With 456 players involved at the titular deadly competition in “Squid Game,” viewers are sure to have a hard time keeping every character straight when they start binge-watching Season 2 at launch on Dec. 26. The good news is, not every one of those players is essential to the story of Gi-hun’s (Lee Jung-jae) return to the games.
See below for a guide to all of the key new “Squid Game” — and just a handful of returning, seeing as most of the Season 1 cast was wiped out by its fatal finale — characters that appear both in and outside the games. Beware: Spoilers ahead for the first few episodes.
Gi-hun/Player 456 (Lee Jung-jae)
The winner of the Squid Game that took place three years ago, Gi-hun has decided to re-enter in an attempt to figure out who is still running it after the death of game creator Oh Il-nam and take them down. Gi-hun has become consumed by his grief and trauma over being the sole survivor of the last games and has spent the past three years using the blood-money prize he earned (45.6 billion in South Korean won) to try to track down the games again.
In-ho/The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun)
The current head of the Squid Game, following the death of game creator Oh Il-nam at the end of Season 1. In-ho has been working for the games since winning them himself years ago, leading the pink masked guards while wearing his own all-black uniform.
Spoiler alert: This year, In-ho decides to follow in Oh Il-nam’s footsteps and enter the games as Player 001, in order to teach a lesson to Gi-hun upon his return to the game. Gi-hun, who only ever encountered the Front Man when he was masked, has no idea that In-ho, who goes by the name Young-il during the games, is the man in charge.
No-eul (Park Gyu-young)
A woman who works in an amusement park after escaping from North Korea to South Korea and having been separated from her infant daughter in the process. She pays investigators to look for her daughter with her small salary, but then takes a job as one of the masked pink guards at the games in exchange for an offer of help to find her child. While working as a guard in the games, she attempts to help some of the players, including Player 246, who she recognizes as a former co-worker whose young daughter is sick with cancer.
Recruiter (Gong Yoo)
Returning from Season 1, this man is in charge of going out and recruiting down-on-their-luck people to participate in the games. He selects candidates and challenges them to a game of Ddakji, slapping them if they lose and giving them cash and an invitation to play in the Squid Game if they win. He recruited Gi-hun in Season 1.
Jun-ho (Wi Ha-jun)
A police officer who infiltrated the Squid Game in Season 1 in hopes of finding his lost brother In-ho, who has been missing since he entered the games. At the end of Season 1, Jun-ho finds his brother, In-ho, but it turns out he is now the Front Man in charge of the game. In-ho shoots Jun-ho off the top of a cliff, seemingly letting him fall to his death. Jun-ho recovers and is working as a traffic cop at the start of Season 2.
Myung-gi/Player 333 (Yim Si-wan)
A former cryptocurrency influencer who, after losing a hefty sum of cash and incurring huge losses for himself and his subscribers, becomes a fugitive until his involvement in the game.
Hyun-ju/Player 120 (Park Sung-hoon)
A transgender woman who enters the games in hopes of making enough money to complete her transition process. The character is played by cisgender male actor Park Sung-hoon. In an interview with TV Guide, “Squid Game” creator Hwang Dong-hyuk explained his decision for the casting choice: “In the beginning we were doing our research, and I was thinking of doing an authentic casting of a trans actor. When we researched in Korea, there are close to no actors that are openly trans, let alone openly gay, because unfortunately in the Korean society currently the LGBTQ community is rather still marginalized and more neglected, which is heartbreaking.”
Jung-bae/Player 390 (Lee Seo-hwan)
A long-time friend and former coworker of Gi-hun’s who was last seen gambling alongside Gi-hun at the horse race track in Season 1. Gi-hun is shocked to find Jung-bae has entered the games when Gi-hun returns to try to take them down from the inside.
Dae-ho/Player 388 (Kang Ha-neul)
A young player in the games who is quickly drawn to Gi-hun’s group and bonds with Jung-bae over their shared military backgrounds.
Su-bong a.k.a. Thanos /Player 230 (Choi Seung-hyun)
A famous rapper who joins the games because he’s deeply in debt through a cryptocurrency crash. The character is played by real-life South Korean rapper Choi Seung-hyun, better known by his stage name T.O.P.
Nam-gyu/Player 124 (Roh Jae-won)
Like many other players, Nam-gyu joins the games because he is deeply in debt after following cryptocurrency advice from Player 333. Nam-gyu quickly befriends Thanos in the games.
Jun-hee/Player 222 (Jo Yu-ri)
A strong-willed woman who participates in the game due to bad investments made at the advice of an influencer. It is soon revealed that Jun-hee has entered the deadly competition while pregnant with the baby of her estranged lover and now fellow player in the games, Myung-gi.
Yong-sik/Player 007 (Yang Dong-geun)
A compulsive gambler neck-deep in debt who finds his own mother, Player 149, is a participant in the game.
Geum-ja/Player 149 (Kang Ae-sim)
A headstrong woman with a strong drive to provide for her family. She joins the game with the intention of paying off her son, Yong-sik’s, debts — only to find that he’s joined the game, as well, as Player 007.
Gyung-seok/Player 246 (Lee Jin-uk)
A man who works as a caricaturist at an amusement park (the same one No-eul worked at) who enters the games to pay for his young daughter’s cancer treatments. No-eul spots him competing in the games when she is serving as one of the pink guards.
Min-su/Player 125 (Lee David)
An intelligent player who tries to align himself with Thanos and his cohort and befriends Se-mi in the games.
Hye-won/Player 196 (Song Ji-woo)
A woman who enters the games after falling deeply in debt after taking cryptocurrency advice from Player 333, like several others in this year’s games.
Se-mi/Player 380 (Won Ji-an)
A player who works with both Min-su and Thanos in the games.
Seon-nyeo/Player 044 (Chae Kook-hee)
A shaman whose seemingly incoherent ramblings rub many of the other players the wrong way.
Woo-seok and Mr. Kim (Jun Suk-ho and Oh Dal-su)
Mr. Kim and Woo-seok are two of the men employed by Gi-hun to look for The Recruiter who brings people into the Squid Game. Mr. Kim is a former loan shark of Gi-hun’s who trusts that something about Gi-hun’s story regarding the games must be true because he was able to repay him an enormous debt three years ago. Mr. Kim is Woo-seok’s boss and friend, and Woo-seok becomes as invested in helping Gi-hun find the people behind the games.
