Squid game season 2 came out a few weeks ago, and mixed opinions are coming from fans. Back in September 2021, this unconventional Korean show impressed viewers with the originality and the sheer will of players to survive the game. However, the same can not be said of this year’s flawed players’ strategies even if they had a definite advantage
Sqid Game is based on a schoolyard game taken to new levels as 456 players try to survive deadly challenges to earn an insane amount of money. Inspired by kids’ vision, the stages are colorful and vibrant, like the masked guards in pink suits or the games themselves.
This show is an enormous success, it’s Netflix most watched show of all time. Within the first four weeks of its release over 142 million Netflix accounts logged into the show. In terms of hours watched, it has outclassed 1.65 billion hours globally.
The show covers a wide range of emotions anyone would feel in such a life-threatening environment. “Squid game is rich in emotional depth, there is a lot of desperation, relationships, betrayal, sacrifice, and regrets,” said Hugo.
Seasons one and two are based on the fact that if you lose the game you are currently playing, you get shot by the guards. Every time one person dies, the prize fund increases by 100 million Korean won.
At the end of season one, we see player 456(Gi-hun) winning the game and going back home with 45.6 billion won. Season two is based on Gi-hun getting back on the island and trying to stop the game by feeding players with his winning strategies, unfortunately, he has trouble gaining people’s trust since no one understands why he came back.
In press notes for the new series, director Hwang said: “Through the players in the game, I wanted to ask, isn’t this what our society looks like now? Aren’t these people exactly who we are? Things that were bizarre and unrealistic a decade ago have sadly become very realistic now.”
Hwang Dong-hyuk is telling us that, the house always wins at the expense of the players.
Some Korean celebrities were present in the show, Choi Seung-Hyun (player 230) is one of them. Jo Yuri(player 222), is also one of the famous Korean celebrities that was part of the cast.
In the music industry, Jo Yuri is known for being the main vocalist of the girl group Iz*One but also has a solo career. She is popular in South Korea. People liked her acting in Squid Game 2, but they also really love her singing career.
Choi Seung-Hyun was hated by Korean viewers but loved by the rest of the world.
He is known professionally as T.O.P., a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor.
In 2017, T.O.P was arrested on drug charges that damaged his reputation and derailed his career; therefore Squid Game had some harsh criticism. The drug policy of South Korea is one of the strictest in the world, in consequence, his career fell apart.
In his first interview in over a decade, T.O.P stated, “For almost 10 years, I felt no one looked at me, but director Hwang Dong-hyuk reached out to me first. The trust and the belief he had in me gave me the courage to take this on. As an actor, I must repay the trust. Excelling in my performance is another assignment in my life.”
