Season 2 of “Squid Game” was released at the end of 2024, three years after the first season’s release, to restless fans who couldn’t get enough of season 1. Although it’s generally similar to season 1, the storyline differs and has its own twists.
In 2021, “Squid Game,” a South Korean series, released on Netflix quickly became one of the most-watched shows on the platform, earning international acclaim. It starred Lee Jung-jae as protagonist Seong Gi-hun, Player 456 in the games; a divorced father drowning in debt caused by a gambling addiction. He gets recruited into the Squid Game, a yearly contest where 456 players living with financial hardship compete in six traditional South Korean childrens’ games.
Players are killed in each game, with one left standing at the end; the winner is awarded a grand prize of 45.6 billion Won, roughly 32 million dollars. Season 1 ends with Gi-hun winning the games.
According to Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator and writer of the show, Squid Game aims to expose how a capitalistic society, which South Koreans live in, can dehumanize people.
Season 2 takes place around 3 years after the previous games. Gi-hun decides to return to the games as a player with the intent to stop future games, hunting down the Frontman—the hidden leader of the previous games.
The premise of the games were the same as before. Viewers were introduced to new characters and games. Social media has enjoyed these new characters and their memorable moments in the show, as well as Gi-hun’s change of temperament regarding the games. His character is developed from season 1, where he was a competitor who wanted to win, into a moral hero who wants to disrupt the system.
The first game is called Red Light, Green Light, which was also the first game in Season 1. Gi-hun attempts to warn other players that if eliminated, they would die. No one believed him, thinking that dying over losing a children’s game was irrational; however, as people began to be killed off, panic ensued.
After the horrific first game, players had the chance to vote whether or not they would continue the games. The player to cast the final vote to continue playing the games was revealed to be the Frontman, disguised as Player 001.
The pacing of this season felt rather slow as compared to season 1—the games didn’t finish in one season this time around. While it was an enjoyable watch, this season doesn’t feel the same—it was good, but not as good as before.
The season ends on a cliffhanger. The games are set to continue in the third and final season, which is projected to release on June 27, 2025, leaving viewers something to look forward to. Fans have multiple theories of what can happen next including Gi-hun being the new Frontman or the games being part of a global network.
The message that “Squid Game” is trying to convey is one that sticks, especially in this day and age. Capitalism is a problem that affects most people, not just in South Korea, but the way that the writer portrayed it in the show is calculated and unique. I strongly feel that more TV shows and films should follow the same guise as that of “Squid Game.”
