Squid Game season 2 review: What happens when the player wants to be the saviour

In Pic: Squid Game poster

Squid Game season 2 is back, and if you think your three-year wait will now come to rest, then sorry, that's not going to happen anytime soon. Well, before we start dissecting a well-made series, let's see what is the new world of season 2 and where is Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae). Gi-hun didn't take that flight, and now his desires have changed. Now the player wants to be the savior. Gi-hun now wishes to find the one behind this deadly game and wants to end it, and that's his life motive. But is it easy? This mere question is just out of the syllabus when we are here talking about the world of Squid Game.

What worked & what didn't?

This second season of the highly anticipated series is sure to give you an adrenaline rush, but will it top the first one? Certainly not. So what works in favour of the series, and what went wrong? Let's discuss. Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon), the police officer, has one motive: to find the island on which his brother is running the game of blood, gore, & death, while Gi-hun, with his power and money, is busy searching for the recruiter to get into the game and be the saviour of about 400 contestants this time. The series stays a little low till these two join hands, and once that happens, this is when the magic begins. Gi-hun is back in the game while Jun-ho has lost the track because did you think that Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) isn't smart enough to detect and get a tracker out?

Hwang Dong-hyuk didn't have the will to create season 2?

Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of the two seasons, didn't have the will to create the second season and it is evident why. You got Jun-ho back, but at what cost? He can't do anything. Isn't it a waste? We think so. One nearly feels like skipping the part where Jun-ho is on a search for the island because, after a point, it does get like gum being over-chewed. Meanwhile, the part of the story which shows the real game and the drama where the contestants are kept, is when Dong-hyuk's expertise comes into play.

Writers won

Kudos to the writer, who has beautifully written the character arcs, with several contestants having stories of their own. If I come and tell you that there is a pregnant lady who wishes to play the game to get money, will you trust me? No matter what your answer is, the script and the show will make you believe in this. There is an old lady and a son, who signed up for the game together, and now there is no way back home. Not only contestants, but this time the soldiers too are more than just masked men killing people.

Spoiler alert! Another twist comes in when the Front Man himself enters the game, and instead of killing Gi-hun, he decides to shout 'let's have fun' to himself. The entire second season of Squid Game, minus the part where Jun-ho is trying to find the island, is a hit. The games are gorier, and the killing is bloodier, but for the next season, the makers have to, and have to, bring the flavour back because when things are happening just for the sake of it, it seems like playing to the gallery.

Squid Game season 2 is streaming on Netflix!