Green light, red light “Mugunghwa Kkoci Pieot Seumnida” I bet you can practically hear the infamous song of the Squid Games doll. The doll with cameras in her eyes constantly looking for the next elimination as soon as she spins around. Squid Game has become one if not the most popular series of 2024 and its season three is highly anticipated with viewers patiently waiting to see if their favorite player survived or has truly met their end. Personally, I loved the series and all of the new characters that were introduced to us. However, there is one character and actor in particular who caught the eye of not only me but all of America, Thanos (Player 230). Thanos is played by Choi Sueng-hyun, more commonly referred to as T.O.P, and is an underground rapper who was facing negative thoughts of suicide and hopelessness, when he met the Recruiter and agreed to participate in the Squid Games. Thanos was a very popular character due to being the series’ comedic relief and keeping a smile on his face despite being in a life-or-death situation. However, we all know Thanos, his purple hair, and charisma, but what about the genius behind the character Thanos?
T.O.P’s talents not only include acting but rapping and dancing as well. T.O.P was born on November 4, 1987, in Seoul, South Korea. T.O.P was the lead rapper of the huge K-pop group BigBang which formed in 2006. In 2017 during T.O.P’s mandatory military service in Korea, rumors came out that he and a female trainee at his old music label smoked marijuana together, which is strictly illegal and is extremely frowned upon in Korea. After these accusations came out and were confirmed, T.O.P’s military service was postponed for two years and he served a 10-month jail sentence. Following this scandal, T.O.P faced major guilt, telling The Strait Times Magazine, “I realized later how much hurt and painful memories I gave to the people around me, my family and fans out there.” A few days after the news broke about the scandal, T.O.P was found unconscious, and the cause was later found to be an anti-anxiety medication overdose. Thankfully he survived, but after these tragic events, T.O.P’s guilt and the shame he felt from disappointing fans and Korean citizens became overwhelming to him. He issued a handwritten apology letter that was translated on Soompi.com. It read, “First of all, I would like to sincerely apologize for causing great disappointment and disturbance with a huge wrongdoing. I am too ashamed of myself to stand in front of everyone for an apology. I have no excuses and feel very regretful and fearful, so I am carefully writing down these feelings as words. Our members, my agency, the public… My fans who have supported me, and my family, I have left an irreparable scar in everyone’s hearts, so I believe I deserve to be punished. My heart aches, and I am also very ashamed of myself. I will meditate and reflect on again and again. I will never make such an irresponsible mistake again. Once more, I apologize for not being able to apologize to everyone personally. I will deeply repent my wrongdoing. I am very ashamed of myself. I apologize.”
T.O.P was blacklisted in Korea but took the world by storm with his comeback in season 2 of Squid Games. Recreational marijuana is legal in many places in America and is not uncommon at all—it is so normalized that you may even find it at your local neighborhood schools—so it’s not surprising that American viewers were very sympathetic with T.O.P and his history and accepted him and his character, Thanos, with open arms. There is way more than just a few Thanos edits on Tik Tok or T.O.P edits of old stage performances. Recently as I scrolled on my FYP (for who knows how long!) I came across Netflix’s Tik Tok page and was pleased to see T.O.P reacting to fan edits of his characters. After he finished watching the edits he said something that warmed my heart. I can’t find the video, but he said something along the lines of, “Waking up every morning to see new Thanos memes has become my morning routine,” which is extremely sweet in contrast to how much hate he got in 2017 when his scandal happened. It’s clear the more I see him on social media the more I can tell he’s gotten more comfortable. This outpouring of compassion and sympathy is what I love most about Gen Z. There are so many comments letting T.O.P know how much he is loved and how much his talent is appreciated. I really hope Thanos comes back for season 3. I know, I know, he was stabbed with a fork by Player 333, but maybe there is some plot twist where he is alive because Nam-gyu seems so lonely and sad without him. Even if that’s not the case, with the popularity of the show I hope to see more of T.O.P whether in series or in music. This was a good career move for him and a strong comeback. He has so many supporters who are rooting for him and who are excited to see what he does next, myself included.