Squid Game fans have rushed to the defense of one of its stars after his performance has been heavily criticized.
The highly anticipated second season dropped on Netflix on December 26, and has so far receive mixed reviews.
While some viewers have said that season two is even better than the extremely popular first season, others have expressed their disappointment in the storyline and it’s ending.
The Front Man is also back – played by Hwang In-ho – after his identity was revealed at the end of season one.
Gong Yoo returns as the unnamed, cryptic salesman who recruits people to play in Squid Game as well.
There’s dozens of new faces too, including South Korean rapper T.O.P.
The rapper, whose real name is Choi Seung Hyun and is best known for being in K-Pop group BigBang, stars as Player 230 in Squid Game 2.
His character also goes by Thanos, and if you’re unsure who that it, it’s the dude with the bright purple hair.
T.O.P plays Thanos in the new season of Squid Game (Netflix)
According to The Mirror, some Korean outlets haven’t taken kindly to the music star’s portrayal of Player 230 in the well-loved Netflix show and have even called for him to ‘apologize’ to Squid Game fans.
Meanwhile, others have branded his acting as ‘unbearable’ and ‘cringey’.
Ouch.
But his fans and Netflix viewers have rushed to his defense, with one person penning on social media that he’s their ‘favorite character on the show’.
“T.O.P killed it as Thanos in Squid Game,” another person wrote on Twitter, while a third said: “T.O.P showing up is the only thing making me want to watch Squid Game.“
A different person went on: “T.O.P definitely did a great job playing his role in Squid Game that’s all I can say.”
Elsewhere, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has spoken out on his decision to cast the rapper and applauded him for taking on the role.
The rapper is best known for being in Korean boyband BigBang (Han Myung-Gu/WireImage)
Prior to his role in the show, in 2017, T.O.P was found guilty of marijuana usage (a drug that’s illegal in South Korea), leading to the musician to receive a suspended prison sentence of 10 months and a two-year suspension from his mandatory military service, Billboard reports.
T.O.P apologized to fans in a statement to reporters: “I’m truly sorry that I disappointed my fans and the public. I will do my best to make a fresh start and not to make such a mistake again with what I’ve learned from this lesson.”
Noting T.O.P’s previous guilty verdict, Dong-hyuk told PEOPLE: “This is a comeback after quite a long hiatus, and particularly because he portrays a character that’s a rapper and also someone who is on drugs.
“I feel it took him a lot of guts to take on a role that mirrors some of his personal struggles.”
