All eyes are on the second season of the Netflix hit "Squid Game," whose recent casting decision to include the K-pop generational talent T.O.P, a former member of the popular boy group BIGBANG, has already caused significant backlash due to his character description as a villain.

Director Hwang Dong Hyuk defended his decision, saying that T.O.P had undergone rigorous tests, as well as that the role was tailored just for him.

Hwang has said of T.O.P: "We decided that we had no choice but to prove it to the viewers through the final result. That was the reason we didn't cancel it and went ahead with it."

But reviews have not been kind since the season's premiere.

Some say his performance is "unbearable," and suggest that a talented newcomer would've been more suitable.

The broadcast team also questioned the way in which T.O.P's character, who gets entangled in a storyline involving drugs, canals reflected the latter's real-life scandals.

Critics have also expressed disappointment with T.O.P's acting, which some found it to be awkward and unsettling.

"His amount of screen time is so excessive that it borders on being unwatchable," MBC's Kim Kyung Hee reported.

"The character's rap-heavy lines, meanwhile, are difficult to comprehend, and frankly, even seeing him stroll into a scene just seems repugnant."

T.O.P's casting raises the question of whether industry connections, despite the apparent merit of his casting, played a role. 3,183).

Newsis noted that his connections to the key figures in the production may have contributed to securing the role, especially in light of his absence from the acting world since 2014 and his public spats with fans over his career.

Yet, some point out that T.O.P has a still strong international fandom, similar to Jung Ho Yeon from the first season, whose acting was criticized domestically but was welcomed abroad.

With almost everyone still watching "Squid Game" Season 2, questions abound about the creative decisions in its casting. The production team has not yet directly responded to the backlash.