The second season of Netflix’s 2021 breakout hit, Squid Game, has landed with big sets, big characters and even bigger stakes. Breaking down this new season and why it is worth watching will be difficult without spoiling key aspects and plot threads. Many specific details must be experienced to fully understand; some plot reveals may be harder to comprehend until you have sat through these seven episodes. 

 

Each episode packs a lot of story into its runtime, showcasing many great individual parts. Not knowing that Squid Game 2 is actually the first half of a two-part story might be frustrating for viewers going into this new season. Be prepared not to have many, or even all, of your questions about story choices and character arcs answered by the final episode. This show introduces many new threads and journeys for the contestants of the games and for the people running them and cuts the story short before we reach the resolutions. Thankfully, the third season, or Squid Game 2.5, to be more accurate, is completed and will be released later in 2025. 

 

The hero from season 1, Seong Gi-Hun (Lee Jun-Jae), has decided not to leave South Korea and instead use his winnings from the games to build up resources (weapons, real estate, and manpower) to track down the recruiter (Gong Yoo). Gi-Hun is now devoted to finding the creators of the games with the intent of dismantling their enterprise. Joining Gi-Hun on his quest and eventually back into the game are his former loan shark turned lackey, Choi Woo-seok (Jeon Seok-ho), and Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-Joon), the police officer from season 1 who was shot and left for dead in the ocean by his brother the Front Man, Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun). 

 

Squid Game 2 introduces additional interesting characters, including the resident villainous competitor, the arrogant and ignorant rapper named “Thanos” (K pop star Choi Seung-Hyun “TOP”), and Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young), a North Korean defector who joins the games as a soldier. Another bright spot is the character of Cho Hyun-ju, a trans woman played by cisgender actor Park Sung-hoon. While including a trans character may frustrate some viewers, typically those who just do not like trans characters in fiction or real life, I can say with certainty that their performance adds much weight and power to an already very full cast.  

 

The thematic elements of the disparity between the haves and have-nots continue to run overtly and subtextually. The games within the show are full of spectacle and blood, but the class warfare and power elements are never lost amidst the carnage. The exploitation of the contestants, many of whom have crippling gambling debt, and deeper dependency issues, manifests smartly between games where players are allowed to vote as a group to either continue the games or split the winnings earned and go home. This change from season one demonstrates the sunk-cost fallacy for many contestants who believe all they need is “one more game” to earn enough money before finally leaving the game. 

 

Speaking of the games, we are still treated to the great equalizing first-rounder “Red Light, Green Light,” the benchmark event that quickly clears the room. However, after that first round, new games are introduced, which stymies Gi-Hun, who intended to lead the contestants to victory (and survival). The latest games are impressive and engaging, with one game in particular that involves a merry-go-round portraying the various social dynamics among the remaining contestants still standing.

 

Squid Game 2 is a technical achievement and looks impressive, considering the elaborate and often color-coded set pieces. This being a spoiler-free review, I do not wish to say more. I do recommend Squid Game 2 with a caveat. This season will be partially satisfying. I say partially because being back in this world with these characters is very enjoyable, but without the second half of the story released, this season’s conclusion took the wind out of my sails. 

 

I am hopeful that the many narrative threads and character arcs will be satisfied with the release of the rest of the story. Waiting for that resolution and combining both episode sets might be worth the wait instead of the stalled story Squid Game 2 leaves with us.