Thematic changes, familiar characters, and lots of social commentary lead to a more predictable season two of the iconic show
Netflix’s Squid Game is an immensely popular exploration of the class disparities that lead to both desperation and exploitation. The show is told through the lens of despairing, financially desperate people who were willing to risk their lives in a series of lethal games to get money while loathsome billionaires toy with their lives and enjoy their suffering. Season 1 was violent, heartbreaking, and disturbing, with a poignant but satisfying ending. Season 2 provides the same basic setup, but with fewer surprises and with a significant thematic shift in the overall concept of desperation for money. The result is an equally addictive but much more cynical storytelling experience.
[Mild spoilers for Season 1] In Season 1 we met Gi-hun, a down-on-his-luck single dad with massive loan shark debts. His daughter lives with his ex, and his desperation to provide for her, coupled with his mounting debts, push him to find any way to earn money. He is approached by a well-dressed young man in the train station who offers him a secret invitation to play simple games with the lure that he could win billions of dollars. Gi-hun and the other players who are lured to the game are drugged and transported to a hidden island to play creepy variations of children’s games. The four hundred or so players are surprised, however, when they discover that the smallest loss or misstep in the game results in being shot in the head. And only one player can leave alive. All this is set against a backdrop of colorful playhouse sets and killers in bright pink jumpsuits with video game controller icons over their faces. The symbolism is endless.
In Season 2, a now mega-rich but deeply traumatized Gi-hun engages in a desperate attempt to stop the masked man responsible for the game. He uses his immense wealth to hire a team (including his former abusive loan shark) to help in his quest. Those he hires don’t really believe his strange story of a secret island of lethal games, but they are willing to help in exchange for money. His goal is to locate the original man in the subway who first lured him, as well as to find the hidden island and the masked leader behind the cruel and deadly game. Through various twists, he ends up back in the deadly game for season 2. Also loosely allied with him is the tenacious young police officer from Season 1, Jun-ho, who had been searching for his missing brother. Like Gi-hun, Jun-ho is obsessed with finding the mysterious island, and also, like Gi-hun, nobody believes him.
The thematic shift in the story is subtle but meaningful. In Season 1, the characters who were trapped in the game were primarily there out of genuine and faultless desperation. Many had sympathetic backstories that made their plight even more tragic. Eventually we saw the wealthy, hedonistic billionaires (grotesquely naked and masked) enjoying the suffering of the group of desperate and impoverished people. Adding to the degradation, the individual victims were initially lured by playing a game where they got repeatedly and publicly slapped in the face if they lost. The overall theme was one of humiliation and desperation, as well as class disparities and oppression. In contrast, in Season 2, the vast majority of the characters have chosen to join the game due to their own financial mistakes and misdeeds or by being collateral damage from various forms of gambling or irresponsible financial choices. Season 2 is less about railing against the oppressive rich, and is more focused on blaming people for their irresponsible decisions. This changes the tone of the story, moving it from desperate and tragic to intentionally predatory and cruel. In a fascinating early scene, the man in the suit offers hungry homeless people the choice of bread or a lottery ticket. Most choose the ticket (which is always a losing one). But when they ask for the unused bread, he refuses to share it with them, choosing instead to stomp the food to filth rather than let the hungry person have it. There is a decided undercurrent of punishment for irresponsible financial choices. Also, in Season 2 we have the perspective of two new types of people: we gain emotional insight into one of the shooters who execute the players in each round, and we meet the devious current gamemaster, who is hiding in the game as a player.
Despite his experiences in the previous game, Gi-hun remains confusingly naïve and gullible in Season 2. He has the benefit of knowing the lethality of the games and knowing the lethality of the violent and selfish group dynamics. He also has previous insight into an undercover player who was the actual mastermind. However, he falls for the same deception again. From his plan to find the masked leader to his misguided plan to capture him, he is constantly being outsmarted. Initially, he appears to be clever and calculating, but we soon see him transformed into a desperate and emotional victim. The contrast is fascinating and emphasizes the theme of the long term effects of trauma and oppression.
In addition to Gi-hun and the mostly absent Jun-ho, Season 2 gives us several likeable new characters, along with several tropey, stock, or comic relief characters, and a new gamemaster. Season 2 (currently) ends on a cliffhanger and promises a wrap-up shortly. But the thematic shifts from the first season make it harder to predict how things will end. Hopefully we will have our answers soon.
Nerd Coefficient: 7/10.
Highlights:
· Frustrating characters and fewer surprises
· Addictive adventure despite increased tropes
POSTED BY: Ann Michelle Harris – Multitasking, fiction writing Trekkie currently dreaming of her next beach vacation.
