[This story contains major spoilers through the season two finale of Squid Game.]
Lee Byung-hun spent the original Squid Game almost entirely masked as the mysterious Front Man. For season two, he drops that guise by and large, but picks up another mask — and identity — entirely.
Squid Game 2 sees the South Korean star significantly stepping up his screen time from season one, as the main antagonist plaguing heroic Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae). The Front Man wages a philosophical war with Gi-hun by helping him in his literal war against the Games, posing as a fellow participant named Young-il. As “Young-il,” the Front Man helps Gi-hun rally several others to work together, all while secretly sabotaging those very same efforts.
It’s a constant guessing game of the character’s true motives right up until the very last scene of the season, in which it becomes very clear that the Front Man is, at the end of the day, still gonna Front Man. The seventh and final Squid Game 2 outing ends with the Front Man shooting and killing Jung-bae, Gi-hun’s oldest friend, signifying a huge win for the bad guys heading into the third and final season.
In the chat below, The Hollywood Reporter speaks with Lee through a translator about bringing the Front Man to life, whether he believes there’s any redemption for the character left at all and what’s to come.
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You have a lot to do here in season two. What was you first reaction to finding out about the expanded role?
When I first received the script, I felt like, “Okay, I’m going to be busy.” I’m playing three characters: the Front Man, In-ho [his real name] and Young-il, who he’s acting as when he’s in the games. Keeping all those personalities straight is one of those really exciting opportunities as an actor. I was really looking forward to taking it on.
Were you surprised by what you learned about the Front Man this season?
Yes; even compared to when I first read the script, I learned so much about him as I was shooting it. I’m pretending to be Young-il, on a team with Gi-hun, but observing Gi-hun, and almost seeing a past version of himself through Gi-hun. By the end of the season, In-ho does think he’s right; that his world view is correct. However, he has a very small inkling of hope that still exists for humanity, for the world. That was the biggest shift in my understanding of my own character between reading the scripts and shooting. While we were doing it, I kept wondering, maybe there’s a small shift in his perspective…
Lee Byung-hun as the Front Man in season two.
Netflix
It was a big question for me, watching you across the season and wondering where your true loyalties lie. Were there moments you were wondering the same thing?
Yeah, I did feel that. I did feel these moments where he’s faltering. He really wants to break down Gi-hun’s worldview, but as In-ho’s working with him and working with the other characters, he feels excited, he feels joy, he feels angry all alongside them. I do think there are moments where he’s actually enjoying the Games. I do think he forms some attachments to the other participants, but ultimately you see him kill Jung-bae very relentlessly. I think that’s because he has this ultimate goal of making Gi-hun realize his belief in the world is misplaced.
Why do you think he entered the game?
When In-ho played the game previously, he had already lost all of his hope. His life was very bare bones. When he entered the game previously, it was even more desperate. Seeing the pit of humanity… I think that even though In-ho’s body is alive, his soul died a long time ago. Because of that, life and death don’t have a lot of meaning for him.
The biggest reason for him entering the games again is so he can break Gi-hun’s spirit. At first when Gi-hun returned, he was just going to observe him and see what he does. But then he realizes Gi-hun’s telling the other participants the rules of the game. He’s raising them up, collecting them and giving them power. That’s when he realizes he needs to step up as well.
Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) with Park Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) in season two.
Netflix
What did you make of the scene where Jung-bae watches In-ho break a fellow player’s neck? Something seriously shifts in the dynamic here.
When I first received the script, I knew that scene was extremely important and pivotal for my character. Of course, I felt a very complicated set of emotions playing these three characters — the Front Man, In-ho, Young-il — you see moments where all three of these aspects come together. I wanted to express that with the gaze, the gleam in his eye. When Jung-bae sees me commit this murder, he begins to wonder, “Is he really on our team? Is he the guy I’ve been playing with all along?” I think he starts to feel a very strange set of emotions as well. It makes the whole scene so complex.
Heading into season three, do you think there’s a chance for some redemption for the Front Man?
I’m not just saying this because I don’t want to spoil season three. I really mean it: In-ho’s interiority is really hard to know, even as season three progresses. What I’ve taken away in embodying and acting as him in season three, that possibility for change within him always exists.
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Squid Game season two is now streaming on Netflix. Read THR‘s in-depth cover story on the hit show’s return and creator Hwang Dong-hyuk unpacking the season finale.
