Putting my Netflix subscription into use after a long time to watch Squid Game season 2. An intro of this seems redundant since who hasn't watched it, but just to keep to the format - Squid Game is a secret game where 456 players are brought to an island to play games and have a chance to win money to pay off their debts if they survive. Season 2 follows Gi-hun (Lee Jungjae) after he won the game, but now is intent on returning to the game to stop it from within.
The first 2 episodes set the stage for Gihun to return to the games, with a memorable cameo by Gong Yoo as the recruiter. I thought the first 2 episodes were a bit of a drag, but the show really ramped up the pace and intensity once Gihun makes it back to the games. I think it was a good writing choice to keep the first game as the familiar Red Light, Green Light, but giving it a twist with Gihun telling participants how to "game" the system, then subsequently introducing new games to freshen up the storyline.
While the show was very bingeable, I did not care for any of the players. I finished the series 2 weeks ago and am already struggling to recall the characters, while I still remember the characters in season 1. I think one of the reasons is that we only spent 5 episodes with them (courtesy of the season being split in half), and there seems to be more characters this time, spreading screen time way too thin. I just have to mention that the character of Thanos (Bigbang's TOP) was so overboard (and overacted) that I couldn't stand any time his character was on screen and was so glad he was finally off the show.
In fact, Frontman (Lee Byunghun) was the most interesting character. Throughout the series where he infiltrates the game as player 001, his character keeps viewers guessing on whether he's had a change of heart. The only other character I was interested in was Kang Noeul (Park Gyuyoung) who enters the game as a soldier and intentionally shoots people to kill them, thwarting the plans to harvest the organs of these players. I'll be interested to see what happens to her in season 3.
Directing remained a strong point, though it did lack the novelty of season 1, where the sets, costumes and choice of music were unlike any show before.
To sum up, the show never needed a second season. But of course, it was impossible that the creators and the Netflix wouldn't have milked this cash cow for all its worth. My grievances aside, it is still a fun and entertaining watch and I'll be tuning in to season 3.