Top 10 Thanos Moments in Squid Game

What better way to begin than at the end? Thanos’s death came as quite a shock. The show was building him up as the new antagonist - well, next to the Front Man, anyway - only to kill him off in the penultimate episode. It was completely unexpected, as was the manner of his demise. He once again confronts Myung-gi, only this time the YouTuber comes prepared. With a fork. He stabs Thanos in the neck, and he dies a rather messy death. We may not have liked that Thanos died so soon, but after all that aggression, we’re not surprised that Myung-gi snapped. Get it? Like the Thanos snap?

Thanos had already made an impression by the time we got to Red Light Green Light 2. But it was this moment we knew he was going to be a not-so-nice man. Thanos is the first player to manipulate the games, using the fluid rules of Red Light Green Light to his advantage. If anyone moves, they get shot, and that means if anyone moves. So Thanos simply pushes the man in front of him, who topples into two others like dominoes. And since they moved, they got shot. With this, we quickly identified Thanos as the new resident bad guy - the guy who will do anything to win.

Of course, this brutal moment is immediately followed by one of Thanos’s funniest. Having taken his drug, Thanos immediately morphs into the animated goof we all know, and that’s on full display during the Fly Me to the Moon segment. Immediately after killing the three players, Thanos is hopping around like a child, a giant grin plastered on his face. He’s also clicking his heels, evidently having the time of his life. The latter visual became a huge meme and has helped define Thanos’s character. But it’s also a brilliant testimony to his complexity - as much as we love to hate the guy, we just can’t help but love him.

Thanos has quite the grudge against MG Coin, as the crypto YouTuber lost him a ton of money - and is the very reason he’s in the games in the first place. Thanos once again confronts Myung-gi and violently shoves food in his face. The YouTuber isn’t one to take the mistreatment, and he attacks Thanos. Unfortunately, the rapper is much stronger - and has an ally in Nam-gyu. They 2v1 Myung-gi, and it’s one of Thanos’s most unlikable moments. It’s scenes like this that we remember, despite all the memes and laughs, that Thanos is an angry, vindictive, and horribly violent man.

Some players recognize Thanos on the way to Red Light Green Light, and complete pandemonium ensues. Thanos and his huge group of fans all crowd into the photo booth and pose for the camera, but a guard tells them to knock it off. There’s something hilarious about Thanos and his fans using the game’s camera to take a picture. It speaks to a nonchalant attitude in contrast with the games’ brutality, with Thanos even joking around with the guard. We’d love to know what they were thinking. Maybe they even had a cheeky smile under that mask.

Thanos’s treatment of Min-su is one giant joke, but their relationship culminates in a surprisingly complex encounter inside the washroom. Complex because it’s equal parts tragic, scary, and downright hilarious. Thanos confronts Min-su outside the stall door, and he gives one of the funniest line readings in the entire show. But the scene’s tone quickly takes a turn. Min-su opens the door and Thanos gets physical, shoving him back onto the toilet. Knowing Thanos’s violent past, it significantly raises the tension. And then Thanos reveals a startling truth about himself, introducing elements of tragedy and digging deeper into his awful past. It’s a great scene, expertly blending different tones and doing a lot of complex work with Thanos.

It doesn’t take long for Player 196 to draw Thanos’s eye. He initially spots her in the camera line but makes his move while entering Red Light Green Light. And it’s with this we knew we would love the purple-haired rapper. He calls her “señorita,” which is just a hilarious little detail, and proceeds to hit on her before dropping a freestyle rap. And let’s not forget the “I like you,” which is just iconic at this point. And, you know, she seemed to be won over by his charms. Too bad about what happens…

With 196 dead, Thanos turns his eyes to another señorita in Se-Mi. And Min-su, of course. We mustn’t forget Min-su. He’s not nearly as smooth in this encounter - probably because he’s high as a kite - and Se-Mi isn’t swayed in the slightest. It’s a funny scene nevertheless, but the true magic comes when Thanos approaches Min-su. While he’s obviously not thrilled with the choice of teammate, Thanos calls him “my brother” and welcomes him into the “Thanos world” with a nice hug. Calling him cute is just icing on the cake. Maybe Se-Mi wasn’t won over by his charms, but we sure were.

Thanos is probably the most eager player of the games, aside from maybe that old dude. And what better way to celebrate the games than by giving the O button a giant smooch? During the vote, Thanos skips up to the console like an excited child running for snack time, and that alone is funny enough. But it gets so much better. He then gives the O button a giant kiss and gets the crowd going with an adorable little celebration. How can someone not be won over by this man? He’s just so endearingly childish.

The third and final game of season two is an entire summation of Thanos’s character. It has everything, both the good and the bad. It displays his ruthlessness, easily choosing some allies over others and forcing Min-su and Se-Mi to play rock, paper, scissors for a spot in the door. But it’s also a riot. There’s the dancing on the carousel. The kicking of Gyeong-su. Asking about Gyeong-su immediately after kicking him. The “skrrt[a].” Really, just the sheer joy that he has playing these games. It really is the Thanos world, and we’re all just living in it.

What Thanos moment did you love? Let us know in the comments below!








[a]https://youtu.be/zZtdMCLAdII?si=DxFnjTHi4V-BXM4b&t=11