After three years, it’s nearly time to strap in for a second go-round ofNetflix’s Koreansurvival drama,Squid Game. The world laughed and cried with the players of the 2020 Squid Game, and cheered (or wept) for Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), also known as Player 456, as he claimed victory. But, honestly,didSquid Gameever need to keep going? CreatorHwang Dong-hyuk’s unique psychological horror, inconceivable ethical dilemmas, and full-circle character arcs made the show’s first season an independently sufficient story.
Squid Game
Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children’s games. Inside, a tempting prize awaits with deadly high stakes: a survival game that has a whopping 45.6 billion-won prize at stake.
Season 1 of ‘Squid Game’ Is Complete on Its Own
The first season ofSquid Gamewas a round-trip story with emotional highs and lows, andit would have worked as a limited series. The final episode’sglorious cliffhanger was a truly perfect endingto the season because we could have survived without knowing the specific consequences of Gi-hun’s last move. The entire season had its characters going through vicious cycles of misfortune, each making one better-than-worst decision after the next. So, we know that Gi-hun’s choice to stop boarding his plane in pursuit of involving himself in the next round will inevitably be detrimental. We’ve seen all weneedto see. Having Gi-hun go through the same kind of decision-making for another season has the potential to be redundant. For that matter, now that we know what to expect from any ensemble of characters who enter this horror, the shock factor for whatever happens to a new batch of players may be subdued.
Squid Game’s first seasonestablishes its character dynamics strongly and wraps them up respectfully. Han Mi-nyeo (Kim Joo-ryoung) and Deok-su (Heo Seong-tae) carry their personalities to their cold, conjoined demise. Ali (Anupam Tripathi) lives and dies by the kindness of his heart. Il-nam (O Yeong-su), aka Player 001, poetically shuffles his way through the games, is revealed to be the creator of the Squid Game, and even dies twice. Sae-byeok’s (Jung Ho-yeon) fatality and Sang Woo’s (Park Hae-soo) sacrifice are moments audiences will never forget. After witnessing an ensemble’s worth of completed character arcs,it could be difficult to entertain new characters. By now, we know the rules of the game, and we know the sacrifices that were (and will need to be) made. A second season of this show could drum up some audience involvement in hoping that new characters don’t fall victim to participating in the next game, as Gi-hun has clearly demonstrated. But the connection between viewer and character will need to be established all over again, not unlike the work required of the MCU post-Avengers Endgame. Using Squid Game as the final challenge was the most concrete way to bring the season and the show full circle. And, if it is the case that Squid Game is a recurring final challenge (because, after all, they have been doing this since 1988), is it possible to even maintain the same excitement for a new set of contestants entering the ring?
Here’s 9 Things You Need To Know About ‘Squid Game’ Season 2
A new season has been given the green light.
‘Squid Game’s Unique Appeal Kept Us Watching to the Very End
Squid Game’s premise possesses a lab rat/social experiment nature, which lends itself to curiosity. Plain and simple, we want to know, “What happens if…?” Though we don’t really call it noir these days,Squid Gameis a contemporary episodicnoir. It’s one big ethics problem populated by folks who have been cornered by unforgiving circumstances. Being that the characters’ situations are tragically relatable to a wide range of the human population, perhaps some of us just came toSquid Gamefor answers. Things get bleak. How do these characters deal with it, and would I go that far?It’s a wildly imaginative scenario that explores itselfso that we don’t have to.
On the other hand, people enjoy reaching for a bit of thrill. Just think about the appeal of an amusement park, a place where folks become strangely excited to get messed up by an intimidating rollercoaster.Not only isSquid Game’s psychological horror the stuff of nightmares, but it also draws audiences into sympathizing with its characters. The premise’s situational irony – that the matters ofchildren’s games have been perverted to mean life-or-death– yields unnerving stakes that provoke us to think deliberately as players ourselves. In the same way thatwe have our moments of thinking we could easily succeed onJeopardy!orFamily Feud, fans of the show find themselves mirroring and strategizing at home.
The unwavering rules of the game presenta deliciously horrific antagonist.Squid Game’s first seasoneffectively lays out the rules, both plain and hidden, and it does so regularly. A price has been set for every player’s life, and that value is given an immediate display as the show progresses (R.I.P. Player 271). The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) specifically demonstrates sincerity in adhering to the rules through his graphic pageantry of consequences for the workers who sold players’ organs for their own benefit. However, there are regulatory slip-ups where characters blur the lines of legality within the show. One of the workers removes his mask when held hostage by an escaped player. Player 111, also referred to as “The Doctor,” receives unfair protection in exchange for his surgical services. Is it even necessary to mention the complete security breach performed by Detective Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon)? These hiccups were just enough to show thatthe game is indeed vulnerable regardless of its menacing clockwork impression. Adding a second season toSquid Gameleaves the potential for even more of those expectations to be muddied, which could decrease how seriously its audience takes the stakes.
Don’t Knock Season 2 of ‘Squid Game’ Until You Try It
Despite a parade of evidence from the first season ofSquid Gamethat screams “DO NOT TOUCH,” maybe it’s possible that the standards that have been set will hold up for another season.There are still a handful of possibilities yet to be explored.The most concerning theory to be considered is that Gi-hun could be offered the opportunity to become the game’s new Front Man – much like the dilemma presented to Loki and Sylvie by He Who Remains in Marvel’sLoki. Hwang In-ho, better known as The Front Man, won 2015’s game and is now running the show with a level head, which does not bode well for Gi-hun as the winner of the last game.
As described in a featurette by actor Lee Jung-jae, “Gi-hun is an optimistic person who is willing to ride out hardships to the extent that he seems very cheerful and almost innocent on the outside.” AlthoughGi-hun’s character was motivated by upholding his own trust in people, he only made it through the game by way of everyone else falling on the sword. So, what would drive him as a Front Man for the Squid Game if his core motivation isn’t even what got him his victory? If this theory does become a reality, we can only hope that Gi-hun will use the opportunity to dismantle the operation from the inside. Or, at the risk of losing entertainment value, he might fight to keep the game running only to replace the stakes with more humane consequences.
The certainty of a new season (andone more set to release in 2025) opens doors to a number of plausible questions. How else will rules be broken? What character dynamics haven’t we seen? How much more disturbing can it get than those despicable V.I.P.s? Could viewers see beloved past players in flashbacks this season? If Gi-hun re-enters, how far can he make it before the audience loses their suspension of disbelief that he would win an entire second round? No matter how complete Season 1 was, it left us with plenty to ponder and plenty to follow up on. With Gi-hun’s daughter having moved to the U.S., Sae-byeok’s brother in the care of Sang Woo’s mother, and the status of Detective Hwang stilltechnicallya mystery, perhaps there will be enough forSquid Gameto “talk about” in its next season.
Squid Gameis available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
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