Lee Jung-jae's Last Role Shows How Squid Game Season 2 Can Top Season 1

Summary Lee Jung-jae's role in The Acolyte may provide the blueprint to make Squid Game season 2 surpass the original.

Enhancing Gi-hun's complexity in season 2 can elevate the show and capitalize on season 1's emotional depth.

Lee Jung-jae's success in Squid Game and The Acolyte could turn him into a true international star.

It will be very hard for Squid Game season 2 to be better than the original, but Lee Jung-jae's latest TV show may have proven that it's possible. Lee Jung-jae, the actor who played Seong Gi-hun in Squid Game, is set to return for season 2 of the Netflix show. Now that Squid Game season 2's release date has been announced, the challenge has been to make the new season live up to or even surpass the first one in terms of quality. It seems like a very difficult feat, but one of Lee's previous shows may be the key to accomplishing it.

After the ending of Squid Game season 1, the coming season will have quite a tough time finding a way to improve. Everything about Squid Game season 1 - its characters, commentary, action, pacing, emotional impact, and more - was near-perfect. There seems to be no room for improvement, but Squid Game season 2 still needs to find a way to raise the stakes and make the next chapter of the show's story even better. The key to that monumental task may be Lee Jung-jae, and he might already know exactly how to accomplish it, thanks to The Acolyte.

Related All Squid Game Games In Order: Origins & Meaning Explained Squid Game centers around a series of innocent childhood games turned dark. Here's the origin of each game in order, and their deeper meanings.

Lee Jung-jae Was One Of The Best Things About The Acolyte

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Lee Jung-jae played Master Sol in The Acolyte, a Star Wars show set before the prequel trilogy. The Acolyte was a rather inconsistent show, but in many ways, Sol was the glue that held it all together. Sol had histories with all the other characters, but Lee's performance was also a massive reason he worked so well. Even when The Acolyte got bogged down by its problems with pacing, characterizations, and controversies, Lee Jung-jae's Master Sol kept audiences invested in the show's central mystery. A big part of how he accomplished that was through his complexity.

Related Forget The Sith Lord, Lee Jung-jae's Master Sol Is My Favorite Part Of The Acolyte The Sith Lord has been the coolest part of The Acolyte so far, but Lee Jung-jae's performance as Master Sol is much more impressive - and important.

One of the biggest critiques of The Acolyte was that it seemed to drag out its central mystery until the final episodes of the season. That could have easily been a very frustrating experience, had it not been for Lee Jung-jae's Master Sol. Through all the twists and turns and abrupt endings of The Acolyte, Lee delivered a stellar acting performance in whatever the role demanded of him. He perfectly conveyed Sol's grief, regret, anger, love, intensity, and so much more. He made Sol an incredibly compelling, sympathetic, and intriguingly complex character, and Lee was a highlight of the entire series.

Lee Jung-jae's The Acolyte Role Can Add New Shades To Squid Game's Gi-hun

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Lee Jung-jae's performance in The Acolyte is more than impressive on its own, but it also may hold the key to making Squid Game season 2 better than season 1. A major part of Sol's characterization in The Acolyte was his complexity. He had a very dark past - he killed Mother Aniseya, lied to the Jedi Council, and trained her daughter, Osha, as his own Padawan - but he was also so much more. He was kind and loving, but The Acolyte also gave Lee a chance to show how Sol was cracking and struggling to live with his past. It's that part in particular that could prove very useful for Squid Game.

The Acolyte 3.5 Where to Watch Season All Season 1 stream

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buy Not available Not available Not available *Availability in US The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic. Cast Amandla Stenberg , Lee Jung-jae , Joonas Suotamo , Charlie Barnett , Dafne Keen , Leah Brady , Manny Jacinto Rebecca Henderson , Carrie-Anne Moss , Jodie Turner-Smith , Dean-Charles Chapman , Lauren Brady , Anthony J. Abraham , Thara Shöön , Danielle Xin Yao Waterman , Sienna Khiroya , Jeramiah Evans , Dan Milne , Thomas Coombes , Archie Singh Swali , Nick Court , Ed Kear , Jumayn Hunter , Scroobius Pip , Abigail Thorn , Margarita Levieva , Amy Tsang , Saskia Allen , Deborah Rosan , Tabitha Alege , Paul Bullion , Indra Ové , Derek Arnold , Lewis Young Character(s) Yord Fandar , Mae , Master Sol , Kelnacca Jecki Lon , Little Mae , Qimir , Master Vernestra Rwoh , Master Indara , Mother Aniseya , Master Torbin , Padawan Torbin , Little Osha , Fillik , Tasi Lowa , Youngling , Restrained Convict , Convict , Olega Urchin , Olega Master , Olega Padawan , Scavenger , Ensign Eurus , Mother Koril , Ensign Rane , Scout Sarria , Ensign Shima , Elder Jaalyn , Master Lakshay , Master Holden , Master Ki-Adi-Mundi , Jedi Knight Seasons 1 Streaming Service(s) Disney+ Franchise(s) Star Wars Writers Leslye Headland , Charmaine De Grate , Kor Adana Directors Leslye Headland , Alex Garcia Lopez Showrunner Leslye Headland Expand

Gi-hun was already a very complex character in Squid Game season 1. He had a dark history, from his debts to the autoworkers strikes and his daughter, and he had more than his share of trauma during the games. Squid Game season 2 might need to make him even more complex to top season 1, though, and The Acolyte may be the blueprint for how to accomplish that. By focusing on how Gi-hun handles his past trauma as he tries to accomplish his new mission - like Sol had to handle his past while hunting for Mae - Squid Game season 2 could make Gi-hun an even better character.

An Improved Gi-hun Can Elevate Squid Game Season 2 Above Season 1

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Squid Game season 2 can have the best of both worlds by using the strengths of the previous season to its advantage while introducing new and compelling emotional storylines for an improved Gi-hun.

Improving Gi-hun may be the key to making Squid Game season 2 as good as it can be. Gi-hun was the main character and emotional core of Squid Game season 1, but he also wasn't the sole focus. The other players contributed quite a bit to the show's quality, but they won't be able to have the same impact again. The show will have to lean on Gi-hun even more, as he's one of only four characters returning for Squid Game season 2. That, plus his goal of destroying the games, means quite a bit of Squid Game season 2 rests on Gi-hun's shoulders.

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While Gi-hun has a big responsibility, he could prove to be the season's biggest strength. Gi-hun being a returning character means Squid Game season 2 can hit the ground running. It also means the new season can capitalize on all the emotional gut-punches of Squid Game season 1, and making Gi-hun more like Master Sol could be the perfect way for the show to revisit those tragedies. Squid Game season 2 can have the best of both worlds by using the strengths of the previous season to its advantage while introducing new and compelling emotional storylines for an improved Gi-hun.

Squid Game Season 2 Can Confirm Lee Jung-jae As A True International Star

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Since 2021, Lee Jung-jae has been on a meteoric rise in popularity. Jung-jae was already a star in South Korea, one of the biggest markets in the entertainment industry, and Squid Game only made him more popular. It also introduced him, in spectacular fashion, to another major audience base in the United States. Squid Game season 1 was a massive success in America, and millions of people now know Lee because of it. If Squid Game season 2 is even close to the sensation the first season was, it could be enough to make Lee Jung-jae a well-known celebrity in both South Korea and America.

If Lee Jung-jae can give another performance to rival The Acolyte, he'll prove to American audiences that he's one of the best actors in the world.

Lee could very well become a truly international star because of Squid Game season 2, especially after his success in The Acolyte. Before the Star Wars show, most American viewers only knew Lee from Squid Game. The Acolyte, however, let American audiences see Lee in an English-language show that's part of one of the biggest franchises ever, Star Wars. That helped people see him as more than just Gi-hun, but Squid Game could help cement him as a star. If Lee Jung-jae can give another performance to rival The Acolyte, he'll prove to American audiences that he's one of the best actors in the world.

Squid Game season 2 and The Acolyte could easily open the door to several new opportunities for Lee Jung-jae, from future Star Wars content to other franchises or even standalone films and shows. If he can star in three seasons of popular television, he'll prove that he can be a massive draw for audiences, and he has more than enough skill to handle any type of role. The possibilities for the future of Lee Jung-jae's career could be truly limitless, and his performance in Squid Game season 2 could not only improve the show, but several new stories to come.