"Squid Game" originally aired on NetFlix back in 2021. See my season 1 review here
Spoiler Alert: Spoilers ahead. Turn back now if you havent watched season 2 of "Squid Game".
The basic premise of the story is 456 people are invited to play a game. If they win, they get the 45.6 billion won (roughly $39 million in US dollars) prize. If they lose... well we're not initially sure what happens. Later, we learn the cruel irony of the game. If you lose, you die. The "game" is actually a series of children's games that are popular in South Korea. Rich people secretly bet on who lives and who dies.
The show is very stylized. The anonymous guards all dress in pink and have either a circle, a triangle or a square on their face masks. The contestants all wear green jumpsuits that contain their contestant number. In season 2 they are also designated as either an X or an O (as indicated by their patch).
Season 2 dropped in December 2024. There are 7 episodes total. Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae) was the sole survivor of the first game. Instead of taking the money and running, he has spent 3 years and lots of money trying to find the originators and location of the games. He tracks down the "recruiter" (played by Gong Yoo), They play a game of Russian roulette. Lucky, Gi-hun survives and the recruiter does not.
Gi-hun (known as player 456) joins a new game with all new participants. They include:
- Park Yong-sik (played by Yang Dong-geun) and Jang Geum-ja (played by Kang Ae-shim)-- a son and mother duo- the son is severely in debt to loan sharks and will be killed if he doesnt pay up
- Kang Dae-ho (played by Kang Ha-neul)--a former Marine
- Seon-nyeo (played by Chae Kook-hee)- a former shayman
- Cho Hyun-ju (played by Park Sung-hoon)- a former soldier and trans woman. Note: this character is played by a cis male actor. While there has been criticism of this casting, series creator Park said he was not able to find an out trans actress in South Korea for the role.
- Choi Su-bong (played by T.O.P)- underground rapper Thanos- he's on drugs and ruthless. He purposefully caused several contestants to die.
- Myung-Gi (played by Yim Si-wan)- cryptocurrency influencer. He convinces all his followers to buy some cryto and lost all their money. Several of his followers are also in this game.
- Kim Jun-hee (played by Jo Yu-ri)- Myung-Gi's pregnant girlfriend
- Park Jung-bae (played by Lee Seo-hwan)- Gi-hun's coworker and friend
- Oh Young-il is actually Hwang In-ho (played by Lee Byung-hun). The Front Man interjects himself into the new game. He also was a previous game winner. After the . death of creator Oh Il-nam, the Front Man is now the head of the Squid Game.
New this season -- contestants vote after each game. They can vote to leave the game and split the money won up to that point or they can keep playing. This is a very interesting addition. It's crazy that even with the reality of being killed slapping them in the face, most people still vote to continue.
We learn more about the guards (pinks) this time around too. A group is harvesting organs from those killed and selling them on the black market. New guard Kang No-eul (played by Park Gyu-young) attempts to foil their efforts. She fled North Korea and is trying to track down her daughter.
We also spend time with police officer Hwang Jun-ho (played by Wi Ha-jun). He survived his fall from the cliff last season. Jun-ho, shrimp boat Captain Park and several others search for the island where the game is played. We learn that Jun-ho's brother is actually the Front Man. While i enjoyed the show expanded it's universe, there scenes didnt accomplish much.
Below are all the games played in season 2:
- Rock, Paper, Scissors Minus One- the recruiter forces his captives to play this. It's the traditional rock paper scissors but played with two hands. Also the loser plays a game of Russian Roulette.
- Red Light, Green Light- Young-hee the killer robot and most popular game from season 1 is back. During green light, contestants can move. However, if they move after red light, they are killed. The goal is to make it over the finish line before the time is up. Gi-hun tries to warn the other players about the rules but many dismiss him and die. After being "safe" he goes back into the game to help someone with a non-lethal wound but the guards kill him anyway.
- Dalgona- also returning is the honeycomb game where players must cut out a shape without breaking it.
- Six Legged Pentathlon- each team must complete 5 mini games all while their legs are tied together-- ddakji (players must flip a folded card), biseokchigi (players throw stones to knock down other stones), gong-gi (players must throw and catch small stones), paengi chigi (players must spin a top) and jengi (players must kick an object and keep it in the air).
- Mingle- similar to musical chairs, players must form groups of specific sizes in rooms within 30 seconds. This is the most devastating game of season 2. It leaves only 100 participants alive.
- Lights Out- players must navigate a dark room where they attack each other. .
The season ends on a cliffhanger. The game is not over. After Gi-hun and the others fake their deaths in order to start a rebellion, they are thwarted. There are heavy casualties. The Front Man switches back to his black mask and executes Jung-bae in front of Gi-hun (apparently to traumatize him as much as possible).
Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). It would be impossible for the sophomore season of "Squid Game" to live up to the cultural phenomenon that was season 1. Having said that, I dont think season 2 was bad. It still has lots to offer.
POSITIVES:
- The behind the scenes look at the pinks shows how much humanity is lost by the cogs in the wheel. Should they be held responsible for just doing their jobs-- regardless of how immoral the acts are? It's scary to think about given the current state of the world.
- I was also interested in the addition of the voting round for the players after each game. Why would they continue to vote against their best interests knowing they will likely die? Again, scary stuff.
- I continue to really enjoy seeing the myriad of ways players react to the stress of the game. Some stab each other in the back (literally). Some try to band together. Some pretend they're not in a fight for their life.
- The pacing in season 2 seems a bit off. It took 2 episodes for Gi-hun to get back into the game. With just 7 episodes total in the season, that took way too long. I also could have done without the outside quests (to find the location of the game) since not much was accomplished.
- I also wasnt expecting the cliffhanger ending (but if we view season 1 as part 1 and season 3 as part 2, it makes more sense).
Photo Credits: https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/squid-game-season-2-cast
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