Squid Game season 2 review: Netflix’s biggest series returns

Three years after Netflix series Squid Game gained massive worldwide viewership and acclaim, its just-released second season remains focussed on its protagonist’s relentless pursuit to find the masterminds behind the survival game and shut it down. Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), aka Player 456, becomes a part of the games once again with the intention of finding a way of ending it. Before the game starts in the new series, there is a waiting period. The first two episodes are devoted to a resolute Gi-hun and his intense search operation to find those behind these games.

What remains undiluted in the new seven-part series is the unflinching look that Squid Game takes at how desperation makes humans let go of their conscience. In spite of some bone-chilling sequences, the series makes the characters question human values and humanity. That makes the viewers connect with the characters and their compulsions. Even as Season 2 is all about Gi-hun trying to end this brutality, there is a vulnerable moment when he is not sure if he would be able to make a difference. Still, he puts up a fight and hopes to save lives. Squid Game is the celebration of the hope that an everyday hero gives us.

The triumph of Squid Game, apart from being a technically-sound series featuring a group of brilliant actors, was that it is a gripping narrative of brutal games being played out in a multi-hued toyland-like setting populated by several fascinating characters with backstories. The first season ends with the transformation of Gi-hun, from a simple-hearted gambling addict to a one full of regrets and fury after winning $456 billion prize money in a series of gruesome games where humans are treated as trash.

Using his prize money, Gi-hun continues his search for the masterminds, even at the cost of his personal happiness. He starts with the most obvious of places: look for the man playing ddakji in the subway. Eventually, he crosses paths with Wi Ha-joon (Hwang Jun-ho), who is also on a similar mission. So obsessed is Gi-hun with his mission that we see him smile for the first time in this season in Episode 5, when he is reminiscing about his carefree but penniless days with an old friend.

Like the first season, this season has many twists. However, it is not as fast-paced as the first one. Writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk instead of focussing solely on making it action-packed or binge-worthy, has tried to make it more reflective. The USP of Squid Game, in spite of it featuring several violent games and sequences, has been its tender heart, human bonds and compassion. The new season spends more time exploring these bonds that are often put to test under extremely stressful circumstances. These emotions hook the audience to the characters’ journey and fate.

Dong-hyuk, who became the first Asian to win a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, shifts the gear — just enough — to let the emotions of its characters prevail over the violent outcome of the games. Squid Game’s music, which contributed significantly to the experience of viewing the series, though retains its original vibes, also tries to match the change in the narrative by experimenting with a range of music, including operatic pieces.

While Jung-jae, Ha-joon, Lee Byung-hun (Front Man), and Gong Yoo reprise their roles from Season 1, the season features mostly new cast members playing fascinating characters. With the creators supposedly developing Squid Game Season 3, expected to release in 2025, simultaneously, S2 ends with a cliffhanger.