Squid Game Season 2 Review

Player 001 makes an entrance.

Source: Netflix

Overall: 8.9/10

Story 8.8/10

Gi-hun can’t let it rest. He won in the last Squid Game. But that’s not enough. He wants to save everyone and end the games for good. Someone should tell him you can’t save people who don’t want to be saved. But some folks have to learn the hard way.

Just like the first season, this one is cerebral. But unlike the first, the tone changes throughout. It ranges from somber and dark to comedic—even at times daring to dabble in the triumphant, while using everything, including the music and lighting, to tell the story.

The theme of greed underpins the story's Social Darwinism.  Survival of the fittest permeates everything. And writers treat us to a smorgasbord of characters in a game that tests whether society should sacrifice a few for the many.

The Salesman has a conversation with two of Gi-hun's employees.

Source: Netflix

Character 8.9/10

Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) won the first game. His heart is in the right place. He wants to save everyone. But this viewer isn’t sure of his wisdom or intellect. He gets easily played.

He’s so driven to shut down the game that he abandons his ideals. He ends up proving Front Man and the game’s point. Gi-hun concedes without truly realizing what he’s done. His imagined end justifies the means of sacrificing his teammates.

Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) wants two things. First, he wants to find and confront his brother over his actions. And he wants to prove to his superiors that the Squid Game exists. For some inexplicable reason, he doesn’t show them his new evidence despite needing their support. This viewer can’t help but wonder if this character just lacks critical thinking skills or if it’s just an oversight by the writers.

No-eul (Park Gyuyoung) knows what she’s doing is wrong. Some folks are just bad actors and don’t care. She doesn’t strike this viewer as that type. When she sees wrong, she takes action to make it right at her peril. So why is she involved in the Squid Game? We need more backstory for her.

Min-su/Player 125 (Lee Da-wit) represents the cowardice that exists in society. He always knows the right moves to make. He knows right from wrong. But he’s so afraid of the repercussions that he rarely finds himself on the right side of things.

Player 100 (Song Young-chang) represents the greed of society. His ilk is always willing to sell out his fellow man if it means making an extra buck. A proponent of Laissez-faire, money means more to him than human life.

The Salesman (Gong Yoo) believes strongly in the Squid Game Philosophy. He thinks that he does important work ridding the world of those he considers to be the dregs of society. He believes he is made of different stock. He is willing to prove it with his life.

Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) is over Squid Game because he believes that those they’ve chosen to participate weigh society down unnecessarily. He believes that they will bring about the fall of civilization if something isn’t done about them. 

Front Man's philosophy is sacrifice the few for the many. He’s so strong in his belief that he’s willing to put his philosophy against Gi-hun’s to test it. But unlike Gi-hun, he is clever and has a great deal of wisdom.

No-Eul makes time for a fan.

Source: Netflix

Final Thoughts

Season 2 of Squid Game surpassed this viewer’s expectations. This time around it is a game within a game: philosophy versus philosophy. Hopefully, the next season will feature the fallout.