Squid Game is a very unpredictable show in which anyone can die at any moment and, once they’re gone, they can obviously never appear in the story again. There have been some obvious exceptions, however, as Season 3 has featured multiple cameos by characters from previous seasons.
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Whether they are dead or they just haven’t appeared on-screen for a very long time, these seven brief but memorable cameos have allowed fans to meet some of their favorite characters once again. It’s also important to point out that one of these cameos is completely different from the others, as it gives fans a brief glimpse of the future of the Squid Game IP, instead of its past.
Spoilers Ahead for Squid Game Season 3 and the finale.
7 Oh Il-Nam
The Creator Of The Games Appeared One Last Time
- Appearance: "⭘△☐" (Season 3, Episode 5)
- Played by: O Yeong-su
Oh Il-nam, the evil mastermind behind the creation of the games who also participated in them back in Season 1, made two big cameos in Season 3, although one was way weirder than the other. He first appeared wearing his VIP mask in In-ho’s flashback, giving him a knife so he could murder the other finalists during the final night. This gave viewers a brief but fascinating glimpse at their relationship and the beginning of In-ho’s rise to villainy.
Later on in the same episode, when Kang No-eul was infiltrating the Front Man’s office, she briefly found what seemed to be a wax statue of Oh Il-nam wearing his player jumpsuit. Weirdly enough, neither she nor any other character comments on it, leaving fans with more questions than answers. It can be assumed that In-ho (or the VIPs) built this statue of Oh Il-nam as a token of remembrance and gratitude to the original creator of the games.
6 Park Jung-Bae
A Reminder Of What Happens To Players Who Tried To Revolt
- Appearance: "Keys and Knives" (Season 3, Episode 1)
- Played by: Lee Seo-hwan
Season 2 of Squid Game concluded with the shocking death of Park Jung-bae, who was murdered in cold blood by the Front Man as a way of punishing Seong Gi-hun for trying to kick-start a rebellion against him. At the very beginning of Season 3, viewers finally found out what happened to his corpse.
The Front Man hanged Park Jung-bae’s lifeless body, alongside the corpses of all the other players who were killed during the revolt, in the middle of the stairs, as a potent reminder of what would happen to anybody who didn’t follow the rules. Naturally, this was a really dark scene that quickly established the bleak tone Season 3 was going to have.
5 Se-Mi
She Was Still Alive Within Min-Su’s Mind
- Appearance: "The Starry Night" (Season 3, Episode 2)
- Played by: Won Ji-an
The sudden death of Se-mi was one of the most shocking and frustrating moments of the Season 2 finale. Not only was she murdered in cold blood by a rampaging Nam-gyu, but her supposed “friend,” Park Min-su, could have easily saved her, but decided not to interfere out of complete cowardice.
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In Season 3, Min-su steals Nam-gyu’s drugs and consumes them, leading him to see all sorts of bizarre hallucinations that cloud his mind. At the very end of Hide and Seek, he mistakes Seon-nyeo for Nam-gyu and kills the shaman lady in a fit of rage, only for her corpse to suddenly turn into Se-mi’s. She would also appear again in another hallucination Min-su had during Sky Squid Game. These two cameos proved that he was still thinking about his deceased friend, and clearly felt guilty for not having saved her when he could have.
4 Choi Su-Bong (Thanos)
The Brief But Long-Awaited Return Of Season 2’s Best Villain
- Appearance: "⭘△☐" (Season 3, Episode 5)
- Played by: T.O.P
Thanos (aka. Choi Su-bong) was undoubtedly one of the most memorable characters introduced in Season 2. Thanks to his extravagant personality, striking appearance, and cruel actions, he quickly became one of the best and most beloved villains in the entire series, which made his eventual death during the season finale all the more disappointing.
Fortunately for them, Thanos appeared once again in Season 3, in one of Min-su’s drug-induced hallucinations. In the final game, Sky Squid Game, he saw the rapper hanging from the edge of the platform. Thanos began teasing him and trying to make him fall, until he suddenly turned into Nam-gyu (who had died in the previous game). This brief cameo was very satisfying, not only because Thanos is an oddly charming character, but also because his presence meant that his malicious actions had a huge impact on Park Min-su.
3 Kang Cheol
Sae-Byeok Was Able To Achieve Her Goal, Even In Death
- Appearance: "Humans Are…" (Season 3, Episode 6)
- Played by: Park Si-wan
Of course, not every character who made a cameo in Season 3 of Squid Game was dead, because one of the most remarkable cameos in the entire season was by someone who was still alive, but who hadn’t appeared in a very long time. The series finale features a brief but important scene of Kang Cheol, Kang Sae-byeok’s younger brother, reuniting with his mother in the airport after he was able to escape from North Korea.
Back in Season 1, Sae-byeok had entered the games in order to win enough money to take care of Cheol and eventually find their mother, something she was never able to do because she was brutally murdered during the final night. This was one of many plot threads that were left open after the first season but, fortunately, this brief cameo confirmed that Cheol was able to meet with his mother once again, meaning that his sister fulfilled her promise (with the help of Gi-hun and Park Man-cheol, of course).
2 The American Recruiter
Is This The Audience’s First Look At Squid Game’s American Spin-Off?
- Appearance: "Humans Are…" (Season 3, Episode 6)
- Played by: Cate Blanchett
This is the most unique cameo in the entire season because, instead of allowing viewers to reunite with deceased characters from previous seasons, it actually gives them a quick glimpse at the future of the series. After In-ho visits Gi-hun’s daughter in Los Angeles during the series’ finale, he encounters an American recruiter playing ddakji with a man in an alley, and briefly exchanges looks with her, implying that they know each other.
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This cameo was extremely appealing to most fans, not only because it hinted at the possibility of a future Squid Game spin-off set in the United States, but also because the recruiter herself was portrayed by legendary Hollywood actress, Cate Blanchett. This was especially unexpected for a series that, up until that point, had mostly featured South Korean actors.
1 Kang Sae-Byeok
Gi-Hun’s Beloved Friend Saved His Soul At The Very End
- Appearance: "⭘△☐" (Season 3, Episode 5)
- Played by: HoYeon Jung
There’s no denying that Kang Sae-byoek was one of the most likable and memorable characters in Season 1, which made her abrupt death at the hands of Cho Sang-woo all the more heartbreaking. Nevertheless, due to her words and actions, she had a huge impact on Seong Gi-hun, who remembered her multiple times after her death.
During the final night of the 2024 games, the Front Man gives Gi-hun a knife and tells him to murder all the other contestants in order to win then and there. The main character hesitated to do so, until he had a vision of what Sae-byoek previously told him when he tried to kill Sang-woo on the final night of the 2020 games: that he's a good person at heart, not a murderer. At that moment, the kind words of Gi-hun's good friend saved him from falling into In-ho’s trap, and it was what most likely inspired him to later sacrifice himself to save Jun-hee’s baby during the final game.
- Release Date
- 2021 - 2025
- Network
- Netflix
- Showrunner
- Hwang Dong-hyuk
- Directors
- Hwang Dong-hyuk
- Writers
- Hwang Dong-hyuk
Cast
-
Lee Jung-jaeSeong Gi-hun / 'No. 456' -
Wi Ha-junDetective Hwang Jun-ho
WHERE TO WATCH
- Creator(s)
- Hwang Dong-hyuk
