Season two of “Squid Games” was released on Dec. 26, 2024, and proved to be as good as, if not better than, the first season. “Squid Games” is an intense show about a group of contestants participating in various children’s games, competing for a large sum of money. Players are stunned when the games become violent and even deadly, highlighting a posing question: is the money worth losing your life? In this show, the writer/director, Hwang Dong-Hyuk, provides insight into Korean culture, conveying themes of poverty, capitalism and class division.
Season two continues to follow the main character, Seong Gi-Hun, as he struggles to put his life back together after the first game. Vowing to enact revenge on the creators of the games, Gi-Hun plans a comeback, eventually landing himself back into the Squid Game itself. With increased amounts of bloodshed, suspense and cliffhangers, this season proves to be more thrilling than the first. As well as a more exciting narrative, the layers of character development and arcs make the audience either hate or love the players who are fighting to survive. Connection to the characters in the game made their choices more impactful, leaving viewers on the edge of their seats.
The show “Squid Game” as a whole is a creative concept that was done very successfully as it never felt rushed or fake. The actors were incredible in each of their roles and added to the intense aspects of the show with their emotional acting. One of the more outstanding examples of this would be Hyun Ju, played by Park Sung-hoon. What sticks out about the performance was his dedication to his role in the show. Sung-hoon plays a contestant in the games, landing there after being dishonorably discharged from the Army after coming out as transgender. This character is played by a man, which conveys his dedication to “becoming” his role in the show. However, one problem with the amount of screen time each character gets is that the actual meat of the show, the games, doesn’t get as much attention as it did in the first season. If there were more action rather than talking scenes, it would be a more interesting watching experience. Because of this, it offsets the balance between the two, making it boring at times.
Production quality is also a large factor when it comes to the review of this show. Like the rest of it, every aspect of the lighting, sets and costume design has a set intentionality that captivates the viewers with the amount of detail, foreshadowing and suspense it adds to the plot. It is obvious the director put an immense amount of thought into the planning and production of these two seasons, especially the second one as it rises to a higher level in quality than the first. The lighting choices were excellent, perfectly portraying some of the character’s true intentions with certain colors. For example, there is a democratic system when deciding whether or not to continue the games as every contestant votes “Circle” to continue, or “Square” to end the games. As the characters are voting, the use of lighting illustrates the good and bad intentions of each of the players. This artistic choice adds visual aspects to the plot, giving the show a more cinematic feel.
“Squid Games” season two is an excellent continuation of the first season that has left viewers waiting to see what happens next. With additional character narratives and added layers of suspense, it leaves much to be desired with season three coming later this year.
