Diksha Sundriyal
In Netflix’s ‘Squid Game,’ hundreds of people become players in a game where they have billions of won waiting for them if they win. But if they lose, they will die. At the end of each game, the winners are sent forth to prepare for the next game, but the losers meet their death sentence instantly. To make sure that no loser leaves the ground alive, soldiers are put on the duty to execute the players. One of those guards is a woman named Kang No-eul. Like the players, she is in a destitute situation and needs a lot of money to keep going. However, unlike 456 other people, she does not get the money by winning the game but by becoming a guard who has to ensure that every loser gets their due. Her past makes her an even more mysterious figure, putting a huge question mark on her intentions and goals. SPOILERS AHEAD.
No-eul’s Only Goal is to Reunite With Her Daughter
Over the course of the seven episodes of the second season, a frayed picture of Kang No-eul’s past comes to light. The picture is still incomplete, which means that there might still be some shocking revelations regarding her in the third season, but for now, we know enough to understand what pushes her character to do the things she does in Season 2. No-eul was a soldier in the North Korean army, which explains her expert marksmanship displayed during various games. She was also married and a mother to a one-year-old daughter. The circumstances surrounding her escape are not revealed, but something bad enough happened to make her shoot her superior officer and run for her life, leaving her daughter behind. One can only assume that her husband is dead by now because her daughter was left behind with no parents to take care of her.
Apart from killing an officer, No-eul also killed anyone who tried to capture her and successfully crossed her way into South Korea. She was in very bad shape at the time, but she resolved to find and get her daughter to South Korea as well. For seven years, she went to the doors of all the brokers she could find, and over the years, each broker told her only one thing: her daughter was dead. Despite all the money, she was ready to throw at them, the brokers could reunite her with her daughter because they had no idea what happened to her. They only assumed that the girl would have died because who would have taken care of her with both her parents gone?
The only ray of hope No-eul gets is from the broker who is identified simply as “North Korean Defector Shelter Employee.” The man also appears in Season 1 of the show, where Sae-Byeok is one of his clients, trying to get her brother and mother out of North Korea. The man tells No-eul that there is no evidence to suggest that his daughter is dead, but there is nothing that proves she is alive either. No matter how much money she throws at him, he cannot help her find her daughter because he has absolutely nothing to go on with. While he empathizes with her, he also tells her to give up her search and accept reality. But it is easier said than done, and No-eul will not rest until she finds out what happened to her daughter.
Being a Guard in the Games is Not No-eul’s First Rodeo
While she is introduced in Season 2, No-eul is no stranger to the games. This is not her first time becoming a guard. Seven years ago, when she crossed the border and landed in South Korea, she was at the worst point in her life. She had left behind everything, including her only daughter, and was traumatized by everything that had happened to her so far. This was when she was approached by a mysterious man who claimed to take pity on her and offered her a job that could get her the money to bring her daughter back. This man turns out to be the Masked Officer in charge of overseeing the games in the absence of the Front Man in Season 2.
Seeing that No-eul had a career as a sniper, the Officer brought her in as a guard rather than a player, as it would be a much better use of her talents. In return, he promised her that her daughter would be returned. It is not clear whether No-eul has been working as a guard in the games every year since or if this is the only time she has returned since her first foray. In any case, she is familiar with how the whole thing works. Apart from the hope of getting her daughter back, No-eul also decided to become a guard because she was told she would be helping people who had no hope in their lives. Sure enough, all the players in the game have no prospects left whatsoever, and the game is their final resort for a better life. But when they lose, they are back to square one, and No-eul believes that by giving them an easy death, a simple shot in the head, she is putting them out of their misery.
This shows that No-eul isn’t completely heartless, unlike several other guards, who have found another way to exploit the players. The Officer and a few other guards are secretly running an organ harvesting operation through which they make more money on the side. No-eul was offered a cut in it, but she refused to be a part of it. Moreover, she also sabotages the operation by killing the players, who are otherwise left half-alive, to have more of their organs harvested before they die. She shows a similar empathy for Player 246, whom she recognizes from the amusement park. She knows that he is there to win and get the money he needs for his daughter’s treatment, who has blood cancer. So, she tries to look out for him, as she sees her own desire to save her daughter reflected in him.
Read More: Gong-gi in Squid Game, Explained: Rules and How is it Played?
