Spoilers Ahead
Blood, gore, story, intrigue.
The exact words to define how Season 2 of “Squid Game” won me over.
In December of 2024, Netflix pushed out a powerful sequel to one of its ace cards, the Korean TV show “Squid Game.” The show returned for Season 2, resuming Season 1’s story revolving around working class citizen Seong Gi-Hun, and his journey in a set of dystopian games that led him and 455 other indebted Koreans to fight for 45.6 billion won, equivalent to around $31 million.
This time, he returned to destroy the games for good.
The Storyline
Having a lot to live up to from Season 1, “Squid Game” Season 2 keeps viewers guessing to the very end.
I admired how the second season began, with drawn-out emotion and twisting plot lines behind the gory image. Seong Gi-Hun’s clear objective to stop the game reflected his determination from the very first episode, declaring that he will find the Recruiter and conscripting Mr. Kim’s workers to scour the subways.
“Squid Game” Season 2 carries a sense of mystery, which is also found in the first season. Viewers are left to wonder, “What is the Front Man’s reason for overseeing the games?” or “Why is the Front Man now playing the games?”
While still being a show of extreme gore and disturbing scenes, “Squid Game” Season 2 also unfolds three intricately woven plots, each highlighting a specific character.
The first, of course, being the show’s famous Seong Gi-Hun, as we follow his journey to destroy the games.
The second is an intrigued policeman searching for answers about his brother, Hwang Jun-ho.
The third, a new character who to the shock of myself and perhaps viewers worldwide, is Kang No-Eul, a North Korean defector and a guard in the games.
These three plotlines power the storytelling of the second season, adding a new perspective into the game.
The Characters
I couldn’t but help but love the character development exhibited by both the new characters and the old cast.
The first clear image of this is the development shown by Gi-Hun. In Season 1, he was a sloppy, disorganized, trusting individual. In season two, he appears hardened, anxious and completely on guard. This was a reflection of his experiences in Season 1, seeing his friends and opponents die before his eyes, and being able to do nothing to change it.
Another key character is the Recruiter, or known in some places as the Salesman. The Recruiter, played by Gong Yoo, appeared relatively innocent in the first season, where he offers Gi-Hun a lopsided game of ddakji to earn money, awarding 100,000 won for each time Gi-Hun won. But in the second season, the Recruiter is ascertained to be this psychotic, deranged character who instead enjoys death, as he demonstrates through now-viral clips of him forcing Mr. Kim and Woo-seok to play Russian Roulette. In Episode 1 of Season 2, the Recruiter also plays this game with Gi-Hun, which led to the Recruiter’s honorable demise by a self-inflicted gun wound.
My favorite thing about the Recruiter’s character is the emotion Gong Yoo expresses while playing against Gi-Hun. The Recruiter always appears to have a certain degree of sadness and sweetness, while the other side of his face is crazed, angered and insane. In achieving both, it’s almost representative of the belief that not everything is what it seems or the idea of fake friends. While he appears sweet, he’s a pure madman. And funnily enough, that’s what makes him interesting.
Another key character with a lot of interesting development is the Front Man, whose plot line is my favorite. The Front Man, also known as Hwang In-ho to his brother Jun-ho, is revealed as a former winner of the games in the first season who now performs as the ringleader of the games themself. His participation in this ringleader role raises a lot of questions for viewers, ones that his own brother probably echoes.
In the second season, our perception of the Front Man is shattered when he decides he wants to join the games. He joins forces with Gi-Hun under the assumed identity of Oh Young-il. This all links back to several moments that make me question In-Ho’s intentions. In the car with a passed out Gi-Hun, In-ho asks Gi-Hun if he intends to be the hero of the games. After returning to his role as the game’s leader and betraying Gi-Hun by shooting their compatriots in battle, he asks Gi-Hun if he had fun playing the hero. It feels as if his own role in the story was entirely centered around teaching Gi-Hun the lesson that the games cannot be stopped. They are played for a reason: to remove the “trash.” That is, people who provide nothing to the workforce and remain in debt.
The Worst Ending
My only issue with the new season is the awful ending, which greatly disappointed me.
Season 2 cuts abruptly at the end of the seventh episode, spurred by a sudden plot twist in In-ho’s return to his Front Man role, along with numerous other key deaths that received little screen time.
In interviews with the media, director Hwang Dong-Hyuk said he chose to cut the season like this as he felt the overall rendition of the games was too large to fit in a single season (seasons two and three were filmed back-to-back).
The result of this is a slightly uneven ending with a total lack of closure, leaving us searching for answers in Season 3.
Furthermore, the ending refuses to acknowledge the other major plotlines of the season, which are exactly what make Season 2 great. The story of Kang No-Eul, a guard in the games, and the outsider storyline of Hwang Jun-ho and the boating crews suddenly halt as the central storyline around Gi-hun drives the final episodes.
Final Thoughts
I’d definitely recommend “Squid Game” Season 2, and the show as a whole to be added to your watchlist. The elaborate and perfect storytelling is not overshadowed by season two’s weak ending. Overall, Hwang Dong-Hyuk created an intellectual masterpiece that’s worth watching.
