Lottery tickets, Russian Roulette, and Gonggi: Squid Game Returns for Season 2

Spoilers ahead

Four years ago, the hit Korean thriller Squid Game made its debut as audiences were introduced to a world of sets resembling playgrounds, distinctive tracksuits, and the transformation of innocent childhood games like Red Light, Green Light, and Marbles into sites of vicious slaughter. 

Squid Game took the world by storm, amassing 1.65 billion hours of views in just 28 days, and remains Netflix’s most-watched production. While Squid Game was originally intended to be a one-time deal by director Hwang Dong-hyuk, the show was renewed for another season, which was released on December 26, 2024.  

The series picks up exactly where Season 1, which centered around Seong Gi-hun, a gambling addict motivated to join the games alongside 455 contestants out of sheer financial desperation, left off. The games include childhood games turned deadly with the winner gaining a large cash prize. By the end of the first season, Gi-hun is the sole survivor and victor of the games, and viewers last see him vowing to track down the proprietors of the games and end them. 

The first two episodes follow Gi-hun’s mission to track down the elusive Salesman (Gong Yoo) who originally recruited him to join the games. The storyline of detective Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Han-joon)—surprise, he’s not dead!—is also continued, following his failed attempt to collect evidence to expose the games as a traffic cop.  

Focusing the first episode on the Salesman was a surprise to viewers—and a cinematic risk. After all, it was the Salesman’s mysticism that largely defined his character, and giving away too much about his background could have ruined his intrigue. However, his Season 2 storyline was written masterfully: while audiences were offered a glimpse into the ideology and background of Gong Yoo’s character, he still managed to maintain a cryptic persona, down to an incredibly intense Russian Roulette scene that undoubtedly set the tone for the rest of the series. 

In addition to continuing Gi-hun (who decides to return to the games) and Jun-ho’s storylines, the first two episodes also introduce viewers to Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young), a North Korean defector on a mission to find her young daughter. No-eul’s character marks the first major twist in the show; while it initially seemed that No-eul was a variation on Season 1 fan-favorite Kang Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon), it is revealed that she would not be donning a green tracksuit like other contestants, but instead the signature pink jumpsuit of the Games’ enigmatic guards.

Due to the survival of only a handful of characters from Season 1, Season 2 was largely composed of new characters.et disappointingly many of these “new” characters were variants of Season 1 archetypes. Nonetheless, the contestant pool is still able to present entertaining characters, from former special forces soldier and transgender woman Cho Hyun-ju (Park Sung-Hoon) to chaotic rapper Thanos, played by real-life rapper T.O.P. 

Lee Byung-Hun is also back to reprise his role as Hwang In-ho (more well-known as the “Frontman”). But this time around, he is not leading the games from behind his signature geometric black mask. Instead, he opts to infiltrate the games as a contestant, and quickly befriends an ever-trusting Gi-hun, who is yet to learn his lesson about trusting Player 001.

The games, which are undeniably what drew so many viewers into the original series are a mix of old and new, with a reiteration of Season 1’s iconic Red Light, Green Light, as well as novel competitions, such as a Six-Legged Pentathlon and Mingle. 

Yet while the sets, new characters, and the show’s first two episodes set up Squid Games’ sophomore Season to be equally compelling as the first, the remainder of the show was somewhat dissatisfying. To put it bluntly, not much happens. While there’s a reason for this, being that Season 2 initially was supposed to be twice the length until being cut into two seasons (with Season 3 set to debut sometime between the upcoming summer and fall), little development occurs over the course of the Season in terms of both character development and plot. 

The reason that many fans were thrilled at the announcement of a second Season was the opportunity for Hwang to shed some light on the mystery of the games. Fans wanted details. How did In-ho become the Front Man? What about the games held in other countries? And what is up with the pink guards? Yet for those eager to gain insight into the behind-the-scenes of the games, Squid Game’s second Season did not meet up to standards. While Kang No-eul’s character served as a perfect opportunity to shed more light on the games, her plot is mainly restricted to her attempt to hamper the organ-harvesting scheme first introduced in the last season, with vague details sprinkled in about her recruitment to the games. Beyond that, the pink guards remain as mysterious as ever. The same can be said for In-ho, as while it is revealed that his impetus for originally competing in the games was to save his sick and pregnant wife (who, as we learn from Jun-ho, dies), it is still not made clear why or how he became the head of the games’ execution.

The storylines of a majority of the contestants themselves are additionally left unexplored; while audiences are treated to an occasional sob-story here and there, they are left with little knowledge concerning the background and agendas of the show’s main characters. This was a blunder that separated Season 2 from its predecessor, which brilliantly dedicated an entire episode to exploring the lives of contestants beyond the island. 

Concerning the plot itself, many of the storylines proved inconsequential and unnecessary by the show’s conclusion. The case in point is Jun-ho’s continued search for the island. Season 1 saw Jun-ho infiltrate the island as a guard and discover the Frontman’s true identity, and his storyline quickly became as compelling as the players’. However, Season 2 simply follows Jun-ho around on a wild goose chase, as his team makes no progress whatsoever. While these scenes hint at the existence of a mole within his team, were they all strictly necessary when the screen time  could have been allocated towards gaining better insight into the Games or its contestants? 

While both No-eul and Jun-ho’s plots were disappointing, not all was lost concerning the plot. One of the most intriguing changes from Seasons 1 and 2 was the greater use of the voting system, which involved contestants voting after each game if they would like to continue, or to end the games and to split the accumulated prize money among their remaining players. An additional twist? The voting takes place in public, and contestants additionally have to wear a patch corresponding to their decision. The publicized structure of the voting predictably contributes to greater tension and violence between the players, allowing Hwang to subtly comment  on the role that identity markers, like political affiliation,  play in societal division. 

The remodeling of the voting system, therefore, was one of Season 2’s most thought-provoking aspects and contributed to Gi-hun’s overall disillusionment. His objective for re-entering the games was to prove the better side of humanity to the game creators. Yet during the voting process, he becomes transformed into a powerless onlooker and can only bear witness as his fellow contestants vote to continue the bloodthirsty competition. 

Poignantly, the outcome of each vote echoes the justification for the games provided by In-ho back in Season 1: “The game will not end unless the world changes.”