01 February 2025

K Drama Review: Squid Game 2 (2024) 4.6 || 4.6

We were not so sure about this one. Since we watched it later than most, we've heard not so nice things about the show. Mostly, that it was not as good as the first Squid Game. Fortunately, we were not swayed by public/popular opinion. It was still good. Oppa even thinks it might be better than the first one. 

Plot

As expected, this is a continuation of the first season. Two years after winning the game (where players play kids' games but are killed if they lose), our lead Seong Gi Hun (Lee Jung Jae) is determined to catch and take his revenge on the game masters. He used his prize to pay people to search for the subway guy (Gong Yoo of Seobok, Train to Busan, The Silent Sea, Guardian, and Coffee Prince) who recruited him to the game. Gi Hun finally chanced upon the recruiter and by some stroke of luck in Russian roulette, Gi Hun beat the recruiter and was able to gain access to the game's organizers. 

Gi Hun teamed up with Hwang Jun Ho (Wi Ha Joon of Gyeongseong Creature, Romance is a Bonus Book, and Something in the Rain), the policeman who infiltrated the game Gi Hun joined to search for his missing brother, In Ho, who joined the game in the past. Season 1's ending revealed that In Ho (Lee Byung Hun of Our Blues and Mr. Sunshine) was actually the Front Man running the games. 

And while the partners have different intentions (Gi Hun to stop the games, Jun Ho to save his brother), the two agreed to work together. Gi Hun is abducted by the game's organizers, as Jun Ho is left behind to tail and rescue him. Of course, things won't be that easy. Gi Hun joins the game again, while Jun Ho's plans are derailed as the game organizers get wind of his mission. The show takes us through how Gi Hun does his best to stay alive in the game he aims to stop. 

Cast

I'm not making separate sections for each actor/character because I don't really have a lot to say about them. But they're just as solid as the previous season's actors and characters. I think we even have more big names this season.

Lee Jung Jae is still as intense and as good as ever. It was amazing to see more depth in Gi Hun's character. Whereas he was just desperate and simply trying to get by in the first season, we can see how the game destroyed him. And while it's easy to assume that he will become a soulless guy who has nothing to live and fight for, he actually uses his experience to fearlessly find ways to catch the games' perpetrators. I loved how he transformed into a leader during his second time joining the game.  

We already know that Lee Byung Hun is a great actor. But he impressed us even more here with his two-faced bad ass character. I honestly cannot wait for the third and final season to watch the Front Man face off with Gi Hun. 

I was relieved to know that Jun Ho was alive and that he survived being shot by In Ho and falling off a cliff in the first season. I'm still suspicious about his intentions though. If he had to choose between his brother and Gi Hun, I'm concerned that blood will still be thicker than water. I'm quite sure that he also wants to stop the games but I'm inclined to think that he would still want to protect his brother. In any case, I'm just glad that Wi Ha Joon got a bit more screen time here where we get to witness his intensity as we get to know Jun Ho more. 

Gong Yoo was only in one episode. But he proved that there are no small or big roles for great actors. He was brilliant as a mad man who smashed breads in front of the homeless people who chose lottery tickets over food. And I super loved his final scene with Gi Hun. I could totally feel the immense power play between two great actors. 

Execution

While I do not agree, I sort of get the people who complained that this was not as good as the first one. Around 2 of the 7 episodes were spent outside the actual games. We witness violence even in the outside world. You might somehow get the feeling that the show lost a bit of its spunk from the previous season. 

And of course, there's the element of predictability. We already know that the drama is a play on poverty and the desperation that comes with it. How for some people, dying while playing the games might even be a better and more acceptable option than going out to face the scarier reality outside. And we know that the show will do everything to bring Gi Hun back to the games so he will win that Russian roulette game against the recruiter. 

As expected, the show loses some of its surprise element because we already know what the games are and how they're done. And the show couldn't go to the games straightaway because it had to build up Gi Hun's grand plan. 

And even when the actual games started, the show seemed to spend more time than usual focusing on some of the players' back stories. We have annoying characters like druggie Thanos (T.O.P.) and shaman-like Player 044 (Chae Gook Hee of The World of the Married). 

But you also had endearing players like the Gi Hun's friend Player 390 (Lee Seo Hwan of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Romance is a Bonus Book, and Fight for My Way), the girl (Jo Yuri) whom Player 333 (Im Si Wan of Summer Strike, Thirty-Nine, Run On, Misaeng, and Reply 1997) got pregnant, doting mom Player 149 (Kang Ae Shim of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Cleaning Up, Thirty-Nine, Hospital Playlist 2) to asshole son Player 007 (Yang Dong Geun of Play, Plii and Moving), the jolly yet anxious Player 388 (Kang Ha Neul of Moon Lovers and Misaeng), and transgender former Special Forces member Player 120 (Park Sung Hoon of The Glory 1 and 2), etc. The show even had time to focus a bit on one of its soldiers, a North Korean defector, Soldier 11 (Park Gyu Young of Romance is a Bonus Book). 

So yep, I get why others who wanted to focus more on the games than the personalities involved (and their dramatic lives) would be disappointed. 

Surprisingly, however, despite having the disadvantage of us knowing what the games are about, the show still manages to dig deeper. The biggest plot twist of all was the Front Man joining the games as Player 001/Young Il. I loved that grand reveal during the first vote. I felt anxious about how he and Gi Hun would mesh together, knowing that both are Alpha males and Front Man probably wanted to eliminate Gi Hun. And this is where Lee Byung Hun was really at his best. Young Il managed to gain his co-players' trust but you can see in his every side eye and smirk that he was planning something sinister. The way he went on with the game plan, only to put an end to it as he pleased was amazing.

And the games were still as violent and horrible as ever. I was concerned when the first game was Red Light, Green Light again because I thought they'd be doing the same games. That would have further limited the show's chance to add more surprising elements. So I was happy when new games were played after that. I liked that the games were more like team games because we got to know more of the players. I loved how the show managed to remain compelling even if we already knew the general plot. 

I'm excited to find out how Jun Ho's team will infiltrate the games in season 3. Let me just say though that we predicted that the captain (Oh Dal Su of 1987: When the Day Comes) who rescued him would be a bad guy. 

Everything about the finale was done so well. Yes, it was so brave of Gi Hun's team to attack the soldiers during the special game and start their revolt. I honestly doubted how their plan would work knowing that they were outnumbered and outmuscled. From the get-go, it seemed liked a lost cause without them really knowing what they wanted to achieve after they find the headquarters/control room. But everything was so well-executed that I can't really complain. The shooting scenes were superb, especially when Player 120 took charge. While it was disappointing, it was also funny to see Player 388's meltdown, which probably means he was not really a marine. 

The cliffhanger ending was amazing. With Young Il turning his back on his comrades, wearing his mask again as the Front Man and shooting Player 390 in front of Gi Hun to show the latter the consequences of his choices. 

We loved this season and we cannot wait for June 2025 for season 3. 

Oppa says...4.6.

Noona says...4.6.