“Squid Game,” the Korean hit show that took the world by storm in 2021 and became the most watched series in the history of Netflix, returned for a second season in December 2024.
The dystopian thriller soared in popularity during the pandemic, with 500 million hours streamed in its first week as viewers were drawn to its high-stakes childhood games and life-changing fortune.
After the second season released, it felt like everyone was talking about it, whether in the Learning Commons, during class, or while roaming the halls.
But one big question remains for those who never watched: What made it so good?
Personally, I believe the show went as viral as it did because of the mystery involved. During the pandemic, everyone was streaming “Tiger King," “Outer Banks,” or “Bridgerton.” However, “Squid Game” was different from anything popular at the time.
A Korean show with men in pink outfits, masks marked with shapes, and deadly childhood games—it was something new for the television industry, and the world was excited.
In the show, each contestant in the game struggles with a lifetime of debt, forced into taking extreme risks to make money.
*SPOILER ALERT*
At the heart of “Squid Game” is Seong Gi-hun, a gambling addict in crippling debt. He, along with 455 other desperate contestants, is lured into a deadly competition where childhood games, like Red Light, Green Light, have fatal consequences.
The last contestant standing wins a life-changing fortune, but is the reward worth the deadly cost? By the end of Season 1, Gi-hun emerges as the winner but refuses to use the money after experiencing the horrors of the games.
Three years later, the highly anticipated Season 2 was released, with Gi-hun determined to take down the organization. After numerous failed attempts, he ends up back in the game, unknowingly playing alongside the Front Man, who is disguised as a fellow contestant.
As Gi-hun fights to uncover the truth, betrayals mount, and a shocking final twist leaves the audience with more questions than answers. Thankfully, with the new announcement of Season 3, releasing June 27, fans won’t have to wait long.
But is the wait even worth it? Season 2 felt more like a bridge between seasons rather than a standalone story. The directors killed off characters with huge potential and used their deaths for emotional impact—and yet, with so little screen time devoted to their final scenes, the impact of their deaths feels irrelevant to the audience.
The first season included two more episodes, which gave us a deeper dive into each character. With the extra time, the viewer observed each character’s backstory and saw them develop relationships with each other on a more sophisticated level than Season 2. Each character death was surprising and had a long build-up to it, leaving an emotional scar for the viewers.
While Season 2 introduces a father who enters the games to win money for his daughter’s cancer treatment, his story accomplishes the goal of building an emotional connection with the audience.
However, rather than fully exploring his development, the show abruptly kills him off at the end of the season, spending very little time on his death.
While tragic deaths were a defining element of Season 1 as they carried emotional weight, Season 2 rushed through these moments, eliminating the deep connections the audience makes with characters.
Whether Season 2 paid off or not will only become clear once we see how Season 3 plays out. As we wait, there’s hope that the lingering mysteries and unresolved plotlines of Season 2 will contribute to a successful final season. The game and the story of Seong Gi-hun are not over quite yet.
