*Disclaimer: Spoilers for Squid Game, Season 1.*

After four long years, Netflix has finally brought audience members the season that they have been waiting for. Squid Game Season 2 was released on December 26th 2024. The new season brings new games and new characters woven together by deception and greed. Viewers will wonder how far the players will go for fortune, and question how Player 456 (Lee Jung-jae) could ever return to the games.

We start with Seong Gi-Hun (Player 456) who is about to step onto the plane to flee South Korea with the winnings from the previous games. Guilt riddles him as he holds the blood money and he quickly changes his mind, running out of the airport. The episode jumps to three years later; he is alone in his apartment, full of vengeance, as he tries to find the recruiter (Gong Yoo) who lured him into the game in season 1. Gi-Hun has every intention of stopping the games and he finds himself back in the same blue tracksuit walking up the same colourful stairs. As the trailer shows, he has gotten back in the games.

With new games, comes new players. Audience members will get to know a handful of players on an in-depth level. We discover their backgrounds, their quirks and some comedic elements. We see a mother (Kang Ae-sim) and son (Yang Dong-geun) who are both playing to pay off the son’s debt; rapper Thanos (T.O.P) with a buffoonish attitude to the games as he irritatingly pops pills and dances around the room; ex-militant, Player 120 (Park Sung-hoon) hoping to pay the expensive cost of surgery to transition from male to female; Father (Lee Jin-wook) of a sick child who struggles with the financial burdens of medical care; and finally, an interesting development of the Frontman’s storyline (Lee Byung-hun).

Each character’s story creates empathy and connection between the player and the audience member. The series portrays a sense of realness to those players who are desperate for help. However, in seconds, this sense of normality fades when the pink masked men come out to inform the players of the next game.

All these characters have one commonality: debt. The sum of money they can win physically hangs over their heads in a huge clear piggy bank, only to push their temptations. The excitement builds when the characters enter the first game, being met with bright colours and the hope of winning the money. The games bring nostalgia as the characters reminisce on what they used to play as children. This only heightens their ambition to win the money due to what they think will be easy games, until they discover the consequences of losing. Player 456’s return to the games brings hope to viewers that his use of persuasion can help the players avoid their doom.

Moreover, we see a new part of the game which we did not see in the first season. Players have the opportunity to vote on whether they want to remain in the game or be freed. But, with the desperation of their current financial state and the money constantly above them, will the players continue with their merciless actions in order to pay off their debt? Or will the fear lead them to their freedom instead?

The new season of Squid Game has been trending on social media with people embracing Korean culture and playing the children’s games seen. Additionally, viewers have fallen in love with some of the characters. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk successfully allows the audience to attach fully to the players, as they learn their personalities and motivations. However, some viewers have shared their disappointment. They believe that Season 2 did not capture the same essence of Season 1, claiming the show dragged on and had a limited plot. The confusing ending of the show especially did not help this view, as arguably, the show solely was a set up for Season 3.

Netflix recently announced that the third and final season will come to Netflix June 27th 2025. This leaves viewers twiddling their thumbs, wondering how Player 456’s story will progress.

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