After three years of waiting for the second season of Squid Game, it finally released with two episodes less than the first season. Upon release of the second season, they announced season 3 in the summer of 2025 and more details on the world of squid games. I was really excited for the season to come out with the same games and new players, but I was so shocked by the difference from last season.
From the visuals to the music and the new games, this season really hit the spot for squid game fans like me.
Squid Game Season 2 came out on Dec. 26, 2024, perfectly set after Christmas directed by and written by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The first season for the U.S. came out Sept. 17, 2021, with key actors in the second season including Lee Jung-Jae (Player 456 or Seong Gi-hun), Lee Byung-hun (Hwang In-ho or the Frontman), and Wi Ha-joon (Hwang jun-ho) from season 1, introducing new characters and supporting characters we saw a bit of in season 1 like Lee Seo-hwan(Park Jung-bae or player 230). We’re introduced to many new players this season, some very likely, relatable, and some.. Very annoying.
The first episode, “Bread and Lottery,” was a long continuation of the last one from season 1; we get to see what Gi-hun did after deciding to stay after not boarding the plane and talking to the frontman. Gi-hun in this episode looks fantastic, and the difference in what that game did to him is shown in the details. His calling the money he won “blood money” was a really clever delivery. The best thing about this episode was how the workers he hired doubted him until he talked about the money. I didn’t like how long this entire episode was, and some moments felt filler, especially the points with Jun-ho and his new partner, Captain Park (Oh Dal-Su). But it tied well with the second episode, “Halloween Party.” I absolutely LOVED the visuals at the Halloween party; the vibes were unsettling, with the colors blue and pink coming from everywhere. There was a part with the standoff between Gi-hun and the salesman(Gong Ji-Cheol), and it was such a fantastic split with one part of his face lit red and another part darkened with the salesman (who had lazy eye but the visual fit beautifully two show a mask and his true evil side).
After that episode, we’re hit with the games, starting with the classic “Red light, Green light, and a new voting mechanic. Honestly, I like the new voting. I thought it was really smart to show how being in debt could make you desperate for money, especially as we go on. We see more and more of this every game, with even a split between “O” and “X,” stay or leave. We were also introduced to new games that were different from the original, which I thought was smart of the game just in case a past winner came back. The new games included mingle, and in “6 legs,” we get the games Ddakji, Biseokchigi(or flying stone), Gong-gi, Paengi Chigi(or spinning top), and Jegi Chagi. Although those aren’t all the games, they are great compared to season 1 and show more Korean culture. There were also more chances for inclusivity with them having more varieties of characters like Cho Hyun-ju, a trans woman in the show, Park Yong-Sik and Jang Geum-ja, a son and mother fighting with shared debt, and Kim Jun-hee, who is pregnant during the games. There are also characters that I’ve found a little annoying, like Player 100(I Jeong-dae), who did a great job of being a secondary antagonist and being one of the most insufferable characters to squid game watchers, and Thanos who is played by a retired K-Pop idol from group Big Bang, Choi Su-bong or T.O.P, and mixed opinions of him with watchers loving him for his goofy personality or disliking his attitude. I’m not a fan of him at all. We even get a point of view from the Guards with Kang No-eul (Guard 011), who is just there to work against the system.
I really loved where this series came from, but I’m honestly not super happy with the split-up games from season 2 and upcoming season 3. Season 2 didn’t hit the mark with games and was more action and revenge. The actors did a fantastic job of portraying the characters in unique and different ways, giving this season more life and personality along with such good storytelling. Season 2 has good visuals, background, and certainly music, and I’m super excited about season 3 coming out later this year.