Squid Game Season 2

Slightly..disappointing

I've waited for it since the previous season finished.
The storyline somewhat repeats itself (granted that it's the same game), like the relationship MC has with both 001s.
So many characters got added, but didn't get fleshed out enough (i.e. 011). For 095's death scene I felt bad, but not nearly enough as bad as I had felt for Ali's (still hurts my heart to this day The games felt novel and really interesting, I liked the new characters and how their relationships developed. (Absolutely despised TOP's character, he's a menace... TT)
With the outside intervention and frontman, I'm intrigued to see where the next season is going!

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squid end game

squid end game :D. instead using money to build community and become president of korea to fight against poverty. Our hero use money to join game again. he is completely a joke in this field.
this is not like jingsaw which people survive and go back because they didn't have any money beside their life.
our hero is not hero. he is just trash in society in the end. the producer make gamer controller like bad guy even he offer foods to people and yet they still paint him to be jerk. this is not good for society or relate to process to change anything. it is just become joke story unlike season 1.

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Squid Game Season 2 hits on the red light.

Everyone knew that Squid Game was the talk of the town when it first aired, taking the world by storm. Hundreds of millions of people streamed it on Netflix, setting an all-time high record that no show has beaten to this day. So, when the second season was announced shortly after the first one ended, people were ecstatic, eager to have their questions answered when it finally aired.

Just to preface this "review," I personally did not like the first season. I understood why people found it fresh concept-wise, but for someone who has been consuming the "death game" genre for years, the idea was nothing original. It just boiled down to how the creators would put their own spin on it.

My main issue with the first season was its inconsistent writing. You could tell the writer had incredible ideas but struggled to integrate them smoothly into the plot. There were also unnecessary elements that dragged the show longer than necessary (one example being Il-Nam's ten-minute monologue at the end of the season).

That said, I did appreciate the character dynamics and the overall simplicity of the story. I genuinely believe that simplicity was the key factor in its success, especially considering Squid Game served as many people's first experience of the "death game" genre.

When the second season dropped during the holiday season, I decided to give it another chance. I thought perhaps I had been too harsh on the first season, as I only rated it two stars. Maybe the holiday spirit would help me enjoy the new season more.

Trust me, I really wanted to like it. I truly did. I focused on a few good things during the first two episodes, but as time passed, I realized that the one thing I genuinely liked about the first season—its memorable characters—was stripped off from this one.

Although the second season introduced a plethora of new characters, none of them were memorable. They lacked depth, making them utterly forgettable. To be honest, I couldn’t even remember a single name by the time it ended.

Plot-wise, it felt as though the creators sacrificed the show’s core focus to expand the narrative. This season felt rushed, with too many things happening at once, which negatively impacted both the quality of the storyline and the development of the characters.

As for the games, while most were new, they were colorful like those in the first season but lacked the shock factor that made the first season interesting.

Squid Game, like many other series bearing the "second season curse," unfortunately wasn’t safe from landing on the red light. I attribute much of this to the abrupt, and unfulfilling season finale. But who knows? Perhaps what this season lacked might become the strongest element of the next.

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Squid Game Season 2: Bigger, But Not Better

Squid Game Season 2 had a few issues that made it not as impactful as the first season. One of the main problems was how the show seemed to try too hard to shock the audience. For example, the new games were sometimes cool, but other times they felt forced. Some scenes, like the one where contestants are put through a maze like trap involving extreme physical challenges, felt more disturbing for the sake of it rather than serving the plot. Instead of adding tension, it almost felt like the show was trying to one up itself in a way that didn’t quite hit the mark. The games themselves didn’t have the same emotional stakes as in Season 1. In fact, a lot of the tension was lost because the games felt predictable, and there were fewer moments where I really didn’t know what was going to happen next.

The pacing was another big issue. The beginning of the season felt incredibly slow, and it took a long time before the action really kicked in. I was expecting the usual high stakes and excitement right from the start, but it dragged for quite a while. The first few episodes were so slow that it felt like I was just waiting for something to happen. The lack of urgency in the early episodes was frustrating because, in the first season, the sense of dread and suspense was there from the start. When things finally did pick up, it didn’t feel as intense or gripping as the first season’s moments. I found myself losing interest during some of the drawn out sequences, like when contestants are simply talking or forming alliances, instead of diving straight into the tension that the show is known for. These moments lacked the edge that made the first season such a thrill to watch.

Another big problem was the new characters. They just didn’t leave the same impression as the original cast. I didn’t feel as connected to them, and their backstories or development weren’t as strong. Some of their storylines felt underdeveloped, especially when compared to characters like Seong Gi-hun from the first season. For instance, the character who leads one of the new games felt a bit too exaggerated and one dimensional, which made it hard to take their motivations seriously. Because of this, when emotional moments happened, they didn’t hit as hard. The stakes didn’t feel as personal as in the first season, where each contestant’s backstory was fleshed out and connected to the greater themes of the show. Here, a lot of the characters felt like they were just there to play the games, with no real emotional arc to follow.

Despite these issues, I have to say the show still had its moments. There were scenes that brought back some of the intensity and excitement from the first season, but they were fewer and farther between. For example, the final game in the season, while visually impressive, lacked the emotional weight of the first season’s finale. The show tried to be bigger and bolder, but in doing so, it lost a lot of what made the first season so unique and gripping. It almost felt like the show was more concerned with shocking the audience with graphic scenes, like the sudden violence in a few moments, than delivering a well rounded and emotionally compelling narrative.

There was also a specific scene I didn’t enjoy where the contestants are put through a psychological test that feels out of place. It wasn’t just about the physical challenges; it was also about how they were mentally tortured, and while this might sound intense, it seemed more like a way to add shock value than to push the story forward. The whole ordeal dragged on, and I found it hard to care about the outcome since it didn’t feel as organic to the story or as emotionally raw as previous tests. This scene, along with a few others that relied too much on pure violence rather than tension building, really took away from the suspense.

Overall, Squid Game Season 2 didn’t live up to the hype. While it was still fun to watch and had some exciting moments, it didn’t have the same impact as the first season. The pacing, predictability, and lack of strong character development kept it from being as memorable, and in some ways, it felt like a letdown after the groundbreaking success of the first season. It was an okay continuation, but definitely not a must see for anyone hoping for another season that would blow them away. The magic from the first season was missing, and while it tried to be bigger and more shocking, it didn’t deliver the same gripping, emotional experience. waited 3 years for this and it turned out to be the biggest disappointment

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a decent serie

this is not bad but also not great, what doesnt help is that most people have high expectation because of season 1 so ngl season 1 captivated me since the first ep, while for this one it took me time but it is not unwatchable
if i have to pick best and worse eps it will be like this
not good eps : ep 1-2-7
the rest are good eps
the reason for ep 1 and 2 because the scenes were dragging too much with no games at all , the reason for the final ep (ep 7) is the main character, he is really not good at making plans for sure, acting herotic and get lucky to survive all time okay lol
the rest of eps: i enjoyed watching the games , there is one game that i liked the most, when they have to team up as its indicated to survive, i loved the new characters : Min Su is a cutie i better see him in season 3, they kinda did the cop (Jun Ho) dirty because that man is so fine the role in this season didnt give him justice lol, Thanos character is fun i know some people say he is overacting but he is supposed to be like that i mean look at the pills he takes it make sense to me lol, i also liked Myeong Gi and Hyeon Ju characters
compared to season 1 this is a bit less gory and we dont lose a lot of main characters
now, looking forward to season 3 ^^

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An underwhelming drag on

Even though season 1 stands by itself, there was still a lot of potential for season 2. They could've ditched the old cast completely and bring in entirely new faces to play new games. I think with compelling characters, it would've worked great. But it felt like the makers were too scared to ditch the fan favourites, and so their presence and screen times were justified by unnecessary and bloated plot lines. Eg: Hwang Jun ho still searching for the island without a single clue. It probably would've been better seeing him enter the games this time and the Front man in turmoil trying his hardest to save him. But no, they played it safe.
Also due to the star studded cast, there were no real stakes in the few games they played. Unlike last season, where we never knew who would end up dead during each game.
Keeping all these aside, the main drawback was quite literally the lack of games. Whole 1st season had packed 6 intriguing deadly games into 7 episodes, this season had only 3. With the 1st one being a repetition. And the music and tone of these games seemed very far from the grim and gloomy atmosphere in the first one.

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A whole season to set up for a finale

I wasn't really planning on watching s2 of Squid Game, mostly because I thought the open ending of s1 was satisfactory. I ended up giving it a try and while it had me watching all the episodes back to back to figure out what happened, I was left unsatisfied by the end of it. This review will contain spoilers from here out!

I thought that the concept of Gihun returning to the games to shut it down was great - the first two episodes had me excited to see the plan unfold, and I was hopeful that things would work out. Going into this season, I knew that they were already planning a third, so I didn't expect everything to be wrapped up. However, the first section of the games was frankly underwhelming, with none of the deaths even feeling that meaningful. We spent less time with the characters and didn't get much backstory on them, so it felt like I was less invested than I was with s1. Also, I felt like I was constantly waiting for this big plan of ending the games and it took so long for it to happen. Instead, we just watched Gihun live through another set of games and learn the same lesson that he did in s1: people's greed is not stopped by reason. As I reached the end of the series, I could tell it was going to end on a cliffhanger, and it didn't even end in a good spot! It really felt like this entire season was just to set up for the next. The games felt less intense, the deaths less tragic, and the plot to stop them was nearly nonexistent. Frankly, I wish I waited to watch this until s3 came out so I could just watch them both back to back.

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Pointless season...

Of course, this season was very anticipated after the huge success of the first season. In my opinion, the second season wasn't really necessary, but here we are. Apparently, the director admitted to shooting the second season just for the money, which is honestly noticeable. It also defeats the whole point of the show, which is that money is the cause of all suffering.

This season was very underwhelming and it felt very low effort. The first season didn't feel like a stereotypical kdrama and I think that's the reason why it became so successful outside of Korea, this one however had more of an actual kdrama feel to it. Some parts were even predictable unlike the first season and the cast of this season included a lot of famous and familiar faces, which is also why it felt more like a good ole kdrama.

The music also played a big role in my rating because it made everything seem less intimidating, and at some point, I even forgot they were brutally killing people.

The characters were also nice but because of the side plots we never really got to get attached to them so when people died it wasn't as heartbreaking as the first one (though I do admit I cried to one death).

In the end, you can really just tell how this season was shot just because of money and they ended it on a cliffhanger for season 3, again for money. They could've made this season 9 episodes like the last one and it would've been perfectly enough to wrap it up.

Overall very disappointing and I don't think I'll be watching season 3. And yes a big part of my thoughts on this show were shaped by the fact that the director is only doing this for money and you can really sense it too with the lack of creativity, enthusiasm, and spark.

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