After watching its spectacular first season, I had high expectations when “Squid Game” season two was released on December 26, 2024. After binging the whole season in one day, it is safe to say that I was not at all disappointed with this season.
Season two of “Squid Game” follows Seong Gi-hun played by Lee Jung-jae, also known as Player 456, three years after the events of season one as he plans out a way to stop the games and get revenge for his friends. He eventually finds his way back into the games again that involve new people and new life-or-death scenarios.
“Squid Game” season two was engaging, thought-provoking, and memorable. From the writing to the characters to the cinematography, this season was sensational. I do have a couple of critiques, though.
One major topic of discussion about this season is its formatting and pacing. Initially “Squid Game” was only going to be two seasons long. However, after creator Hwang Dong-hyuk finished writing the second season, he found that it was too long and detailed to put into just one season.
So, he decided to end season two in the middle of the games.
Though many people online were unsatisfied with the pacing of this season, I enjoyed it. Having a stretched-out storyline allowed for better character development and exploration. As a result, viewers were able to see various character types portrayed.
This season introduces a father (Lee Jin-wook) trying to support his sick child, an emotional mother-son duo (Kang Ae-sim and Yang Dong-geun), as well as an influencer and ex-popstar (Yim Siwan and T.O.P) recovering from a failed cryptocurrency investment. It also features a strong-willed pregnant woman (Jo Yu-ri), an ex-marine with a complex past (Kang Ha-neul), a transgender woman seeking surgery funds (Park Sung-hoon), and a North Korean defector working as a guard for the games (Park Gyu-young).
I loved all of these characters. From Jo Yu-ri’s portrayal of a pregnant Kim Jun-hee (Player 222) trying to survive the games to Kang Ha-neul’s ex-marine Kang Dae-ho (Player 388), each character was multi-faceted and felt real. This was all a result of the more fleshed-out storyline.
I might even like this season’s characters more than last season’s and that is because of the writing and thought that went behind each and every character.
Not only were the characters written well, but the story was also. One episode that had exceptional writing was episode one, titled “Bread and Lottery.”
Whether funny or intense, this episode had many amazing scenes and sequences that captured the feel of “Squid Game” and made for a great start to the new season. One specific scene that has that liquid Game” feel was the subway selfie sequence between all the men that Gi-Hun recruited. This sequence had perfect comedic timing while also making me feel intense.
This then led into a scene at the park where The Salesman from the previous season, played by Gong Yoo, offered homeless people a choice to pick a lottery ticket or a loaf of bread.
This scene is one of the best parts of the episode because it makes viewers think deeper about the way that society is today such as how people would rather have the chance to win big over having a smaller, yet guaranteed win like receiving bread.
The final part of this episode that I loved was the Rock, Paper, Scissors Minus One and the Russian Roulette scenes. The classical music during the scene was a sharp contrast to the more intense event happening making the craziness of the scene more impactful.
One final thing that I would like to note that I enjoyed about this season was its cinematography, the use of color more specifically.
The coloring in season two is a lot darker than season one. This helps show the shift in tone since Gi-hun is now out for revenge and the story has gotten darker. Blue and pink, or red, coloring was also used frequently throughout the season giving it a unique and tense atmosphere.
Despite all these great things about this season, there was one aspect that I did not enjoy as much. That aspect is police officer Jun-Ho’s (played by Wi Ha-Joon) storyline.
The scenes in this storyline did not engage me as much and I didn’t understand the point of these scenes right away. However, at the end of the season there was a plot twist which showed viewers that this storyline did have some meaning to the overall plot. Now, I am more intrigued in how this storyline will play out in season 3.
Despite season two not being the full story compared to its prior season having its full season, I was still satisfied with what us viewers were given. I am now eagerly waiting for the third and final installment of the show.