Squid Game Season 2: Survival, Secrecy and Suspense

Last year came to a close with a bang, quite literally, as the highly-anticipated hit thriller Squid Game came to Netflix with a brand-new season on December 26 2024. The season picked up right where it left off at Incheon International Airport, where Seong Gi-Hun (Lee Jung-jae), formerly Player 456 and the winner of the previous season’s Squid Games, chose not to board the plane and began his obsessive plan to find a way to end the games for good.

The season has proved incredibly successful, like its predecessor, with Netflix commenting that it  ‘topped the non-English TV list with a whopping 68 million views, ranking No. 1 in 92 countries and breaking the record for most views for a show in its premiere week’. It led fans right back to the beginning; betting on who will live, and rooting for those who truly deserve the money. And of course, Squid Game would not truly be the same without the return of some beloved, familiar faces, such as the mysterious yet devilishly charming Salesman, played by Gong Yoo, whose iconic marketing strategy became the face of the show. As to maintain tradition, his twisted version of ddakji which initiated the start of season one, kicked off the tension and action in season two.

The repeated voting causes tensions to skyrocket, with more deaths and even more money

As we part with old players, this season introduced us to some new personalities such as Thanos, played by famous K-Pop idol Choi Seung-hyun from T.O.P whose boisterous persona added a twisted, yet very welcome touch of humour to the games. Moreover, Player 120, Jo Hyeon-ju, created a pivotal, almost historic moment for media, especially in Korea, as she depicts an openly trans woman whose goal is to win to fund her surgeries. She is played, controversially, by a cisgendered male Korean actor, Park Sung-hoon. Many members of the LGBTQIA+ community were initially suspicious with this choice in casting, nonetheless the director and writer of the show, Hwang Dong-hyuk, responded by saying ‘when we researched in Korea, there are close to no actors that are openly trans, let alone openly gay, because, unfortunately, in the Korean society currently the LGBTQ community is rather still marginalised and more neglected, which is heartbreaking’. Nevertheless, instead of changing the character completely, they found a way to keep her, and many fans have grown fond of the character, welcoming her with open arms. I for one am rooting for her success.

The plot unfolds with our morally grey hero Seong Gi-hun as he attempts to navigate and save those in the games by placing himself back where he started, desperately trying to reveal its true, malicious nature. But of course, the unavoidable greed that comes with so much money stands in the way. Nonetheless, Seong Gi-hun rallies all the supporters he can, including his old friend Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan), and newcomer Young-il (Lee Byung-hun). Alongside the unveiling of new high-stakes games, the repeated voting causes tensions to skyrocket, with more deaths and even more money added to the piggybank for surviving contestants.

The games this season were spectacularly clever and well-crafted

To expect twists and turns in a show like Squid Game is a given, and the discovery that Gi-hun’s newfound relationship with Player 001 was built on nothing but lies, as he is in fact the Frontman himself, was perfectly cruel. The Frontman’s choice to join the games  as one of the players creates a macabre sense of comedy. His pretending to feel fear, and false rejoicing when others survive is utterly ironic, as if he is not the one sanctioning their executions. The undeniable tension between Young-il and Gi-hun must be mentioned, with the sense that Young-il is watching a separate game: his own game of cat and mouse with the man who threatens to dismantle his system. Overall, the plot is action-heavy, balancing the story arc of Gi-hun, as well as Jun-ho, the police officer. Alongside Gi-hun, Jun-ho is attempting to track down his brother and the island where the games are held, in an attempt to stop them once and for all.

The acting, as phenomenal as ever, makes the friendships believable and the deaths just as heartbreaking. And, of course, Squid Game cannot be discussed without mentioning the part of the show that everyone is keen to see: the games themselves. From the return of classic figures such as Young-hee and the traditional yet deadly rendition of Red Light, Green Light, to the latest chilling additions, all are just as lethal as before. With new, nostalgic childhood Korean games such as the six-legged race involving gonggi, jegi, flying stone and spinning top we get to see the competitors work together for survival, unlike in Mingle, which is used to truly assess the trust, friendships, and alliances made. The games this season were spectacularly clever and well-crafted, giving the same feeling of dread that one felt when the first season revealed its games for the first time, and like many other viewers, I cannot wait to see what games the new season has in store.

The wait makes it more rewarding and the ending even more grandiose

Most were disappointed with the cliffhanger ending to season two, and some even took it as the end of the show itself with Gi-hun’s attempt to usurp the games themselves leading to more bloodshed and the heartbreaking deaths of several prominent characters. Personally, I enjoyed this crafted break between seasons. I thrive off the tenuous intermission and continuous questions of ‘What will happen?’ and ‘Who will survive?’ The waiting allows people to digest what they’ve been given and allows fans to come up with their own theories and ideas, while giving the director, actors and editors time to really perfect their grand finale.

Whilst I equally understand why some are impatient to see what happens to Gi-hun, because the season truly left us wanting more, I also find the wait makes it more rewarding and the ending even more grandiose. It’s not like we need to wait years this time, unlike the gap between season one and two which was almost four years. Instead, we are tasked to wait for a few months, with the next season set to be released in June. The wait, I believe, will do the fans good, letting them mourn the losses of some, and cheer for the survival of others. So now we all must play a waiting game of our own, until the next season arrives. Will you survive?