‘Squid Game: Season 2’ Review: A Half-Baked Half-Story
After a hugely popular and well-received launch, the second season of Netflix’s biggest show has arrived, and Squid Game has come back almost as good as when it began.
Squid Game quickly became Netflix’s most successful international series, captivating audiences worldwide with its high-stakes premise and emotionally charged storytelling. Created and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the South Korean show revolves around a deadly competition where 456 financially desperate participants play children’s games for a chance to win a life-changing cash prize. The catch? Losing means certain death. Read our Squid Game Season 2 review.
The first season of the show debuted to unprecedented acclaim, with viewers praising its intense and confronting yet engaging narrative and powerful social commentary on class inequality, greed, and survival. The show’s ability to balance the brutal tension and emotional vulnerability resonated across cultures, making it a global phenomenon. It garnered immense social media attention, inspiring countless memes and fan theories, as well as sparking various discussions and reflections upon ourselves as individuals and the societies in which we reside: it also sparked a further interest in the Korean entertainment industry and created more demand for similar shows and movies.
The reaction to Squid Game Season 1 was overwhelmingly positive, with both critics and audiences hailing it as gripping and thought-provoking. Its success solidified Netflix as the go-to streaming service and a global platform for diverse storytelling – it remains the streaming service’s most-watched series, further cementing its legacy as a pop culture juggernaut.
On the back of this, there was clearly a lot of pressure on Netflix to deliver something just as exciting for season two, and the good news is that they delivered. Whilst this season definitely tones it down on the characterisation, it focuses on all the best parts of the first season and takes place mostly within the games. Ironically, the best part of this season happens outside of the games, and it’s all the scenes with The Recruiter. The chemistry between the two during Russian Roulette is palpable, and you find yourself truly invested in the moment: this is when the best moments of the show happen. When two or more characters sit and have a conversation and be the truest versions of themselves – in a show about capitalism and morality, what is most interesting is the opinions of the people, and so when these characters are put in the spotlight, and you can see how they have been shaped by the world, it is the peak of the show. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk places a strong emphasis on the tension and chemistry between him and Seong Gi-Hun, this focus on the chemistry between characters is the driving force of the entire show and specifically this season, even moreso when we come to meet the Front Man as Hwang In-Ho.
The intensity and slow building of the first episode is incredibly engaging and thrust you back into the world of the show. One of the most popular criticisms of the first one is that it takes too long to get into the games and that the moments that happen outside of the island are not as interesting, and it seems that the creative team took that criticism too seriously for the new one. Whilst it’s great that the show moves fast and gives more story weight to the events that occur outside of the games, it loses a lot of the character-building that made the first season so interesting.
In episode 3 of the first season, there is a successful vote to leave the game, which meant that we got to spend a lot of time with each of the characters outside and fully understand their motives and what would drive them to continue to compete and make increasingly selfish decisions. There is no equivalent in the new season, and so all we see of this new roster of characters is the cliches and stereotypes they are given – the vulnerable pregnant woman, the tough, well-built mobster, the crazy and aggressive drug addict. Because of the lack of development for these characters, there is a disconnect in all of the episodes, and you never find yourself getting as attached as you did to the main stars of season one.
One of the biggest surprises of the season is Lee Byung-hun’s portrayal of The Front Man, masquerading mostly as Player 001 throughout the episodes. After being revealed in Season One, many fans questioned whether the character would manage to remain interesting and act as a proper antagonist to Gi-hun, especially when we know so little about him, and all of his menacing actions are done in secret or for the service of the VIPs. Since they don’t appear at all this time around, the focus is entirely on In-ho, and watching his scenes with Gi-hun is the best part of the entire show. Their chemistry is excellent, and the hidden elements of his character are played very well, with Byung-hun perfectly managing to showcase both sides of his character whilst not making it too overtly obvious and even changing fans to be on his side, leading to a growing fanbase actually rooting for the villains behind the games to succeed.
The most obvious problem with this season is that it is heavily rushed and shortened. Even though it took over 3 years for the follow-up to be released after the show originally dropped in August 2021, it still feels as if this is not a complete and final product. Even the episodes are longer, coming in at an hour minimum per episode for all 7, and yet it still barely scratches the surface of the narrative, and we only get to see three games. Whilst it does end on a solid cliffhanger ending, with Gi-hun’s plan failing and the return of the Front Man, it feels as if Netflix forced this release in order to get the fans excited again and start spreading conversation surrounding Squid Game, probably to create even more hype for when it returns later this year for its third and final season. After that tense finale, the show could go anywhere, and it’s anyone’s guess who wins this fight.
The season was ultimately strong all around; not as developed or interesting as the first one, but significantly more tense. Whilst its main characters are engaging, the supporting cast is much weaker, and the games are just as fun, if not better, than the first roster. Squid Game Season 2 is a downgrade, but not by a long shot, and still a very fun and fulfilling watch, especially if you were a big fan of the first.
Squid Game Season 2 was created by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The season stars Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon, Lee Byung-hun, Yim Si-wan, and more. Season 2 premiered on Netflix on December 26th, 2024, and Season 3 premieres in Summer/Fall 2025.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this review for Squid Game Season 2, make sure to check out more news here at Feature First.
