I think it's been, what, 4 years? since I watched the first season of the Squid games. It was the first and only time I'd let all the hype from when a new blockbuster movie (or series) comes out sway me to watch it. Usually, I end up never watching or watching a few months or even years later but with Squid Games 1, I decided to give it a chance after all the memes and the people screaming "Moo-goong-hwa kkot-ee pee-uhs-seum-nee-da", "Red light, Green light" everywhere. To be honest, after watching I was a bit disappointed. Not because It wasn't a good series, but because it was exactly that, a good series not a great one, and didn't live up to the hype that it got.
When I saw there'd be a season 2, I just smiled. Leave it to Netflix to find a way to milk the hype for another season. But then season 2 came so long after that not many people cared about it. I barely knew when it was released. I decided to watch it, so let's get into it.
After winning the competition in season 1, instead of moving on and enjoying his life, Gi-hun decides he is going to use his money to find out where the squid games are being run and foil it so as to put an end to all the killing and preying on the vulnerable people for entertainment.
He spends millions on a search team every day, and years go by, but he still hasn't been able to find the recruiter that invites people into the game.
One day, some of his men finally spot the recruiter. They tail and things go south. But after a series of events, Gi-hun finds himself right back in the squid games. Now he must find a way to put an end to it. With his experience of the previous games, and the fact that he now has people looking for him (some of his crew), will he be able to put an end to the squid games once and for all?
Right off the bat, I'll start by saying that this season was better than the first season. If this was the one with the hype I may still be a bit disappointed, but not as much as I was with the first one. This season got a lot less hype than the first season, and I'm sure fewer people have watched it than they did the first.
The squid games In this season were a lot more exciting than in the first season, and they added a new catchy song which I liked (though people aren't singing this one like that). There's not too much to say without spoiling it tbh, it just has the vibes of the first one, but with better games, and I'd even say better cast. Some scenes will have you laughing, others angry or sad. But there are a lot and lots of subplots which I enjoyed. I also like the fact that crypto was mentioned. Even though it was in its usual stereotypical fashion where it is made to look like a scam.
One thing I did dislike was how it ended (no spoilers, don't worry). There's going to be a season 3. The good news, though, is that it's not going to take as long as it took the second season to be released. Season 3 is coming out this year. Rumours have it that season 3 was supposed to be a part of season 2, but you know Netflix would make more from squeezing out two seasons instead.
I'd give this series an 8/10. To me, it's better than the first, which I'd have given a 7.5. Let's see what season 3 will be. The only K-drama I'm willing to follow.
