Squid Game season 2 delivered heartbreaking blows in the same vein of season 1. And since we don’t like crying by ourselves, we’ve put together a list of 7 most heartbreaking moments from season 2. Some are expected, looking at you Young-mi. But others are a little more subtle in why they hurt, like the death of Mr. Kim. So get your tissues ready. We’re revisiting the heartbreak of Squid Game season 2!
1. Russian roulette death
The only reason why Woo-seok is alive is because Mr. Kim decided not to choose one hand. He could’ve won easily. But he saw Woo-seok, the young man who he officiated a wedding for, and he chose death. It was heartbreaking, terrifying to watch, and made me realize that even the “henchmen” of the show had complex and worthwhile storylines.
2. Seeing Sae-byeok’s brother
In case things went wrong in, Gi-hun made sure that Sae-Byeok’s brother Kang Cheol was ok. And he was, living with Sang-woo’s mother and unaware of how hard Gi-hun has been working with the Broker to get his mother from North Korea. Gi-hun’s face, and the way that he was about to crumble, said it all. He kept his promise to Sae-byeok.
3. The voting switch-ups in Episode 5
Episode 5 of Squid Game season 2 felt like betrayal after betrayal. You had Yung-sik changing his vote and breaking his mother’s heart. There was also Hyun-ju voting to stay, something that tore at her relationship with Young-mi. But we really broke when Young-mi broke, desperately crying out how she wanted to go home. And with what happened in episode 6, she never will.
MORE: Need more of Hyun-ju and Yung-sik? Read our review for Squid Game season 2!
4. Mother and son getting separated during Mingle
As frustrating as Yung-sik can be sometimes, his separation from his mother Geum-ja was devastating. He stayed with her during Mingle, no matter what teams happened. She was the priority. And when he was literally ripped away from her, it was like time stopped for both of them. Yung-sik looked at his mom, thinking this would be the last time he saw her. And Geum-ja stood there, shocked but also grateful that her son would survive. The reunion afterwards left us an emotional mess.
5. Young-mi’s death
Squid Game season 1 tore us apart with the death of Sae-byeok. Now Squid Game season 2 has torn out our heart and stomped on it with Young-mi’s death. And it’s not just her relationship with Hyun-ju. Or Young-mi calling Hyun-ju “unnie,” aka “older sister,” as Hyun-ju desperately tried to get to her. This death was heartbreaking because she didn’t turn around. She knew she was going to die, called out to her sister, and kept her eyes locked on Hyun-ju because she was so scared.
MORE: The contestants for season 2 of Squid Game were so different. And that made the season better. Read our review!
6. Dae-ho not going back with the magazines
The easy route would be to call Dae-ho a coward for the way that he didn’t bring the ammo needed by the other players. But that shaking and trembling, that’s trauma. Dae-ho has shown himself as the helpful soldier throughout season 2. And covered in blood, hands full of ammo, he froze at that gunfire and what it meant. For us, seeing his characters turmoil finally be on the surface, it made us empathize with him and understand (partially) why he stayed in the dorm.
7. Gi-hun losing Jung-bae
Squid Game season 2 episode 7 saw Gi-hun in the same position he was in season 1 episode 8. In that episode, Sang-woo killed Sae-byeok. And he was more angry that anything as he struggled against the soldiers. In season 2 episode 7 though… this is heartbreak, loss, and pain. The Front Man broke him by killing Jung-bae. And it’s this pain that will transform into someone different when we return for season 3.
Squid Game season 2 is now available on Netflix.
So many heartbreaking moments this season for sure. One of the heartbreaking moments for me was player 120 “noona” being killed when the lights went out. I wanted her to survive so bad. I didn’t know too much about her but there was something I really liked. Also, everything is heartbreaking in Squid Game because we all know that ultimately there can be only one person left standing. Unless they vote to end the games.