Gorier games, new characters, and overwhelmingly nerve-wracking scenes – Squid Game has returned with a new season.
Netflix dropped season two of the hit Korean show Squid Game this Boxing Day. Yet this season is anything but fun and festive. The games are more brutal and greed and politics run rampant as Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) returns to the games with a quest to end them once and for all.
After the first season was released on the streaming site, viewers have been craving more. Yet, season two didn’t live up to the hype for many viewers. Despite seeming like a set-up for season three, the latest season offers expansion to the series along with some extra-gory moments for viewers to gawk at.
The Plot
Squid Game returns right where it left off as we see the aftermath of the games. A two-year time skip sees Gi-hun fall in to a pit of obsession and paranoia as he makes it his mission to end the games once and for all. Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-jun), the cop from season one, joins Gi-hun and his team of trained veterans to find the island and hunt down the Front Man. Yet Jun-ho never reveals that he knows who the Front Man is, something that causes complications down the line. Gi-hun is soon entered back in to the games as player 456 while Jun-ho and the team join forces with a suspicious fisherman to track down the island.
Much the Same
When the games role around, the characters we are introduced to act as replacements for those who died in season one. We have a strong-willed girl, a polite young man, a backstabber, another friend of Gi-hun, and a violent trouble-maker. As for player 456, the new season shows how much he has changed. While everyone else is focused on the money, he just wants to save their lives. Hardened by his time in the games, Gi-hun has a tougher outlook in this season and is not easily shaken.
A Political Twist
While the players haven’t changed much and the games follow the same rules, some things have changed. This time, they have Gi-hun to help them – he saves many lives in Red Light, Green Light – even when the games change and new challenges arise, he acts as a beacon of hope for those who wish to leave.
The politics are a main focus this season with players being allowed to vote on whether they stay or leave – this time, if they leave, they earn a share of the prize money collected. When voting, they are given a patch that tells other players what they voted for – something that sparks a blood bath down the line. Not once does the vote to leave win and players are trapped as greed begins to warp those who wanted to remain. It’s an interesting take and we get to see deeper themes of the show explored and fleshed out in the last few episodes. Sacrificing the amount of screen-time for the games to add in these political aspects was worthwhile. If season two focused solely on the games, then it would just be a repeat of season one and offer no new content.
New Characters
As the majority of the cast were wiped out by the end of the first season, season two required a massive set of new characters. Thanos (Choi Seung-hyun) is a pill-popping thug who pulls you into a love-hate relationship with him. He acts as comic relief in some scenes and the main antagonist in others.
The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), has joined the games as player 001. Not learning from last time, Gi trusts him, completely unaware about who he is – something that leaves you shouting at the screen. Seeing 001 from the perspective of the games makes you think he may stop the killing and end the games, yet, in what should be an expected ending, he returns to his role as leader.
Player 120, Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon), brings an interesting storyline as a trans character who needs money for gender-affirming surgeries. Unlike most of the contestants, she is not fuelled by greed, rather her human need to live in a body she was not born with. She has past army experience and plays a major part in this season, especially towards the end. It’ll be exciting to see where her character goes in the next instalment.
The Climax
With tensions running high and only a few episodes left, season two wraps up with a climactic cliffhanger. Gi-hun prepares a team to storm the headquarters of the games – only those who voted to leave joined their mission, those who wanted to stay decided to not risk their lives. The final episode passes rapidly as so much content is crammed in to the last few minutes, setting up season three with many questions left unanswered. Personally, I enjoyed the ending – we are left questioning if the team on the outside will ever locate the games, what Hyun-ju, who still has a gun, will do, and what Gi-hun’s fate will be.
Final Thoughts
Yes, this new season may be a bridge between the start and end of the story – one many will see as filler to continue the overall plot. Yet, it is worth the watch. It’s a suspenseful, heartbreaking, enraging, and comedic journey with a frustrating cliffhanger that leaves a void within you. Season three is set to release later this year, a date is still to be announced.
Squid Game season one and two are now streaming on Netflix.
Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Fourth year student journalist studying Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Journalism Studies.
Words at Brig, The Daily Evergreen, Alloa Advertiser, Discovery Music Scotland, and The Mourning Paper.
