Sick and twisted games are back with the release of Squid Game season two. The strange but addictive show once again draws viewers in with its high stakes winner-takes-all chance for players to make a new life for themselves, if they are able to move on after what the game brings. Now with a new twist, players can leave at any time.
The first episode didn’t give me much hope for a good season; it was very slow moving as Gi-hun and his team spent years looking for the game’s recruiter in hopes that he would reveal the identities of the mysterious few that run the games. However, when the recruiter was found, the pace of the show immediately changed, and I was once again hooked. Making a statement in his signature psychotic way, the ddakji playing recruiter made a spectacle of the waste that human greed causes, setting the tone for the rest of the show which calls into question just what people will do for money. This was the perfect way to start the show putting in place a recurring theme that would pop up the rest of the show while quickly immersing the audience in the crazy over the top brutal reality of the show.
After a wild game of russian roulette with the recruiter, Gi-hun is introduced to another returning character from season one: Detective Hwang Jun-ho. He had been searching for the arena’s island ever since he discovered his brother was the forman behind the games. The detective teams up with Gi-hun and his crew in order to take down the games together, once and for all ending the merciless death match. Doing what everyone saw coming, Gi-hun decides the best way to find the island and the creators is to enter into the games again. However what he didn’t count on was being left to fend for himself in the games once again when his crew can’t find him to save him and the other participants from the coming games.
The games introduce us to a vast array of vibrant new characters: a rap artist with bright purple hair hyped up on drugs unphased by the games, a mother and son duo each unaware the other was entering, and a young woman in the third trimester of her pregnancy who was not expecting the father of her child to also be in the games. Gi-hun, reprising his place as Player 456, once again ends up in his own band of misfits trying to help anyone who will listen. The first game is the iconic red light green light game that opened season one. This time however, the players were allowed to vote on whether or not to go home after the events of the first game, really allowing the show to highlight the greed of humanity, and value of capitalistic gain over human life.
Player 456 revealed to the divided group that he had won the games before, hoping to convince them to leave. Players wishing to stay argued that he could help them win the games and after one more round they would then vote to go home. However they somehow conveniently left out that people have to die for money to be added to the pot, so even if 456 magically helped everyone win the next round no money would be added to the pot and all the players would have risked their lives for nothing. Of course, no game in Squid Game has ever escaped without death. When the nail biting first vote was being cast it was split 50/50 until the very last player cast their vote, player 001.
In contrast to season one, viewers get to watch this season knowing the whole time that Player 001 is the foreman of the games. In season one many were fooled by the kind deception of the old man only to find out at the end that he was behind the creation of the games. Being able to watch 001 manipulate other players, bend the rules, and play a very risky game gives season two a completely new perspective for viewers. Player 001 showed off his acting skills lying and deceiving everyone along the way, even making audience members question if he had become good.
Season two of Squid Games was amazing. Although very gruesome, the twist and turns of the show kept my eyes glued to the screen. The new characters and perspective made it feel like a whole new show although the concept of the games were still the same. The new games, characters, and eerily creepy yet catchy music kept viewers engaged with content from the show even after watching. Squid games remains an evil evil show leaving the audience on a cliffhanger eagerly awaiting more of the cruel and unusual show.
