After the rise in popularity of director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s Netflix series “Squid Game” in September 2021, he released the second season during late December 2024. The second season follows the protagonist, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), from the previous season returning to the games once more.
Season one of the series introduces Gi-hun as a poor, divorced man who was in lots of financial debt and accepts an invitation to play multiple children’s games to win the money to turn his life around. The games were created to please the rich audiences known as “VIPs” to watch people die and kill each other for the sake of the cash prize: 4.56 billion won ($31.42 million).
Despite Gi-hun turning out to be the winner of the games later on, he is left haunted by the experience of seeing his friends and other players dying around him. In season two of the series, Gi-hun was determined to find the salesman (Gong Yoo) to try to stop the games from happening once again.
Three years after the traumatic games, Gi-hun was left paranoid and depressed but still had one goal in mind, and it was to force himself back into the games to internally stop the games from happening. Gi-hun later entered the games with the help of some colleagues and was determined to keep all the players alive to stop the games.
The second series also introduces brand-new, unique characters into the games: a mother-son duo (played by Yang Dong-guen & Kang Ae-shim), a deranged and rebellious rapper (Choi Seung-hyun), and a transgender woman (Park Sung-hoon). These new characters have added unique charm within the thriller series and have made significant contributions to the plot of the series.
The series shows the lighthearted mother-son duo of Jang Geum-ja and Bak Yong-sik. Geum-ja decided to join the games to pay off her son’s debts, and Yong-sik joined with the same intention of paying her debts. Geum-ja is often seen scolding her reckless son, Yong-sik, because of his poor decisions and not being wise with his money.
After being casted out of media attention, former k-pop group member Choi Seung-hyun, or T.O.P, reintroduces himself back into the public. Seung-hyun was a part of “the biggest group of the industry”, known as Big Bang, but he abruptly left due to backlash from the public from a previous scandal. Seung-hyun played the rebellious rapper who refers to himself as Thanos and gives the audience a laugh with his unserious personality. Fans of the series and the group both have given the utmost support after his coming back to the spotlight.
The series also shows a transgender woman, Cho Hyun-ju, who struggles from real world issues regarding the trans community. She was pointed out by other contestants, but one character bonded the most with her: Young-mi (Kim Si-eun). Fans adored these characters’ heartwarming dynamics since they treated each other like sisters.
Another new twist to the series is that the audience gets to experience the perspective of one of the pink guards, No-eul (Park Gyu-young). The pink guards are tasked to eliminate players who fail a game by killing them. Season two of the show also demonstrates how easy people are violent to others once they have slightly higher power, along with how human behaviors can change under extreme conditions.
The dystopian thriller series “Squid Game” shows the brutality of greed and money, along with economical issues that are often seen in the real world. The ending of the series concludes with a cliffhanger that left fans both intrigued and upset but also shows a sneak peek at the upcoming season finale that will be released this year.
