The sequel to the global phenomenon is a riveting watch but lacks the emotional value of the original.
After three years of agonizing wait for fans, Netflix released the second season of Squid Game a day after Christmas. Since then, the global phenomenon has already broken a few records, the most impressive of which is debuting with 68 million views in its first four days— more than any other Netflix series in its premiere week, beating a record that Wednesday set with 50.1 million views in 2022.
Merchandise from clogs to cosmetics (yes, you read that right) have also been flying off the shelves even weeks ahead of the premiere. Clearly, the brand’s magnetic pull hasn’t waned, in fact, it might have gotten even stronger.
But how did Squid Game 2 fare? Was it able to live up to such astronomical expectations? Was it a worthy successor to its critically acclaimed and commercially successful predecessor? Here’s The POST’s spoiler-free review.
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Something old, something new
Squid Game begins exactly where we left off last season: Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) abandoning his plan to visit his daughter in the US, opting instead to exact vengeance on those who are behind games.
In many ways, Squid Game 2 looks and feels like the first installment. Aside from returning main characters Gi-hun, the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), and former detective Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon), the venue of the games also has familiar elements like the giant murderous doll Young-hee, the huge piggy bank, the cavernous players’ quarters, and the distinct uniforms of the soldiers and the players. Then there’s, of course, the recurring theme of capitalism exploiting the desperate, which lead viewers to ask philosophical questions, such as, “Is man inherently evil?”
But in some ways, the new season also feels new. Aside from the new games are new cast members: a mother-son duo, a drug-addled rapper, an elderly mother and her son, an influencer/crypto bro, and a transwoman who is a former special forces soldier.
A marked deviation from the original is how Squid Game 2 gives us a peek into the perspectives of the guards/soldiers which I find ingenious. The first season made us witnesses to their shady (and icky) organ-harvesting business, but Squid Game 2 gave us a closer look into their everyday near-robotic existence in the complex (which has an Andor-feel to it) and strict hierarchy.
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Highs and lows
While the latest installment retains the brand’s signature violence, gore, and occasional tender moments, as well as its thrilling do-or-(literally) die games, it loses some of what made the first season so special. It’s hardly the first time for a sequel to fail to live up to the success of an original, so I’m cutting Squid Game 2 a whole lot of slack.
Sure, it’s still heart-pumping and thought-provoking, but I think it buckled under the massive weight of its ambitions. In many instances, it seemed as if it was trying to do so much—and this dulled the blade a bit.
Hwang Jun-ho’s storyline, for instance, struck me as more of an afterthought. His search for the island-venue of the games was near-devoid of excitement and weighed the plot down instead of propelling it forward.
Moreover, the addition of new characters coming from disparate backgrounds (but still struggling with huge debts) should have added a more exciting and more inclusive layer but it ended up missing the mark. I wish we had the chance to spend more time with them rather than having only glimpses of their backstory through a few lines.
With the series trying to cram so many things into seven episodes, it left very little room for us to get to know more about the new additions who are all potentially interesting. This also means that the stellar lineup of new cast members such as Kang Ha-neul as Dae-ho (Player 388), Im Si-wan as Lee Myung-gi (Player 333), Lee Jin-wook as Gyeong-seok (Player 246), and Park Sung-hoon as Hyun-ju (Player 120) was so criminally underutilized. The subplots from the North Korean defector to the dad with the sick daughter were also grossly underdeveloped.
I think Gi-hun has sadly become less interesting and even one dimensional. Lee Jung-jae is still brilliant as our winner-turned-avenger protagonist, but I miss the old Gi-hun. I understand that his trauma after having to go through the games with all the deaths and betrayals in between has hardened him, but it has also sort of reduced him to a perpetually glowering man who has a penchant for giving sermons.
Speaking of Gi-hun’s mini speeches, I also felt that the show is trying to play the morality police a little too zealously. Instead of allowing its messages to seep organically into the narrative, it opted for a more heavy-handed treatment. In so doing, it takes away from the subtlety that made the original season so mind-blowing and unforgettable.
Still, there’s so much merit to be found in Squid Game 2. The performances remain compelling, especially Lee Byung-hun’s nuanced portrayal of the Front Man/ In-ho and Gong Yoo’s short but spellbinding performance as The Salesman. The visual aspect of the series is still top-notch—and I daresay, even more impressive than the first.
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Overall, this season suffered the same fate of many sequels. It’s really a herculean task to be able to live up to an original, especially if it was met with much success and acclaim. That’s why I tempered my expectations coming into the new season and I came out of it still satisfied—but wanting a little more from the plot and characters. Put simply, Squid Game 2 is a mixed bag, and critics would agree. It has highs, but more lows than the original. It thrills for the most part but also drags its pace in some.
Despite its flaws and shortcomings, however, Squid Game 2 succeeded in expanding the show’s universe through new characters. It is also still is a gripping meditation on how even more brutal the real world can be, and I quote the Front Man: “The game will not end unless the world changes.”
And yes, it still made me look forward to the third and final season.
Squid Game 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
