#gi hun is my fav character can u tell

[thelastharbinger]

Thinking about the parallels between Gi-hun and Ali's characters...

Both Ali and Gi-hun possess a similar kind of innocence: they contain high levels of empathy, are deeply sensitive, have a mind towards community, care about the wellbeing of others, and give strangers the benefit of the doubt more than are deserving.

But whereas Ali is innocent in his unwavering selflessness, Gi-hun--even though he has selfishly (unintentionally or not) brought ruin to those around him--his innocence lies in the fact that he hasn't grown up. He's still essentially a child. Gi-hun is surviving off the back of his mother's hard work as she literally wastes her body away. He has not matured enough to learn responsibility towards work, his daughter, finances, interpersonal relationships nor has he awoken to the fact that his actions lead to negative consequences. He does not realize the extent to which he is negatively impacting the people closest to him, partly because he's self-interested, but also in the way of a child, he still needs to be cared for and expects that of others around him. His daughter takes care of him emotionally because she pities him and recognizes that his bad parenting are a result of ignorance and lack of self-awareness. Gi-hun's mother is still feeding, housing, clothing and advising him because a loving parent will not willingly let their child suffer, even if it's in their best interest to make them become better people.

Gi-hun has been cushioned all his life; he's literally been abandoned in the nest. It makes sense that this is who he has become. Gi-hun, when we meet him, is still living in a bubble; the Squid Game is a complete shattering of this safe world without responsibility that he has created for himself. He forcibly learns that there are those who quietly suffer around him and comes to know of the harsh world of capitalism where people are treated worse than the race horses he bets on.

However, he is also friendly towards others, expresses generosity to all living creatures, and easily shares in the joys and sorrows of those around him. He refuses to alienate anyone and is, for all intents and purposes, a good person. It's just not enough. His character is testament to the fact that good intentions are never suffice. We have to do better. We have to be better people by actually showing up, double knotting our shoelaces, and doing the hard task. I love Gi-hun's development and the fact that his guilt never fully leaves him. By the end of the season, he is burdened with accountability. His being alive is a reminder that it was at the expense of someone else, the money he reluctantly won was earned because 454 people had to be killed. His entering the game meant that his mother died without any aid, and that Sang-woo's mother won't know what happened to her son. By the end, his innocence is gone but he gains the necessary grit to make him want to actively bite back the system. I think that's pretty neat writing.

#gi hun is my fav character can u tell? #ali is probs my 2nd or 3rd but i see so much of them in each other its like no wonder they both hit it off so quickly #they're both wildly different characters but there's so much sameness in how generously they approach the world and other people #which feels weird to say bc gi hun yells at his mom to work harder to maintain them both when all he does is gamble and sacrifice others #but there's so much gentleness there too that is mimicked in each other #he just makes for such a compelling dude #i've gone on long enough #squid game #gi hun #gi hun squid game #ali abdul #ali squid game #squid game rambles