South Korea, or rather a global event <Squid Game> continues its story on June 27. The Netflix original content <Squid Game> has captured the love of the world with its story about 456 people risking their lives in a survival game where the final winner takes all the prize money. The release of <Squid Game Season 2> in December 2024 depicted the journey of Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), the survivor and winner of the first season, who re-enters the game to stop it and fails in his efforts to save others. Thus, Season 2 ended without a resolution, and this upcoming <Squid Game Season 3> is set to continue the story. As many viewers question what will unfold in Season 3, the reporters at Cineplay have become curious about who will be the first to fall. Therefore, each of them has made their predictions about who the first eliminated character in <Squid Game Season 3> (from the main supporting cast) will be. Let’s see if the instincts of the Cineplay reporters are worth anything and who among them has the best instincts.
Kim Ji-yeon_120 Jo Hyun-joo (Park Seong-hoon)
This is the conclusion reached after excluding characters that seem likely to survive through the process of elimination. Let’s consider the narrative progression and the use of characters. The <Squid Game> series mercilessly kills off the more virtuous characters. Additionally, the series portrays minorities in a sympathetic light. It is quite remarkable that director Hwang Dong-hyuk has not yet killed off Jo Hyun-joo, a character who is transgender and whose motivation for participating in the game is to cover surgery costs, who forms a special bond with Young-mi (Kim Si-eun), and who teaches others how to use firearms, all while being armed with various forms of 'goodness'. Jo Hyun-joo, a former soldier, was a crucial character for Seong Gi-hun to incite a rebellion. However, since the rebellion in Season 2 seems to have failed, the character of Jo Hyun-joo has likely fulfilled its narrative purpose in Hwang's story. Therefore, it is highly probable that Jo Hyun-joo will exit <Squid Game> Season 3 in a shocking manner that deeply touches emotions.
Seong Chan-eol_100 Lim Jeong-dae (Song Young-chang)
Lim Jeong-dae, who participated in the Squid Game to pay off a debt of 10 billion won, is the person who most actively utilized the newly added 'agree/disagree' rule in Season 2. He is the first person to subtly provoke the psychology of participants who feel that 'dying is better than living miserably', urging them to continue the game. Therefore, I think he might be the first to be eliminated among the main characters in Season 3. This is because the game has been set up in such a way that it can continue without needing any more agreement. Since the rebellion led by Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) has failed, people will no longer be inclined to join the side that wants to stop the game. The game will not stop now. From the perspective of creating the work, Lim Jeong-dae, who provided momentum to the game, will become useless. Moreover, the first game in Season 3 is likely to be jump rope, and I do not think he will be able to navigate such a game skillfully at his age. Even if he barely survives here, he will likely be injured, affecting his performance in the next game, which will also require physical strength. As increasingly difficult games continue, Lim Jeong-dae will naturally face elimination.
Chu Ah-young_7 Park Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun)
In <Squid Game> Season 2, Yong-sik, who once betrayed his mother Geum-ja (Kang Ae-sim), might end up sacrificing himself in Season 3 to save her. I feel sorry to say this to Yong-sik, but he is a character who lacks upright justice, sharp intellect, and strong power, making him close to a one-digit combat power. Just surviving until now is already commendable. To be frank, he is also a character with less weight among the survivors. Yong-sik, who showed a mama's boy and kangaroo-like dependence on his mother in Season 2, might ultimately sacrifice himself for her. To appropriately utilize the family melodrama, one of Geum-ja and Yong-sik will have to go first. Since Geum-ja needs to assist Jun-hee with her delivery, I cautiously predict that Yong-sik will be the first to go.
Lee Jin-joo_125 Park Min-soo (Lee Da-wit)
After the game ends, a vote is held to decide whether to continue, and while most participants in <Squid Game 2> show relatively consistent opinions, there is one person who appears confused. That is participant 125, Park Min-soo. Of course, an external force called 'Thanos' intervened, but in the world of <Squid Game>, where there are no eternal allies or enemies, his actions are somewhat difficult to understand. In a survival game, a character who has lost direction usually ends up in one of two ways: either they reveal a huge secret as a 'powerful hidden character' or they are eliminated in vain, caught up in the plans of major characters.
As <Squid Game 2> dropped significant hints and had to wrap up the narratives of numerous characters, this season seems to lack the luxury to empower Park Min-soo. Moreover, since the rebellion led by Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) ended in failure, the game is already racing forward like a runaway train. It seems that there is not much room for Min-soo now.
Joo Seong-cheol_333 Lee Myung-ki (Im Si-wan)
Who will be the first to face elimination? Honestly, I am not sure, but as I pick out characters that seem necessary until the end of the season, eventually, there will be one left. For instance, although I dislike the Dragon Palace Fairy (Chae Guk-hee) the most, there needs to be a character who constantly provokes the emotions of others throughout the drama, and Nam-kyu (Noh Jae-won) is likely to rise as the new season's villain, succeeding Thanos (Choi Seung-hyun), who died after being stabbed in the carotid artery with a fork. Upon closer inspection, there is one character who has already revealed their true nature and shown their cards. That is Myung-ki (Im Si-wan), who caused Young-mi (Kim Si-eun) to die in the 'Round and Round' game in Season 2. He was a YouTuber doing investment broadcasts, but after a bad investment led to significant losses for himself and his subscribers, he participated in the game to escape from creditors and subscribers. He is also the father of the child that his ex-girlfriend Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri) will give birth to in Season 3. It has already been hinted in the previous season that Madam Jang Geum-ja (Kang Ae-sim) will assist with the childbirth, so Myung-ki is the character that best fits the 'exit due to birth'. Furthermore, this choice aligns perfectly with the recurring themes of 'family melodrama', 'awakening', and 'repentance' (and the resulting death) in <Squid Game> every season.
