Why does Thanos speak English in Squid Game 2? Explained

The second season of the Netflix series Squid Game 2 has been garnering attention for many reasons, one of which is its English dubbed version, especially with regards to the character Thanos, and lack of authenticity in his character due to the dubbed dialogues.

The character Thanos, played by Choi Seung-hyun, the former BIGBANG member, T.O.P, was much talked about due to his unique personality in the show.

Thanos, Player 230, is an ex-rapper, much like the actor, and one of the features that makes his character all the more interesting is the amount of English he speaks.

During several parts of the show, the character is seen rolling out rap verses in English, which many found hilarious. Thanos's usage of English comes from the fact that he's an ex-Korean rapper, and constantly switching between Korean and English is a common trait among Korean rappers.

Therefore, many pointed out that the essence of the character was not translated in the show's English-dubbed version. Regardless, netizens were in general unhappy with the English-dubbed version of Squid Game 2.

On the other hand, many netizens also expressed that the English-dubbed version of the show wasn't too bad. They also argued that it was one of the best they've seen in the industry as many dubbed versions of shows turn out to be disappointing and difficult to watch.

Here are a few fan reactions regarding the same:

"And thanos is the reason why you should never watch English dubbed version of a Kdrama. You miss his funny random English moments," tweeted a fan on X.

Many fans took to social media to criticize the English dubbing, with one fan saying that the original has more "heart and effort" put into the performance.

"watching squid game in korean might be the best decision bc otherwise you are missing thanos throwing random english words every 2 sentences," said a fan on X.

"this is awful im sorry if you watch the english dub of squid game instead of the original you need help," added another fan.

"jesus christ there's no way people actually watch squid games dubbed. this is a*s. the original has way more heart and effort put into the performance," wrote a netizen.

Meanwhile, some netizens defended the English-dubbed version, with some saying that the voice acting is great.

"this is great voice acting im tired of people dunking on it," stated a fan.

"imma be real with you guys, NA dubbing is mostly dog a*s but the Squid Games dub is pretty damn good," added another fan.

"Ppl sh*tting on this scene with the eng dub, but imo it's actually good?" wrote a netizen.

"watching this makes me realize people just f*cking hate dubs like this is completely fine i think its even Good," said another netizen on X.

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All you need to know about the character Thanos in the latest Netflix sequel series, Squid Game 2

Squid Game is a South Korean TV series released in 2021 by Netflix and it revolves around a survival plot where a large crowd of contestants are gathered to participate in children's games. While they were offered a handsome price in return for the same, the catch was that these children's games had deadly stakes.

After its successful first season release, the show's second season was rolled out on December 26, and several fans and netizens had many opinions to share about the sequel and its new characters. One of the new characters that were added to the show was Thanos, played by the former BIGBANG member, T.O.P.

This also marks his return to the acting industry after a decade-long hiatus. Apart from the fact that Thanos was an interesting and eye-catching character in Squid Game 2, people also noticed that T.O.P shared several similarities with the character. Both Thanos and T.O.P are rappers.

During the show, Thanos is portrayed as someone who abuses substances. This was also connected to his 2017 drug scandal where the idol was sentenced ten months of jail time and a two-year suspension from his mandatory military service for his marijuana usage. The idol himself talked about the thought process behind playing the character during an interview with People magazine.

"Since I’m a rapper myself, I tried to deliver the lines as naturally as possible while not being too lighthearted or comical. My personal goal was to show the viewers a character they hadn’t seen before — someone who is mysterious and unpredictable and with a couple of loose screws," he said.

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On the whole, regardless of whether people like the English-dubbed version of Squid Game 2 or not, netizens collectively shared their appreciation for the character played by T.O.P, Thanos.