Sorup saha

The concept is interesting—a mix of Squid Game, Alice in Borderland, and Stranger Things. But the execution is where things start to fall apart.

The biggest problem is that the story revolves around a single character, so you never really worry about him because you already know he’s going to survive until the finale. It would’ve worked much better if the story focused on a team or a group of characters, like Squid Game and Alice in Borderland, where you actually get attached to multiple characters and their fates feel uncertain.

Another HUGE problem is the runtime. The episodes are way too short for a story like this. The games themselves feel illogical because there’s barely enough time to establish their rules, stakes, or logic. A 50-minute runtime would’ve allowed the writers to develop the story and backstories properly. The show does try to provide some explanations towards the end, but by then, you can’t help wondering why we had to sit through eight episodes of pointless buildup.

I recently watched a fantasy show called Carrie, and comparing its buildup with this show makes it painfully obvious how poorly this one is written. Even without revealing much, that show manages to make things feel coherent rather than completely illogical.

Another major issue is the lack of character development. The protagonist is terrified by the horrifying events in the first episode, yet he seems to be at almost the exact same level of fear by episode 7. Like, seriously? Where is the character development?

Disappointing, especially considering how interesting the concept was.