Squid Game (Season 2) Full Movie Online Free
Squid Game (Season 2) 오징어 게임
Perhaps the
second season would become like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, in
which the previous winners of the past games would compete in a
tournament of champions-style battle royale. Another option would be to
pursue a V for Vendetta-style revolutionary narrative in which Gi-hun
would launch a revolution or war against the Front Man and the people
who run the games. There were limitless creative paths a second season
could have taken, so as long as this series doesn’t follow the footsteps
of literally every Hollywood sequel ever and does the same thing again
but bigger, then I would be at least content. So what does Squid Game
Season 2 do? It just does the same thing again, but bigger.
Ok,
perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration because the second season starts
with an intense first episode where we see Gi-hun in a much darker yet
determined state. Gi-hun is doing everything he can to bring an end to
the games once and for all: he trains in firearms and other weaponry, he
enlists his former loan shark and his gang to help him find the
recruiter, and he teams up with police detective Hwang Jun-ho (Wi
Ha-joon) who has his vendetta against the people running the games. The
first episode is filled with many fantastic moments, especially from The
Recruiter (Gong Yoo), as he is easily the standout character. The best
scene in the show is when The Recruiter challenges Gi-hun to a game of
Russian Roulette, as it oozes so much tension and suspense. On a
technical level, this scene screams confident filmmaking, as everything
from the editing to how the music is incorporated into the game to the
excellent performances is all great.
Unfortunately, that is where
this new season peaks because the show returns to being the first
season of Squid Game again, with almost zero risks or attempts to tell a
different story. Once again, Gi-hun is captured and participates in the
game, where lots of money is at stake. Yet again, the contestants play
Red Light Green Light, and people are shocked when they realize death is
a real possibility. We have yet another cast of generic,
black-and-white good and bad guys where certain characters are
cartoonishly evil, and others are boringly lawful good, except this time
there are references to topical subjects like crypto and Thanos that
scream major “how do you do, fellow kids” energy. The same random
subplot of the Squid Game workers secretly harvesting the organs of dead
contestants is back, except this time, it’s even more pointless. The
process of characters being able to vote whether or not they should stop
returns, except this time, they introduce it at the end of every round,
causing the entire show to drag and artificially extend its runtime.
Throughout
episodes 2–6, nothing new or creative happens. It is just the same
thing audiences saw in the previous season, except frustratingly
stretched out because Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed that he developed the
second and third seasons back-to-back, with Season 3 being the last. The
only time the show becomes interesting again is in the final episode,
in which Gi-hun launches a revolt against the people running the games
by ambushing some guards and stealing their weapons. On top of this
being a primarily solid episode with well-presented and engaging
gunfights, this show is finally pursuing a gripping storyline that feels
like a natural next step of where this story should have gone
initially.
Unfortunately, the show just couldn’t help itself but
end on a cliffhanger that is both wholly unearned and a harsh reminder
that this is only half a story and audiences need to wait until next
year to see this story completed. Netflix and the creative team behind
Squid Game would seriously rather artificially lengthen a show just to
milk the IP for a bit longer rather than letting it run its natural
course. It’s sad and frustrating, and this mindset results in a Season 2
that, while having some good ideas and moments, is half a story that
ultimately feels risk-free and creatively bankrupt.
Rating: 5/10
Squid Game Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix!
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