Aahana Swrup
In ‘Squid Game,’ Player 125, aka Min-su, has been an intriguingly unpredictable part of the player pool since the beginning. He survives the first half of the Game in season 2 by partnering up with Se-mi, only to ultimately betray her trust and join Thanos’ posse. An incredibly lucky streak, a mousy disposition, and an inclination for hiding away from trouble prove to be his greatest strengths that somehow help him progress farther than anyone would’ve guessed. As a result, when season 3 begins, he is one of the surviving players who go on to participate in the rest of the vicious levels. Surprisingly enough, this time around, his character takes an unexpected turn. In the remaining games, Min-su sheds his meek persona and begins actively partaking in the destruction of others for his own gain. Thus, this new strategy, achieved with the help of a special something, takes the player far. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Se-mi’s Ghost Haunts Min-su’s Conscience
Part of the reason Min-su has made it this far into the games stems from the early partnership he strikes up with Se-mi. Player 380 is a no-nonsense young woman who moves through the Game with easy confidence. Even though she joins Thanos’ alliance for her own benefit, it’s clear that she doesn’t trust the rapper or any of his friends. Yet, she does showcase a fair amount of faith in Min-su, the timid young man. Se-mi keeps the other player close, treating him as an automatic plus one by her side. She knows there’s strength in numbers and figures, and she can trust the mousy boy not to stab her in the back. Nonetheless, that’s exactly what he does, even if unintentionally so.
In the end, Se-mi dies on the night that the O players, who are inclined to vote for the Game to continue, attack the X players, who wish to exit from the nightmare. A coked-up Nam-gyu, Thanos’ second, comes after the young woman, and Min-su helplessly watches from where he stays hidden in a top bunk. Thus, he witnesses his friend’s death while choosing to cower away to save his own life. For the same reason, in the aftermath of the night’s madness, Min-su becomes overwhelmed with guilt as Se-mi’s memories begin haunting him. However, the fourth game of hide and seek marks a stark turning point for him. During the game, he manages to get his hands on Thanos’ pill-holding cross, which was previously in Nam-gyu’s possession. Once he pops one of the pills, Min-su becomes frenzied with delirium, which buoys him forward. As a result, he kills Player 044, Seon-nyeo, and lives to see another day.
Min-su Ultimately Becomes Prey For Jeong-Dae’s Clique
Once Min-su starts taking Thanos’ pills, he turns over a new leaf for himself as a player. Similar to how the drugs help the rapper and his friends perform better in the Game, they provide an edge for the young player too. Furthermore, he also uses them to exact his revenge upon Nam-gyu, setting him up for failure in the fifth game of jump rope. Yet, that game also marks the end of the pills for Min-su as the short-term supply inevitably runs out. Consequently, the withdrawal that follows in the absence of the drugs takes a huge toll on the player.
It turns Min-su into an even jumpier and more paranoid version of his old self, as Se-mi’s voice in his head becomes louder and louder. Therefore, in the challenge of the Game of Sky Squid Game, he remains the easiest target. There are nine players, including Jun-hee’s newborn baby, who is now forced to participate under her dead mother’s number. These players have to go through three rounds. In each round, the players must push at least one player off the tall pillar and to their death in order to proceed forward. Naturally, this puts a target on the meek player, the baby, and Gi-hun, who becomes the newborn’s self-assigned protector.
However, the latter remains a challenging target since his refusal to let go of the baby means Jeong-dae’s group runs the risk of throwing off their calculation for the third round. As such, Min-su, with his withdrawal symptoms and adverse hallucinations of the dead, is the most obvious first choice. Yet, even after the posse votes it out among them, none of them are willing to take the step and shove the man off themselves for fear of being taken down with him. Ultimately, Myung-gi comes up with the idea of pushing Min-su off with the help of the large pole attached to the pillar. Thus, the player ultimately falls to his death alone, verging on the brink of insanity.
