Squid Game 2

Squid game, the pandemic sensation that put South Korean culture on the map after Gangnam style and BTS, has made its long-awaited season 2 return on Netflix. This highly anticipating show continues the idea of throwing desperate people in debt into the “high risk, high reward” deathmatch. The overarching themes of avarice, desperation, and class struggles are also maintained, with more focus put on interactions between new characters and Gi-Hyun’s crusade to do everything in his power to stop the games.

As I mentioned in my previous review of Season 1, the games are not the focus of the show. They are simple, effectively builds tension, and highlights tidbits of fun Korean culture. Character interaction during these games, however, is what elevates this show to another level, keeping me at my toes as they build up to who ends up surviving or dying. Season 2 stays true to this spirit. There were also interesting new plot devices – the yes/no vote process (almost felt like Trump vs Kamala voters) – that made these interactions even spicier. Although I they introduced several more characters for more rivalries and allyship to develop, I found that character depth was noticeably sacrificed. There were some memorable ones for sure, my personal favourites being the dynamic between the mother and son, as well as Thanos the rapper speaking in rizzy English (played by BigBang member Choi Seung-hyun) and the recruiter (played by Gong Yoo, who singlehandedly made Episode 1 my favourite of the season). While many of these characters were amusing, I never found myself rooting for or against anyone with as much passion as I did for Season 1 characters like Sang-woo, Sae-byeok and Ali. So the deaths this time around were not as hard-hitting. There were many deaths for sure, but none of them were as hard-hitting as Season 1.

I was most captivated by the dichotomy between Gi-Hyun and Frontman. As previous winners of the games, they both have gone through some major shit. The difference is Gi-Hyun is on brink of dying a hero to save others, while Frontman has lived long enough to see himself become the villain. I especially liked the main character energy that Gi-Hyun gave: the grit, determination, and bravery he mustered after all the atrocities he went through during the games. On the other hand, the question remains why Frontman decided to walk another path… This plot element has great potential to evolve into something even more compelling in future seasons.

Squid Game Season 2 faced incredibly high expectations from viewers hoping to re-experience the magic of the first season. Given the "curse of success”, I’d say Season 2 performed well against the odds. While it may not have completely surpassed the original, it certainly isn’t a disappointing sequel, and it leaves plenty of room for the story to evolve in more interesting ways. I look forward to the third and final season in 2025.