Squid Game Season 2: Guard 011's Motives & Why She's Defying Her Boss Explained By Star

A key Squid Game season 2 star explains her guard role in the series. Though there are some familiar faces including Lee Byung-hun's In-Ho, Wi Ha-joon's Jun-ho, and, of course, leading man Lee Jung-jae's Gi-hun, Squid Game season 2's cast is largely composed of new talents. It dilutes focus away from just the main game players by also focusing on the story of a guard, 011, who works for the games. She gets a backstory much like the game participants do, showing one way Squid Game season 2 expands the story from season 1.

As per Netflix, actor Park Gyu-young speaks about her guard character No-eul. According to the actor, this guard has a one-track mind: she "has no other purpose in life than to reunite with her child." This influences her actions in the show, meaning that No-eul feels that her sole mission as guard 011 is "letting hopeless people pass on peacefully without pain." This stems from her own feelings as someone "who can’t go on living but must do so." Check out the full quote from Park below:

[No-eul] has no other purpose in life than to reunite with her child. [She’s] harboring the kind of indescribable agony that cannot be expressed in words. No-eul begins working at the game with the mission of letting hopeless people pass on peacefully without pain. She’s someone who can’t go on living but must do so. She joins the game with the idea of lifting others’ pain and giving peace to those suffering just like her.

What This Means For The Guard Character In Squid Game

The Guard Is Part Of A Unique Resistance

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The biggest implication that No-eul's mindset has in Squid Game season 2 is the fact that she is denying the wishes of her officers. While most players who fail a Squid Game challenge are shot and killed, there are always a few who survive the guard's imprecise massacre tactics. As established in Squid Game season 1, those that are still clinging to live are sent to have their organs harvested and sold. This is an underground operation and a secret mission of the guards, creating an additional layer of drama in Squid Game.

Related Squid Game Season 3: Cast, Story & Everything We Know The smash-hit Korean series Squid Game finally returned to Netflix for its second season in late 2024, and season 3 is already confirmed too.

When No-eul shoots these "hopeless people," even when they are still breathing, she ruins the chances for that person's organs to be harvested. Even though No-eul is complicit in some of Squid Game's evil due to her role as a guard, she is somewhat resisting the powers at be. She is not a merciless killer, but someone who sees her participation in these games as a necessary evil, a means to an end to get her daughter back. Given her background as a North Korean defector, this characterization makes sense.

Our Take On No-eul's Squid Game Role

Her Character Relates To The Show's Themes

Having No-eul defy her officer is a fascinating, and I would say dramatically successful, narrative point in Squid Game season 2. One of the season's major themes is standing up against the powerful gamemakers and those who perpetuate the games. This is primarily shown through Gi-hun, but in a twisted way, No-eul's defiant actions also make her a part of this power disruption. It will be interesting to see what consequences these actions have in Squid Game season 3 by the time it comes out.

Source: Netflix