Squid Game season 2 review: "Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now"

This review of Squid Game season 2 is spoiler-free.

In the weeks after Squid Game season 1 hit Netflix, it felt like everyone was talking about it. The shocking and violent Korean drama made news segments, spawned ill-advised real-life recreations, and ultimately broke records for Netflix, becoming the streaming platform's most-watched series of all time. Whether you loved it or loathed it, that familiar theme tune became etched in your brain, as did the colorful costumes and distinctive masks that bled into popular culture. So, how exactly do you follow that?

There's no doubt that for creator, director, and writer Hwang Dong-hyuk, the pressure was immense, not only because of his first season's success but also because a second season presents a whole new breadth of challenges. The shock and novelty of the concept is no longer fresh, and that's not even to mention the fact there's an almost entirely new cast after the exceptional body count of season 1.

As is the case with so many of the Squid Game contestants, the odds were stacked against Hwang, which only makes it even more impressive to see what he's achieved with Squid Game season 2: a series that not only matches its predecessor's level, but often exceeds it.

Back inside

Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) returns as our guiding figure in season 2, taking us back into that chilling arena once again. Yet, he's different this time around. Gone is the naive and selfish Gi-hun who first entered the games, and in his place is a man burdened with trauma, single-minded in his mission for revenge. The season begins with him living in an abandoned hotel operating a cross-city operation to find the Recruiter (Gong Yoo) and get a foothold back to those who run the sadistic tournament. Lee plays him magnificently as a man who wears each life lost in the first games as a weight around his neck, yet still barely manages to raise his head to spite those responsible.

But it's through two particular relationships that Gi-hun becomes the most compelling. Firstly, his former gambling companion Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) returns in season 2 as one of the contestants in the game and nudges him back to the man he once was. Then there's the dynamic with the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun). Briefly unmasked in season 1, he becomes much more than the villain we initially met, and Lee is wonderful at bringing new sides to a character that could seem entirely evil. The twists and turns that writer Hwang introduces with him are exhilarating to watch, even if they are too spoilery to delve into here. He's an example of how season 2 is much more interested in exploring its characters' grey areas, focusing at times on those working as the guards and bringing nuance to their stories.

Alongside them, we get to know a whole new crop of contestants. They're just as compelling as those we met in season 1 – and dealing with the same kind of demons. Particular stand-outs are Kang Ae-sim's Jang Geum-ja, a mother failing to protect her son from himself, and Park Sung-hoon, whose casting fairly caused controversy as Hyun-ju, but brings depths of emotion to the story. Lingering too is the dread that begins to set in as you realize that very few, if any, of them will make it out.

They're examples of what makes Squid Game so powerful: its exploration of humanity at breaking point. Sure, Netflix may seem to believe, given its marketing and game show spin-offs, that this show is purely successful for its shock value. But, Hwang never succumbs to that simplicity, making his second season one of the most poignant and painful explorations of the human psyche on screen.

Can't look away

Of course, the visual tone of Squid Game also remains a huge selling point. Emmy-winning production designer Chae Kyoung-sun's arresting designs are once again striking as she recreates the classic arenas as well as some new terrifying game locales in season 2. The contrast between the bright colors of the setting and the violence remains so disconcerting you have no chance to escape the horror of what's happening when it's playing out in brightly lit sequences.

The new games are worthy of mention too, bringing in more childhood memories and twisting them sadistically so you'll never hear a nursery rhyme the same way again. The violence is also just as unrelenting and still retains its ability to shock even when you know what's coming next.

Naturally then, it's the sequences inside the arena that are the most exhilarating to watch. The time prior to Gi-hun's return and the supporting storyline of Wi Ha-joon's Hwang Jun-ho search for the island don't quite come into their own in these seven episodes. Yet, there's still enough there to plant the seeds for what's to come, and season 2 does set up a lot for its upcoming final season in 2025.

Breaking point

The real triumph of season 2 is its exploration of morality and the lengths humanity will go to when pushed to its extremes. When you first start watching, you think that you'd never vote to remain in the games, but after following a character who has lost everything and sees this as their only way out, avoiding empathy is impossible.

In season 1, the Front Man shared his philosophy at one point: "Everyone is equal while they play this game. Here, the players get to play a fair game under the same conditions. These people suffered from inequality and discrimination out in the world, and we offer them one last chance to fight on equal footing and win." This is at the heart of the second season too, as Hwang hints that maybe it's the world that's broken, rather than just the circumstances in the arena.

Squid Game season 2 grapples with these questions in an interesting way, through the eyes of Gi-hun and the Front Man, as well as through contestants and guards fighting their own internal battles. Ultimately too, it asks its audience to consider where it stands, and what it would fight for in a world that becomes increasingly bleak and challenging. Yes, Squid Game is entertaining, but it's also art that's intent to hold a mirror up – and this is why it remains one of the best shows on television right now.

Squid Game season 2 is streaming on Netflix now. For more, check out our guides to the best Netflix shows and the best Netflix movies to watch.