Thanos’ 10 Best Moments In Squid Game Season 2

This article contains Squid Game season 2 spoilers, as well as references to suicide and drug use.

Squid Game season 2 introduces Choi Seung-hyun (also known as T.O.P) as Thanos, and the purple-haired villain has some great moments for various reasons. As one of Squid Game season 2's best new characters, Thanos was one of many incoming personas who helped to shape the show's updated formula, and he stood out for his intense personality and unconventional way of playing the games. Although his death at the end of Squid Game season 2 means he won't be able to return for the third and final season in 2025, Thanos made a massive impact.

Out of all 7 episodes of Squid Game season 2, Thanos is only absent from one installment. However, most of his story comes at the heart of the run and is a little thinner in other episodes. With hair the same color as his MCU namesake and nails painted to match the Infinity Stones, it's clear that Seung-hyun's rapper character is a walking reference to the villain popularized by John Brolin's performances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Squid Games' Thanos lacks the power of his MCU counterpart, the former still manages to provide audiences with a thrilling ride.

10 Thanos Posing For A Group Photo Against The Guards' Will

Episode 3, "001"

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Squid Game season 2 adds a new dynamic to the show by introducing players who are in the public eye within the world of the story, and Thanos is one of the most high-profile players in this category. So, before the horror of their reality settles in properly, there are various players desperate to speak with the celebrity in their midst. Perhaps most bizarrely, they're determined to use the games' registry camera as a group photo op, and Thanos' unamused reaction is great.

Related Every Player In Squid Game Season 2 Explained Squid Game season 2 introduces a new set of players who come with their own unique backstories, struggles, and dreams of winning big at the games.

During this scene, Thanos had yet to reveal what kind of character he is. He seemed a little full of himself and generally quite distant from his fans, but all that starts to change when he spots Player 196 (Song Ji-woo) and he uses the opportunity to try and hit on her by inviting her into the group posing with him for a photo. Of course, she wordlessly declines, but that only makes him want her more.

9 Thanos Telling Min-su About How He Was Invited To The Games

Episode 6, "O X"

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David Lee's Min-su finds himself on the receiving end of a rant from Thanos about how the rapper came to be a competitor at the deadly tournament. Although he quickly moves past it, Thanos explains that he was issued his invitation during a suicide attempt. As learned earlier in the season, Thanos' debts were caused by choosing to invest in MG Coin thanks to Lee Myeong-gi's poor investment advice.

Learning that his financial woes had driven him to attempt to take his own life makes it a little more difficult to just see T.O.P's Squid Game character as just pure evil.

This is one of the few moments that allows Thanos to be seen as vulnerable. For all his bravado and the brutal approach to trying to secure victory for himself and his part-time teammates, learning that his financial woes had driven him to attempt to take his own life makes it a little more difficult to just see T.O.P's Squid Game character as just pure evil. Then again, his actions in the games also make it incredibly hard to root for him.

8 Trying To Impress Player 196 By Freestyling

Episode 3, "001"

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Trying to redeem himself from the failure to impress Player 196 at the photo booth, Thanos continues his pursuit of Song Ji-woo's character by treating her to an impromptu performance just ahead of the first game - Red Light, Green Light. Although some of the lyrical content focuses on Player 196, Thanos quickly returns to showering himself in praise through the medium of rap, which goes to show just how inflated his ego is.

It's this connection to Thanos that also contributes to her death.

Regardless, 196 at least seems a little flattered, if not also a bit impressed. Unfortunately for her, it's this connection to Thanos that also contributes to her death. When a bee lands on her neck during a Red Light moment, Thanos' attempt to flirt even more by implying the bee thinks she's a flower only results in her freaking out at the thought of being stung. Little did she know that reacting so dramatically would result in something far worse than a bee sting.

7 Betraying Gyeong-su During Mingle

Episode 6, "O X"

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Thanos is quite clearly out to win at all costs in Squid Game season 2, and one of the best pieces of evidence to support this is when he thoughtlessly screws over Gyeong-su (Kang Seong-wook) during Mingle. When the round calls for one less person than is currently on Thanos' team, he rapidly ejects Gyeong-su from the group with a kick to the torso and leads the remaining characters to victory.

Thanos' betrayal of Gyeong-su is made even more upsetting by the fact the latter is a self-confessed massive fan of the former.

This moment is made even more interesting by Thanos' reaction once he reaches the safety of the room. As he begins to act confused about where Gyeong-su is, the possibility starts to emerge that the pills Thanos is taking to get him through the tournament are affecting not only his memory but his motivations and actions too. He displays what appears to be genuine concern for Geyong-su as well as regret about betraying him, but it's unclear if this is all just part of an act.

6 Thanos Recruiting For His Team Before The Second Game

Episode 4, "Six Legs"

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Thanos didn't need anyone's help to make it through Red Light, Green Light alive, at least not after Gi-hun alerted everyone to the genuine dangers of the game. However, that all changed when it was revealed that the second game would require teamwork. This is when Thanos' skill set as a toxic yet charismatic leader really starts to become clear. Despite few clear allies, he still manages to round up a crew skilled enough to allow his survival.

Related Every Squid Game Player In Season 3, Ranked From Least To Most Likely To Win The Games Squid Game season 2 left very few players remaining, which means season 3 has only a few characters who could claim the ultimate victory.

Thanos once again digs deep into his bag of "flirting" techniques to win over Won Ji-an's Se-mi, and by a stroke of luck, she has already recruited Min-su. This is a key moment in the problematic dynamic between Thanos and Min-su, as the former emotionally manipulates the latter into remaining a part of his inner circle, even when their interests no longer align when it comes to what they want from the games.

5 Any Time Thanos Voted To Continue The Games

Episode 3, "001," episode 5, "One More Game," & episode 6, "O X"

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The voting system is different in Squid Game season 2, but the scenes that revolve around the players deciding if they want to continue or head home are a little dull at times and can be a bit too drawn out. Other than pushing a button and making a pained/celebratory expression, there's very little the characters can do in these sequences, but Thanos' eccentricity and constant lobbying manage to be the highlight on each occasion.

Even the way Thanos makes his vote (by passionately kissing the button) can be entertaining.

Ever the showman, Thanos is consistently resolute in his desire to see the games through to their conclusion. He communicates this enthusiasm by approaching the voting buttons in a strangely upbeat manner that brilliantly sits at odds with the tension the rest of the scene is trying to convey. Even the way Thanos makes his vote (by passionately kissing the button) can be entertaining.

4 Thanos' Drug-Fueled Dancing During Mingle

Episode 6, "O X"

Thanos' smuggled-in narcotics give him an advantage while competing in the games. They not only enhance his already prevalent ruthlessness, but they also allow for a sense of detachment from the abominable acts happening around him - some of which he even carries out himself. That being said, the drugs in his system also make him incredibly unpredictable, as proven by his fun little dance to the music while playing Mingle.

Nam-gyu can also be seen dancing with Thanos during Mingle, as both are under the influence of Thanos' pills.

One of the most sinister aspects of Squid Game in general is the innocence of the childish games that make up the rounds and how drastically this sticks out against the background of Masked Men with guns ready to gun down the losers in cold blood. As such, none of the characters ever really act with the youthful nonchalance often associated with the games in the show, and Thanos choosing to act in this way only makes the entire scenario so much more unsettling.

3 Thanos Getting His Ass Kicked By In-ho

Episode 4, "Six Legs"

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Thanos seems untouchable throughout most of Squid Game. Not only does he survive all the official games in which he competes, but he also arises as a key figure within Team O, as well as leading his own little sect of minions. No one ever really challenges him, and it allows his ego to grow and grow and enables him to be even more reckless with the lives of others. Thankfully, In-ho finally shows Thanos he isn't as invincible as he thinks he is.

Given the horrible things Thanos had done to that point, it's somewhat satisfying to see him pay the price a little.

The brief but effective fight scene between Lee Byung-hun's Squid Game character and Thanos finally makes Thanos look beatable, which had seemed impossible until that point. Additionally, it makes Thanos look like a far more minor villain when quashed by the might of the Front Man in disguise. Given the horrible things Thanos had done to that point, it's somewhat satisfying to see him pay the price a little - even if it is at the hands of a much bigger bad guy.

2 Instigating Squid Game Season 2's Bathroom Fight Scene (& His Subsequent Death)

Episode 6, "O X," & episode 7, "Friend or Foe"

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Thanos' hubris finally gets the better of him in the worst possible way at the end of Squid Game season 2's penultimate episode. After luring the man he blames for his debts into a bathroom brawl, Thanos finds himself at the wrong end of a fork, many of which had been distributed among the players and intentionally not collected after meal time. Generally speaking, major characters hadn't really been killed off in Squid Game season 2 to this point, so it comes as a genuine surprise when Thanos dies a brutal and bloody death.

The focus of the chaotic sequence is quite clearly on the conflict between Thanos and Lee Myeong-gi.

The scene itself includes several characters in combat, including Min-su once more fleeing confrontation and concealing himself in a stall. However, the focus of the chaotic sequence is quite clearly on the conflict between Thanos and Lee Myeong-gi. The fact that Thanos somehow briefly clings to life after being stabbed twice in fatal areas shows just how driven he was to win, but ultimately proves he was always just as at risk of losing as anyone else.

1 Sabotaging Other Players In Red Light, Green Light

Episode 3, "001"

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Thanos seems arrogant but largely harmless during his earlier moments in Squid Game season 2, but competing in Red Light, Green Light very quickly proves he'll be a player willing to win at all costs and without regret. While taking advantage of Gi-hun's stewardship, Thanos pushes one player to the ground - who in turn takes two more competitors with him. During the first game, the full impact of a player's death isn't known to most of the competitors, so Thanos' actions seem to be just to entertain himself.

Related Every Major Death In Squid Game Season 2 Like its predecessor, Squid Game season 2 features many character deaths - while some of these are predictable, others catch the viewer off-guard.

This moment establishes Thanos as a major threat and proves just what kind of villain he will be moving forward. Although In-ho's presence raises a lot of questions, it's Thanos' tactics that cause the more immediate danger. His cold and unfeeling approach to trying to win in Squid Game season 2 is proven right here, and if not for the tournament spinning wildly off the rails, he might very well have succeeded.