Episodes viewed: 7 of 7
Streaming on: Netflix
“We all live in the same country,” South Korean director Bong Joon Ho said when asked about the global success of his film Parasite. “It’s called capitalism.” That theory was further proved in 2021 when Squid Game became one of the jewels in Netflix’s crown, its most watched show ever. Even coming into it with no knowledge of Korean culture, or unable to distinguish a squid game from a ddakji, a show about crippling debt forcing desperate people into a deadly tournament had global resonance.
Two years have passed for our protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) after he won ₩45.6 billion (just over £28 million) and he’s spent his time trying to track down the recruiter he met on the subway, to figure out a way to bring down the games once and for all. But while in the first season Seong Gi-hun was playing Red Light, Green Light and trying not to be shot by snipers from the very first episode, Season 2 moves at a slower pace. It’s not until Episode 3 that contestants start meeting untimely demises. And spending so much of an only-seven-episode season on set-up — then choosing a game that we’ve seen before — is puzzling, given the anticipation for the newest terrifying torture methods.
Episode 4 may be the best episode of Squid Game ever made.
Come Episode 4, however, we are off to the literal and metaphorical races, in what may be the best episode of Squid Game ever made. It feels like a perfect microcosm of all the show’s best elements: nauseatingly tense, blackly hilarious, cartoonishly ridiculous and utterly devastating. It also exemplifies the genius of the structure itself. Even with minimal dialogue, and characters going by numbers rather than names, the many allegiances and betrayals that wordlessly take place under pressure results in a huge ensemble of three-dimensional characters.
The game itself has changed, and so have the reasons for many of the contestants to be there. The population as a whole is younger, many of them saddled with debt from crypto investments, failed influencer careers or medical bills. The economic system that is being satirised has made more people desperate earlier in their lives. When many players revel in transforming their fellow man into an opportunity for a pay day, it makes the gameplay more brutal. But with a season finale which asks more questions than it solves, this very much feels like the middle act of Squid Game. Those who want answers will have to wait for its final season, due in late 2025. For now, there are still these seven episodes to enjoy: a dystopian treat for people who still all live in a country called capitalism.
