Squid Game returns with an appetite for vengeance and an increase in bloodshed. Season two of Netflix's most popular series—which premiered in September 2021—is releasing later this month, and the new cast of over 450 characters is every bit as violent, brutal, and dystopian as the original.

Acclaim and context of Season 1

Inspired by the Korean financial crisis, the first season garnered 14 Emmy nominations, with victories for director Hwang Dong-Hyuk and performer Lee Jung-jae. Director Hwang returns to the island for another Squid Game, despite the ongoing chaos in the world.

Three years after winning the game, Seong Gi-hun (Lee), also known as Player 456, begins the second season by trying to track down the individuals responsible. From the shelter of a converted motel, which he has transformed into his headquarters stronghold, he is conducting this search with the support of a big gang of criminals and underworld characters, utilizing the ₩45.6 billion prize money.

Gi-hun's hunt for The Recruiter

At first, Gi-hun is on the hunt for Gong Yoo's character, The Recruiter, a slim man in a nice suit who used to play ddakji in the subway to entice people to join the game. Because of all this, Gi-hun goes back to Squid Game to try to end it. Once he’s back inside, he is introduced to a new cast of characters including Myung-gi (played by Yim Si-Wan), a former cryptocurrency influencer who, after losing a hefty sum of cash and incurring huge losses for himself and his subscribers, becomes a fugitive until his involvement in the game; Jun-hee (played by Jo Yu-Ri), a strong-willed woman who participates in the game due to bad investments made at the advice of said influencer; Yong-sik (played by Yang Dong-Geun), a compulsive gambler neck-deep in debt who finds his own mother is a participant in the game; his mother Geum-ja (played by Kang Ae-Sim) and Jung-bae (played by Lee Seo-Hwan), a long-time friend and former coworker of Gi-Hun’s who was seen in Season 1 gambling alongside him at the horse race track.

Separately, The Front Man—Lee Byung-hun—seems to have taken over the game after Oh Il-nam's death, and Wi Ha-jun—a detective who slips into the game to find his brother—returns as well.

Since his first visit three years ago, Gi-Hun has matured. According to Lee Jung-jae, his character is currently experiencing a transitional period. The emotions he experiences when he interacts with other participants in Season 2 differ significantly from those he felt when he first met them in Season 1. The actor felt the most significant change occurred in Season 2 when he became more attuned to and accepting of the emotions of those around him on set.

Bigger scale and new games

According to Hwang, Season 2 boasts greater scale improvements over Season 1, as well as the presence of new games. He claimed to have given serious consideration to the games he would force the competitors to play, but he refrained from disclosing the details of the new and lethal challenges. Despite his desire for the challenges to be extremely simple, he acknowledged the abundance of internet proposals for local Korean games.

He added, "With the exception of Gi-Hun, all the characters in the games are new, so you'll have more likeable ones to root for, simply in terms of the games." 

Hwang asserts that Season 2 carries a significantly broader message, despite Gi-Hun's quest for retribution against the wrongdoers serving as the narrative's primary focus. He asked whether they could muster the courage to strive for a better world. Is it possible for them to alter the world's trajectory, and if so, can they genuinely set aside their avarice and ambitions to build a more harmonious society? He mentioned that he intended to ask questions like this, rather than focusing on the personalities or motivations of the people behind the games.

Political underpinnings

There is still a political undercurrent to the drama series. Speaking just days before Donald Trump's second victory for the presidency, Hwang expressed his deepest concern about the current world and how it divides us all, separating us from each other and fostering hostility between different groups. There are numerous factors that separate them in this day and age, including racial, religious, linguistic, socioeconomic, and generational divides. In light of the crucial vote this week, they can see how political divisions have polarised them—pitting conservatives against progressives and the left against the right. These divisions give the impression that two sides can never truly unite. The world's top politicians appear to be creating these barriers and schisms, leading them to believe that anyone who disagrees with them is an unforgivable enemy.

Season 2 introduces voting, one of the most noticeable changes from season to season. After each obstacle in this new round of bloodthirsty kids' games, the players vote to determine whether they want to keep going or not and earn more money.

Hwang revealed that he experienced more intense feelings of suspense and tension from these votes, surpassing the tension from the games themselves. He explained that one can't help but wonder if the games will continue and who will cast their vote. Participants in the games begin to believe that, regardless of the outcome, they are correct and others are incorrect. They hold the belief that they are perfect and others are flawed. They will also examine whether there truly appears to be any opportunity for them. That question occupied his thoughts throughout Season 2.

Hwang's vision against prejudice

He stated that Season 2 was his response to his desire to avoid a divided society. Additionally, he stated that human life is priceless. Hwang went on to express his belief that we can eradicate all forms of prejudice from this world. But he doesn't think humans are unique. Humans are unique in terms of their abilities and the types of talent they possess. People are capable of varying degrees. But he thinks it becomes a serious issue when those differences become the basis for intolerable levels of discrimination, relegating the weak or those with less valued abilities to the lowest echelons of society with no support system to rescue them. They need to put a stop to that. Hwang believes they won't witness a society with a robust social system unless they take action. They must proceed in such a way that they embrace diversity without allowing it to breed prejudice. It saddens Hwang to think that the world is acting in that way right now.

On December 26, Squid Game returns for a second season on Netflix. Next year, the third and last season will stream.

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