Becoming The Muse

Squid Game Season 2 Review

Squid Game is a South Korean survival drama series written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The first season of Squid Game was released worldwide on 17 September 2021 and became one of the most watched shows on Netflix. Season 2 of Squid Game premiered on Netflix on 26 December 2024.

The series continues the story from 2 years after the previous season ended with player 456 winning the grand prize of ₩45.6 billion. Seong Gi-hun, returns to the titular deadly game with one goal in mind: to end it for good.

The Good

After a 3 year wait, once again we experience the viral series that firmly affixed Korean drama series on the global charts… Squid Game maintains its high level of suspense, introducing new twists and scenarios that will keep you on engaged.

New characters are introduced with different back stories but one common ingredient of having been pushed to their breaking point by life and debt, and the only life-line they have is the illusion of choice. Season 2 expands on the complex motivations that make people behave the way they do making the characters more relatable which makes us more sympathetic to them.

Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun delivers a strong performance as player 456 returning to the games to end them once and for all, an edge of your seat task that will leave you wondering who will make it to the end.

The production got a budget upgrade and it shows in the detailed set design, cinematography giving an immersive experience into the mayhem.

The Bad

The pacing feels uneven especially as it spends more time away from the games following various subplots which seem unnecessary given that the ending of the show is an abrupt anticlimatic cliffhanger that will leave you like, what was all this for????

Initially Squid Game was not created with a sequel in mind although season one ended on a cliff-hanger note which left room to continue. While season 3 expands the Squid Game narrative, it comes across as an elaborately convoluted build up with no real payoff except as a set up for the third and final season of Squid Game forecasted to come out in 2025.

The Ugly

Similar to the previous season, the show does not shy away from graphic violence and uses it gratuitously for the shock value than to advance the storytelling meaningfully.

 Some of Squid Game’s finer nuances might go over the heads of viewers not versed in Korean culture, language and history. For example, some of the games played are traditional Korean games with varying significance and impact to the storytelling, like how players assume only female players would be good at a specific game.

The series blurs morality to the point that characters come across as inconsistent and its difficult to actually root for any single character. The show paints a harsh picture on the nature of humanity and society.

Final Thoughts

Season 2 of Squid Game is a visually stunning and ambitious continuation, offering new elements and characters to explore. While Season 2 falters in fully capturing the magic and spirit of Season 1, it still provides a gripping watch for fans of the Squid Game.

Have you watched Squid Game? Is it something you would watch?