Squid Game Season 2 is on Netflix, and it has several new characters introduced to the deadly games. The new characters and stars are in the mix alongside Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun / Player 456, Wi Ha-joon as Jun-ho and Lee Byung-hun as In-ho / the Front Man / Player 001 / Young-il.

Let’s break down the new characters and their involvement in the new season:

Jung-bae / Player 390 (played by Lee Seo-hwan)

Jung-bae is a friend of Gi-hun’s that we see briefly in Season 1 because they used to place bets and gamble together. They have been friends for years and Jung-bae is surprised to see Gi-hun in the game and is upset with him because he’s been MIA. He is a former marine and often serves as comic relief in the season. Jung-bae is part of a group that primarily includes In-ho, Dae-ho and Gi-hun.

Myung-gi / Player 333 (played by Yim Si-wan)

Myung-gi is a crypto influencer / YouTuber who lost a lot of his money, and the money of other folks (many of whom are also playing the game). The people who followed him and are currently in the game and want revenge on him. Jun-hee, also lost money in schemes due to his advice and is in the game because she is pregnant with his child.

Dae-ho / Player 388 (played by Kang Ha-neul)

Dae-ho is a former marine (though there are some fan theories that are debating this after his actions at the end of the season) who forms a close association in the game with Jung-bae, Gi-hun, and In-ho. Through a larger group, he also has a connection to Hyun-ju.

Hyun-ju / Player 120 (played by Park Sung-hoon)

Hyun-ju is a former Special Forces soldier who is a transgender woman. She is competing in the games to finish her transition and to move away and start a new life after facing discrimination and being shunned in South Korea. She is in a group with Geum-ja, Yong-sik and Young-mi.

Su-bong / Thanos / Player 230 (played by Choi Seung-hyun)

Probably one of the most polarizing characters of the season, Thanos is a rapper who lost money in through Myung-yi. He appears to have a very volatile personality, though he can be very charming. He is also taking pills, which elevates his mood and abilities during the game. Thanos is played by real-life rapper Choi Seung-hyun, known as T.O.P.

Jun-hee / Player 222 (played by Jo Yuri)

Jun-hee lost money in Myung-gi’s scam and he is also the father of her unborn child. Entering the game very pregnant, Myung-gi seemingly wants to make amends and Geum-ja takes a liking to her and wants to protect her.

Young-mi / Player 095 (played by Kim Si-eun)

A shy and apprehensive player who forms a close bond with Hyun-ju and is also part of a group with Geum-ja and Yong-sik.

Gyeong-seok / Player 246 (played by Lee Jin-uk)

This player joins the game because his young daughter has cancer and needs treatment. He also works at an amusement park, where No-eul works. as well

No-eul (played by Park Gyu-young)

No-eul joins the game, not as a player, but as a guard. She is a North Korean defector and worked as the same amusement park as Gyeong-seok. She seems to have sympathy for the players and often kills them if they are suffering, which the other guards and leaders don’t like because they need to harvest the organs.

Yong-sik / Player 007 (played by Yang Dong-geun)

He plays the game to pay off his gambling debts. He learns that his mother, Geum-ja, is also in the game to help him pay off these debts.

Geum-ja / Player 149 (played by Kang Ae-sim)

Geum-ja, aka Player 149, enters the game to help pay off her son’s debts. However, she comes to find out, her son Yong-sik is also in the game as Player 007. She forms close bonds with Hyun-ju / Player 120 and Jun-hee / Player 22 and is a motherly figure. Shoe often tries to put her son’s needs in the game before her own.

Se-mi / Player 380 (played by Won Ji-an)

She unintentionally works as a part of a group involving Thanos and Min-su, and is betrayed but them and different times.

Seon-nyeo / Player 044 (played by Chae Kuk-hee)

A player who claims to be a shaman and tries to sabotage other players, or just overall contribute bad juju.

Min-su / Player 125 (played by Lee David)

A shy player who ends up being recruited by Thanos to be a part of his group.

Nam-gyu / Player 124 (played by Roh Jae-won)

Someone else who lost money in Myung-gi’s scheme and becomes a part of Thanos’s group and follows him very closely and appears to be just as volatile as him.