Oh, what a day to be a K-Drama fan. It truly is glorious. I believe it is fairly easy to mark the moments when a worldwide audience was truly introduced to the magic of Korean filmmaking. In movies, it’s a bit hard to pinpoint because some will say it was Oldboy – which is not entirely wrong – but it was arguably Train to Busan that started to open the door and Parasite swung it open. However, in TV shows, it was WITHOUT a doubt Squid Game.
The highly acclaimed first season became Netflix’s most-watched series and the most-watched program in 94 countries, attracting more than 142 million member households and 1.65 billion viewing hours in its first four weeks. It became a global phenomenon and rightfully so. So the question rightfully came: Will we get to see Season Two? And now here we are. Season Two finally arrived after three years and I can safely confirm that the wait was worth it.
But let’s get into spoilery fun stuff.
Seong Gi-hun aka the brilliant Lee Jung-jae is back and searching for the recruiter, aka Gong Yoo, so he can finally end the games for good. He enlists the help of the loan sharks that were after him in the first season, and a very long search begins. On the other hand, Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon is back baby!), the cop who infiltrated the games and found out that it was run by his brother Hwang In-Ho (Lee Byung-hun), is also alive and well, searching for the island that ruined his life. Once the recruiter is found, Gi-hun and Jun-ho’s paths inevitably cross, and so, the story begins. After their plan to catch the Front Man fails, Gi-hun decides to rejoin the games and try to destroy it from the inside.
I absolutely loved the build-up; reentering the games was definitely the highlight of the series. I instantly felt a knot form in my stomach as Gi-hun opened his eyes and was back where he had barely escaped from. The tension of seeing those bunk beds piled up, the players being all confused, and the masked men entering to tell them what was happening carried a big weight.
The iconic red-light-green-light game at the very beginning with Gi-hun desperately trying to save as many as he could just became even more brilliant this season. The way they constructed the scene made you feel like they might all get out of it alive in the end, but alas where there can be chaos, there will be chaos. What Squid Game still does brilliantly in this season is exploring human nature. Greed is endless even in the face of death.
It was truly fascinating to see how after what they experienced AND a previous player being there telling them what will be their inevitable fate, the majority still chose to stay because of the promise of the money they could get. Sure, I could highlight the clear assholes who didn’t mind people dying around them just to get out of their debts, but this season the silent money-hungry people were the true painful mirror to society.
Player 007, Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun), and Player 149, Geum-ja (Kang Ae-shim), are the MVPs of this season. The mother and son duo we didn’t know we needed. Geum-ja joins the game to save her son’s skin with the huge debt he made, which turns out to be even more than what the poor woman knew about. This man betrays his OWN MOTHER more than it is comfortable to watch. Honestly, the most heartbreaking scenes are the ones including these two, also forcing us to take a long, hard look in the mirror.
Yong-sik first betrays his mom by voting to stay and admitting to her that his debt is worse than he previously said. This is something that didn’t come as a surprise, but then… then… they play the Mingle game. At the end of every round, they get a number that represents the number of people they have to gather and run into safety. When number three comes in and these two are trying to find a plus one Yong-sik gets dragged away from his mom… and he doesn’t fight the men who take him once he realizes that he would be saved this way, even though his mother won’t be. The pure shock and disappointment on Geum-ja’s face perfectly reflected mine.
Hats off in front of Kang Ae-shim. Honestly, it’s some of the best acting I’ve seen in a while. I cried my eyes out, especially because she remained a mother through her son’s betrayal and found it in her heart to forgive. That man’s greed was so big he would have sacrificed his mom just so he could get money…
By the end, witnessing how people are makes you see what the Front Man said to Gi-hun at the very beginning. The games will be on until the world – the people – change, which will probably never happen. As you witness a son betray his mom, a friend betray a friend, and a guy betray his pregnant girlfriend you start to wonder what’s the point? For very few exceptions, people will choose themselves and what benefits them even if it means sacrificing others in the process.
To be fair and not all gloomy the show also does a very good job showing the other side. The people who do care, who realise that sacrificing others for the sake of money isn’t worth it in the end. The ones who realise that what’s going on is wrong on so many levels. As Gi-hun pointed out from the get-go, the money they would get is basically blood money that comes from the death of other human beings.
And this is where I would like to scold the show as well… this critique comes from a very personal space, okay? Yes, I am biased, but rightfully so, just saying. If one more person casts Lee Jin-wook in a role and then forgets to use him, I’m gonna throw a major tantrum. You see, Lee Jin-wook was also an essential part of Sweet Home; he played the tough guy with a heart of gold there, and I loved him dearly. When they announced him for Squid Game, I was over the moon happy for him and he honestly got one of the most heartbreaking and touching storylines.
He plays a dad with a sick daughter who needs some seriously expensive treatment. He is there for his little girl… AND HE BARELY HAS ANY SCREEN TIME. Yes, I appreciate his Sweet Home reunion with Park Gyuyoung and how their characters’ faith is connected here. But they literally show this man at the beginning, introduce his story, then he has a tiny interaction with the protagonists and he is there at the end fight, and that’s it… It’s so infuriating! That storyline was also so good and could have added even more to what’s ultimately a great season of television but alas… Justice for my boy, I want more screen time for this excellent man. Let his talent shine, please, I beg you all.
Ok… rant over. Feelings still hurt. This was a middle season. No other way to put it. It was clear midway through that they would not wrap things up by the end. And it was confirmed with the end credits that the final season of Squid Game will come out in 2025.
Look, I had flashbacks to Sweet Home, admittedly. The highly successful show gets two more seasons, and with the last one, it butchers itself. But! The main difference here is that Sweet Home spent season two setting up a shitload of new things that it just forgot about by the end and instead created even more problems. Squid Game however does an excellent job at keeping the focus. Yes, it does introduce new characters and storylines and it does add to the story. BUT, overall, it doesn’t add too many new mysteries that can’t be tied up perfectly by the end.
The main goal stayed: reaching the Front Man and stopping the games for good. That didn’t change here. They sprinkled in an extra layer of mystery, sure, but not too much so it gets overwhelming and impossible to close down by the end.
I have good faith in Squid Game to be able to finish its fantastic run as it started. Season Two is genuinely excellent again. It might not be as surprisingly big as it was in its first season, but still fantastic work with a big beating heart in the middle of it. It did not pivot from what made it great: the characters and the human story in the middle of it all.
I can’t wait to see how it will all end. Bring on 2025, and let’s end the games once and for all!
Gets a very strong 8.5 out of 10 Couch Soup rating.
