A lot of us must have seen the recently most talked about Netflix series ‘Squid Game’. It’s taking over as one of the most streamed Netflix Original shows and rightly so. The thrill it delivers from the beginning captures its viewers and the show manages to sustain its momentum till the end and leaves us in suspense and anticipation of the subsequent season.

 Those that haven’t yet seen the show should beware of the SPOILERS ahead. This article aims to see the most loved and most hated characters from the show.

Most Hated Characters

3. Han Mi-nyeo (212)

Han Mi-nyeo was an eventful character in the show. From her survival-inspired love affair with Deok-su to her tricks in the show, she sure makes an interesting character to watch.

On the negative side, Player 212 was a highly annoying, manipulative, and self-centered character as we could see from her screen time in the first season of Squid Game. She derived pleasure from being irritable to the other players and guards. Do you remember when she pointed out that Ali (199) was an illegal immigrant and suggested that the team should be restructured? The fact that she got past the tug-of-war game with the team didn’t cause her to stop being manipulative and narcissistic.

Furthermore, Han Mi-nyeo was a “pest”. She could bug other people in a bid to survive. For instance, she pestered and clung to Deok-su during the games and tried to convince other players to be her partner when she had no partner for the pebble game.

Her way of life didn’t go well for her in the end as Deok-su thought she couldn’t offer anything special. Then, her desire for him developed into hatred and eventually led her to kill herself along with him.

2. Jang Deok-su (101)

Deok-su is the main antagonist in the intoductory season of the series. He’s a character you would love to hate.

A former gangster,  he had a criminal history with Sae-byeok (Player 067). It may seem like he was the one who took her in as he explained in episode one, but their relationship grew sour and Sae-byeok ran away. He was surprised to see her in the game and didn’t hesitate to beat her to express his anger. Their little brawl continues throughout the first season of the show where they try to eliminate each other.

Some reasons people dislike the character include his bullying nature, maltreatment of women, self-centeredness, and the fact that he’s a brute murderous force.

Again, Deok-su instigated most fights in the show and was a character nobody wanted to be up against. He eventually met his demise in the hands of his supposed lover, Han Mi-nyeo, in the glass bridge.

1. Cho Sang-woo (Player 218) 

Sang-woo is clearly the most hated character in the first season of Squid Game. Originally, he left the country for greener pastures, but it didn’t quite work out for him. The high expectations from his friends and family led him to dive into fraudulence after being plagued by his debts. He eventually joins the Squid Game to make enough money to settle his debts.

The first thing Sang-woo did that got us to frown in disgust was his failure to dissuade the protagonist Gi-hun (Player 456) from picking the umbrella shape in “The Man the Umbrella” episode (episode 2) though had known the implication of the game.

Similarly, he betrayed Ali (Player 199) by using his kindness and lack of intelligence against him. Though one might explain this act was a necessary evil, it doesn’t make us forgive Sang-woo for making Ali die in his stead.

Again,  Sang-woo got to the peak of his evil deeds when he finally killed Sae-byeok (Player 67), an injured defenseless woman, who was no threat to him. Let’s face it, this action was cruel to the core. Even Hitler may have spared Sae-byeok in that situation.

The 3 Most Loved Characters

3. Ali Abdul (Player 199)

 He definitely takes this spot. In the show, he was a Pakistani immigrant who came to South Korea seeking a better life. He was a factory worker whose boss withheld his pay. After leaving the game the first time, he confronted his stingy boss, which led to a struggle between both men. His boss ended up losing his fingers, while he made away with some money. 

Ali was an innocent man with the heart of an angel, the strength of a bull, and the brain of a child. Thus, it wasn’t difficult for the viewers of the show to fall in love with him.

His relationship with Sang-woo grew as the show went on until the bitter part where he was tricked by Sang-woo and ultimately eliminated. Additionally, his kind gesture of trying to save Sang-woo may be considered naive in the kill-or-be-killed game, still, it remains one of the reasons he’s one of the most loved characters in the show.

2. Ji-yeong (Player 240)

To be factual,  we know little of this character aside from the fact that she was once in prison for murdering her abusive father. We first took notice of her in the third game where a team of 10 was to be formed and Gi-hun’s team needed to recruit more members.

 Although Sang-woo was opposed to taking in more ladies, Sae-byeok ignored him and brought Ji-yeong seeing she had no teammates.

Her relationship with Sae-byeok developed shortly in the show, with Ji-yeong promising to do anything to make sure Sae-byeok wins the money. She literally gave her life up for Sae-byeok after deliberately throwing short in the pebble game, claiming Sae-byeok had better reasons to win the money.

1. Kang Sae-byeok (Player 067)

Am I the only one who thinks Sae-byeok was unnecessarily taken out? I mean what was the point of shattering the glass after the fifth game, the Bridge game. Sae-byeok was a good and lovable character who was unjustly taken out. Most of us wanted her to win the 45.6 billion Won with Gi-hun. However, the creators of the show didn’t share a similar feeling.

Sae-byeok had an impressive character development from the quiet, ever-frowning pickpocket to a fascinating main character who had the solid goal of reuniting her family with the prize money. Again, she developed a healthy friendship with the show’s lead role, Gi-hun, which brought her to the spotlight.

She had initially defected and emigrated from the North with her brother, leaving her mother behind. However, her brother was compelled to reside in an orphanage. Although she couldn’t carry out her plans by herself, she made Gi-hun vow to reclaim her brother from the orphanage.