This review may contain spoilers
A truly under appreciated piece of media
Despite the popular consensus, I think it was quite enjoyable, it’s been a while since I watched something this engaging.
Where to start with this one honestly. I feel like season 2 and season 3 are an unappreciated piece of media, and are miles better than season 1. To get to that conclusion we have to delve into what the show really represents, and what it’s really about. If I want to put it simply, squid game was always about men vs capitalism, and how it corners people and can change people, sometimes even make monsters out of them. Squid game season 2 and 3 does an amazing job at pushing the boundaries of how far can humanity’s greed can develop. Now that we’ve established this, let’s talk about a few points that I want to address.
Story: I have thoroughly enjoyed the story. The pacing felt a little bit mixed in my opinion, at first I loved it, since there was a bigger gap between the character’s deaths, so it gave us more time to get to know them, to make us attached, and actually care about those characters, which I thought was severely lacking from season 1. But towards the third season, I thought that the pacing became too fast for my liking and I didn’t necessarily agree with that choice. Besides the pacing the only gripes I have with the show are the detective’s storyline and soldier 11’s. They felt like they took up way too much time, and barely progressed anywhere, so they felt empty to say the least.
Characters: I have really enjoyed the characters this time around. We had a cast of colourful characters, with varying personalities, with their own internal strives and personalities. They felt engaging, interesting, and most importantly, alive. I also love the decision to make a few of the characters have some sort of relations with each other, it made some of the ethical dilemmas even better.
Ending: This is where I may lose some people, but I enjoyed the ending. I think it was a fitting last chapter for Gi Hun’s character. With his final act, he defied not only the games, but the ideologies/philosophical views of the ones who created the game. He proved that Humans are not playthings, nor racing horses. Humans are… kind, compassionate, selfish, selfless, cold, brave, greedy, two faced, hypocritical, guilty, innocent and so on… Humans are anything they choose to be, they are diverse, and they are living beings, not playthings. There are several complaints about the endings, mainly the fact that we did not learn anything new about the games, which I don’t mind all that much honestly. This trilogy was always the story of Gi Hun, not the games. It was a story of opposing philosophical/moral views. In the end, no matter how hard we try, the system in which we all are under will always win, because it’s designed that way. Unless the system itself doesn’t change, we can’t win.
On paper, I can understand how people can find the last 2 seasons underwhelming. But I also do believe that, they don’t see the bigger picture. As much as I don’t like to throw this around this, but the backlash that this show is getting is just more proof that media literacy is severely lacking. If you look at the show for what it really is, I think you’ll enjoy yourself, especially if you like to question morals sometimes. I gave it a 8 out of 10, and I’m excited for the next thing in the squid game universe, the potentials are endless, and I can’t wait to see more.
Where to start with this one honestly. I feel like season 2 and season 3 are an unappreciated piece of media, and are miles better than season 1. To get to that conclusion we have to delve into what the show really represents, and what it’s really about. If I want to put it simply, squid game was always about men vs capitalism, and how it corners people and can change people, sometimes even make monsters out of them. Squid game season 2 and 3 does an amazing job at pushing the boundaries of how far can humanity’s greed can develop. Now that we’ve established this, let’s talk about a few points that I want to address.
Story: I have thoroughly enjoyed the story. The pacing felt a little bit mixed in my opinion, at first I loved it, since there was a bigger gap between the character’s deaths, so it gave us more time to get to know them, to make us attached, and actually care about those characters, which I thought was severely lacking from season 1. But towards the third season, I thought that the pacing became too fast for my liking and I didn’t necessarily agree with that choice. Besides the pacing the only gripes I have with the show are the detective’s storyline and soldier 11’s. They felt like they took up way too much time, and barely progressed anywhere, so they felt empty to say the least.
Characters: I have really enjoyed the characters this time around. We had a cast of colourful characters, with varying personalities, with their own internal strives and personalities. They felt engaging, interesting, and most importantly, alive. I also love the decision to make a few of the characters have some sort of relations with each other, it made some of the ethical dilemmas even better.
Ending: This is where I may lose some people, but I enjoyed the ending. I think it was a fitting last chapter for Gi Hun’s character. With his final act, he defied not only the games, but the ideologies/philosophical views of the ones who created the game. He proved that Humans are not playthings, nor racing horses. Humans are… kind, compassionate, selfish, selfless, cold, brave, greedy, two faced, hypocritical, guilty, innocent and so on… Humans are anything they choose to be, they are diverse, and they are living beings, not playthings. There are several complaints about the endings, mainly the fact that we did not learn anything new about the games, which I don’t mind all that much honestly. This trilogy was always the story of Gi Hun, not the games. It was a story of opposing philosophical/moral views. In the end, no matter how hard we try, the system in which we all are under will always win, because it’s designed that way. Unless the system itself doesn’t change, we can’t win.
On paper, I can understand how people can find the last 2 seasons underwhelming. But I also do believe that, they don’t see the bigger picture. As much as I don’t like to throw this around this, but the backlash that this show is getting is just more proof that media literacy is severely lacking. If you look at the show for what it really is, I think you’ll enjoy yourself, especially if you like to question morals sometimes. I gave it a 8 out of 10, and I’m excited for the next thing in the squid game universe, the potentials are endless, and I can’t wait to see more.
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