In the three years since then Squid game It has become Netflix’s biggest property, and it’s easy to forget why it was so popular to begin with. The grounded story of class struggle that combined avatars, schoolyard games and a nihilistic view of humanity has been largely buried under ill-considered reality shows. Influential imitationsAnd cartoon mobile games and all kinds of brand associations. Before the show returns for season two, Netflix has selected an amazing collection of Squid game cooperationcovers everything from Call of duty To Domino’s to Crocs to Johnnie Walker. If you really want, you can buy Squid game– Branded beef.
Fortunately, Netflix seems to have forgotten what happened Squid game is actually about – or more likely simply blinded by dollar signs – series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk certainly didn’t do that. Season 2 doesn’t explore much new territory thematically, but instead cleverly expands the scope of events Squid game universe while delivering a thrilling thriller that feels like a more brutal remix of the original.
The new season begins a few years after the events of the first part, with Seung Ji Hoon, known as Player 456 (Lee Jung Jae, who followed him) playing. Squid game Fame with starring role in star wars And his directorial debut), he won the preliminary competitions. This meant that he received a prize of 45.6 billion yen, but he also had to live with being the only survivor out of a group of 456 people.
The first season ended with Ji Hoon not only becoming rich, but also discovering that elderly Oh Il Nam, Gamer 001 (or Young Soo), was actually the creator of the games and that he and a group of fellow super-rich individuals used murder and mayhem simply as a way to relieve their boredom. In the final moments of the season, Ji-hoon had to choose between: take a plane to reconnect with his estranged family, or stay and do something about the games. Don’t get on the plane.
Season 2 sees Ji Hoon in a completely different place. He has spent the last few years isolated and paranoid, plotting how to use his fortune to shut down the Games forever. First: actually find where it happened. By paying a network of criminals to systematically search Seoul’s subway system, he eventually finds the salesman (Jung Yoo), who you’ll remember as a man in a suit who challenges strangers to a game of dadakji while… Very good at spanking. The hope is that by finding him, they will be able to locate the mysterious island where the games take place.
But Ji Hoon isn’t the only one looking for them. Hwang Joon-ho (Wei Ha-jun) – the detective who went undercover in the first season to find his brother who was participating in the Games – is similarly obsessed, working with a local fisherman to clear the waters in search of the island. Eventually, the two join forces and put a plan into action, only for Gi-hun to be pulled back into the games as a contestant once again.
The first few episodes don’t really touch on the games themselves much – instead offering a deeper look at the rest of the games Squid gameStrange world. This means learning a lot about the mysterious and quiet salesman, who seems to enjoy terrorizing the poor and destitute. There is also some information about the guards who patrol the games. We learn that they are not much different from the contestants themselves: desperate people doing desperate things within a financial system that has failed them.
After a few episodes, the show returns to the games and starts to look very familiar. There are green tracksuits, armed guards in bright pink suits, and a huge piggy bank that fills with cash as more people die. But instead of rehashing previous events, these episodes are like a remix of the first season. The games have been changed, and since Ji Hoon is the only returning player, there is a completely new cast. As in the original game, there is a great mix of compelling stories, with characters pushed to the brink and left with few other options.
These include a young mother waiting to start a new life, a transgender woman needing money for gender-affirming care, and a mother and son who signed up to pay off his gambling debts, tragically unaware that the other had also joined the games. There are some cool new villains too, like a purple-haired rapper who’s having the time of his life amid the bloodshed, and a cold-hearted cryptocurrency influencer who’s lost himself – and his viewers – all kinds of money. And once again, there’s a secret member of Squid Game management trying to manipulate the games from the inside.
The games look different this time because of Gi-hun, who does everything he can to save people while playing and convince them to leave after the game is over. After each game, all surviving players can vote to continue, and these moments of counting hundreds of X’s and O’s are extremely tense. But greed drives people to make the wrong decision over and over again, and it’s hard not to feel frustrated with Ji Hoon. But for many players, dying in the schoolyard is better than what awaits them outside. Ji Hoon does his best to convince the other contestants that their real enemy is not each other, but the system that put them here fighting over money. Things eventually culminate in a bloody massacre Squid game More horror than ever.
From there, the show accelerates to a conclusion that finally promises to change the games themselves — but never quite reaches that big moment. Instead, it’s meticulously setting up the third and final season that will hit Netflix in 2025. While the suspense (and subsequent wait) may be disappointing, it’s a relief that Hwang and his team, unlike seemingly everyone else, haven’t lost Sight. From what he made Squid game Very special to begin with. Season 2 may not be the big surprise that the original was, but it makes up for that with clever twists on the formula and storylines that hit the goriest notes. Better yet: the promise of an outcome that you know where to go.
Squid game Season 2 begins streaming on Netflix on December 26.
