.
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With all episodes of Squid Game season 2 available to stream on Netflix, debate has begun about how the new season compares to its predecessor.
This proves to be exactly what Seon-nyeo needs as she proceeds to successfully wrap the rope around the metal top and gets it to spin. Even though Seon-nyeo is the one who technically wins at the spinning top game,Hyun-ju is the real star of the moment, as without her, Seon-nyeo would have been consumed by her panic, and the entire team would have lost the competition and been gunned down. The camerawork is effective in this scene by zooming in on Hyun-ju’s face, highlighting her intensity and sincerity when she threatens to kill Seon-nyeo if she forfeits.
9Hyun-ju Teaches The Rebels How To Use Their Firearms
Season 2, Episode 7: “Friend or Foe”
Before proceeding with the rebellion that ultimately fails inSquid Gameseason 2’s ending, Hyun-ju demonstrates to her fellow rebels how to properly use firearms. While Park Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) was in the armed forces, the majority of the rebels are everyday citizens who do not have military experience. This makes Hyun-ju’s demonstration a valuable lesson in gun safety and in helping the players feel that they have a fighting chance against the guards.
Hyun-ju was dismissed from the military simply for being a transgender woman. While this injustice can never be fixed, it is satisfying to see her now using her knowledge and experience from the military on her own terms. She does not do this to show off, but becauseshe is the person best-suited to do so as a former sergeant in the Special Forces. It is also nice to see how she surprises and impresses the other players and challenges their assumptions about transgender women.
8Hyun-ju Gives Young-mi Courage Before The Six-Legged Race
Season 2, Episode 4: “Six Legs”
Before the six-legged pentathlon, Hyun-ju recognizes that Young-mi is terrified. Hyun-ju not only shows Young-mi compassion, but also gives Young-mi the confidence to believe in herself. While speaking kindly to Young-mi, Hyun-ju highlights Young-mi’s choice to speak to her, something that other players were afraid to do simply because of Hyun-ju being transgender. Hyun-ju emphasizes that Young-mi is brave and that she now needs to believe in herself.
She proves to be a good judge of character by recognizing Young-mi’s strengths that even Young-mi does not fully recognize and emboldens her.
Hyun-ju partly does this out of self-preservation, as she does not want their team to lose and for all of them to die due to Young-mi being overwhelmed with fear. At the same time, Hyun-ju knows what it is like to be scared and to feel like an outsider. She proves to be a good judge of character by recognizing Young-mi’s strengths that even Young-mi does not fully recognize and emboldens her. This not only helps Young-mi when competing, buthelps solidify a strong and meaningful bond between her and Hyun-ju.
7Hyun-ju Gives Young-mi A Life-Saving Ddakji Suggestion
During the six-legged pentathlon, Young-mi has the responsibility of playingddakji. When Young-mi is struggling at the game and begins to panic,Hyun-ju suggests that she flip the way she is holding the blue tile. Unlike with Seon-nyeo, Hyun-ju does not have to be aggressive to get Young-mi on the right track. All that is required is a gentle, but helpful suggestion, which immediately yields the necessary results, as flipping the tile allows Young-mi to win the mini-game.
While Young-mi deserves credit for the team winning this section of the six-legged race, Hyun-ju’s contribution is just as important. If Young-mi had not flipped the blue tile around, she likely would have continued using her same approach, and the team would have run out of time. Hyun-ju later reveals that she used to playddakjiwhen she was a kid and flipping the tile was her secret trick. Hyun-ju is able to use her childhood to help herself, Young-mi, and their team in this situation.
6Hyun-ju Helplessly Watches Young-mi Die
Season 2, Episode 6: “O X”
While there are manymajor deaths inSquid Gameseason 2, the most heartbreaking is the death of Young-mi. During a round of the Mingle game, Hyun-ju finds an empty room and beckons Young-mi and several others to join her inside. Unfortunately, Young-mi is knocked aside amid the chaos to reach the rooms with the right number of people before the clock runs out, and she is unable to make it into the room before it reaches full capacity and is locked.
155 players die during Mingle.
Hyun-ju then has to watch helplessly through the door at a tearful Young-mi on the other side, unable to help her before she is shot and killed bySquid Game’s masked guards. This would be devastating under any circumstances, but ismade even worse since Hyun-ju previously voted to continue the games while Young-mi voted to discontinue them. Hyun-ju promised to look out for Young-mi, but in the end, she was not able to fulfill her promise. Sung-hoon’s phenomenal acting in this scene makes Hyun-ju’s reaction even more emotional.
5Hyun-ju Votes To Discontinue The Games After Young-mi’s Death
After Mingle, the players have yet another vote where they must decide to either continue or discontinue the games. Hyun-ju and Young-mi voted differently last time, with Hyun-ju feeling more confident about playing one more game after their success during the six-legged race. After Young-mi’s death during Mingle, Hyun-ju changes her vote, and presses the red X that means she does not want the games to continue, which is the best way to honor Young-mi’s memory.
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Hyun-ju’s decision illustrates her growth as a character and that her connection with Young-mi was genuine.Hyun-ju is able to admit through her vote that she was wrong, and even though she is doing well in the games, she is willing to forfeit her chances of winning 4.56 billion won. She regrets voting to continue the games and does not want to see the other players having the same fate as Young-mi in any further brutal competitions.
4Hyun-ju And Gi-hun Help A Wounded Player Reach The Finish Line In Red Light, Green Light
Season 2, Episode 3: “001”
Hyun-ju makes a strong first impression duringSquid Game’s Red Light, Green Light. When Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) sees that Player 444 is physically injured and unable to make it to the finish line, he runs back out to help him. It initially seems as though Gi-hun is alone in this brave and arguably foolish venture. That turns out to not be the case as Hyun-ju arrives to also help Player 444, and to ensure that he and Gi-hun do not topple to the ground when they are supposed to be standing still.
Player 444 is shot and killed after being brought past the finish line.
This is the earliest indication that Hyun-ju is a good person who will go out of her way to help others. It is also a sign of her military background, as she is used to the mentality of not leaving anyone behind. Her selflessness in this instance proves thatGi-hun will not be alone in sticking his neck out for people he does not know. WhileSquid Gameshows the worst of humanity, it also shows the best, with people like Hyun-ju and Gi-hun risking their lives simply to do the right thing.
When Kang Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul) does not return with the ammo that the rebels need, Hyun-ju goes to see what happened and to retrieve it. After getting the ammo, the guards return, and Hyun-ju nearly decides to go out in a blaze of glory by fighting the guards on her own. Instead, Jang Geum-ja (Kang Ae-shim) puts a hand on Hyun-ju’s shoulder, and tells her not to do this, and that it would not be a good death. Fortunately, Hyun-ju listens to her.
Making a sacrifice can be brave, but it would have been a needless sacrifice that did not help anyone, as the guards had already reclaimed control and destroyed the rebellion. In this case,Hyun-ju choosing to live is the braver and wiser choice. Despite the inevitable horrors that lie ahead inSquid Gameseason 3, Hyun-ju has decided to confront them. She does this knowing that she is no longer alone and that she has people like Geum-ja on her side who care about her and who are worth continuing to fight for in season 3.
2Hyun-ju Reveals Her Emotional Backstory
After Hyun-ju votes to continue the games, Geum-ja tries to understand whether it is solely because of the financial cost of gender-affirming care or if there is another reason. This leads to Hyun-ju revealing details about her emotional past. She explains how when she revealed to others that she was a woman, and as she began transitioning, this upset her family and friends, and they distanced themselves from her. Hyun-ju also lost her career in the military.
This scene helps further flesh out Hyun-ju, and her willingness to be momentarily vulnerable also brings her, Young-mi, Geum-ja, and Park Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun) closer together.
It is upsetting to hear how,after Hyun-ju embraced who she was, she did not receive any personal or professional supportand was even punished by her loved ones and by her job. This scene helps further flesh out Hyun-ju, and her willingness to be momentarily vulnerable also brings her, Young-mi, Geum-ja, and Park Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun) closer together. They are able to better understand one another, including Hyun-ju’s ill-fated desire to play one more game, so she can complete her gender-affirming care and fulfill her dream of moving to Thailand.
1Hyun-ju Wins The Six-Legged Race For Her Team
Given how integral Hyun-ju is to her team successfully completing the earlier rounds of the six-legged pentathlon, it is only fitting that she is the final member of her team to compete. Whether her team wins or loses all comes down to her. Just as Hyun-ju helped her teammates rise to the occasion, she also rises to the occasion while playingjegichagi, as she successfully kicks thejegifiveconsecutive times and secures her team the win.
It is not only a triumph for Hyun-ju and her team, but for all the players watching, who cheer and are inspired by seeing how Hyun-ju’s team worked together to win. It cements Hyun-ju, Young-mi, Geum-ja, and Yong-sik as a team, even if they do not have to compete together in future competitions. There are not many moments of happiness inSquid Gameseason 2, but this is one of them, where the joy is palpable, and for a brief moment, the characters are able to forget the horror of their situation.
Squid Game
Cast
Squid Game is a South Korean series released in 2021 that follows numerous financially struggling participants who are invited to partake in children’s games with deadly outcomes. As they compete, they vie for a substantial cash prize, all while navigating lethal challenges orchestrated by mysterious figures.
