Thriller and mystery genre fans have eagerly awaited the second season of Squid Games. Although shock and surprise inevitably wane with the returning season, new games are introduced that test the morality and strength of the characters who face these harrowing, fatal challenges.
Released on Netflix Dec. 26, the season started with the winner of last season’s Squid Games rejoining to try and stop the next games, resulting in chaos and tragedy. This moment was waited upon for over three years, as season one was released in Sept. of 2021, causing a pouring of views and excitement on social media.
Seong Gi-Hun, better known as player 456, dives back into the games to try and uncover who is behind them. Some old games are brought back, while others are brand new. More challenges push people to their limits, as desperate people fight for money.
“Even though season two is cool, the nostalgia of season one hits differently,” said senior Isabella Johnson. “There was so much hype the first season; seeing the internet so engaged in one singular thing was cool.”
Despite the differences in reaction, the show is very well made and subtly references the first season.
“I think the cinematography of squid game season two was very well done, and there were parallels to the first season like Gi-hun saving a player in season two in a similar manner to Ali saving him in season one,” said OH senior Isabella Delgado. “That was very interesting to watch and remember.”
More than just the similarities in their styles and quality, the stories also have very similar themes regarding money and how that can affect desperate people as portrayed in the show.
“This show is the embodiment of money doesn’t buy happiness,” said OH Junior Izabel Nachtigall. “It does a great job at how money makes people go to extremes they wouldn’t go to before like killing each other in the special game, sabotaging others in the games, all the stuff they did to get ahead, especially Thanos.”
With common themes continuing between seasons, the second season will inevitably get compared to the first. Many fans have felt that the second season was not as good as the first, with Rotten Tomatoes reviews dropping twelve percent from critics and twenty percent from audience reviews. As the first season was a surprise when it came out, nothing can quite replicate that environment.
“No season will ever top the anxiety, thrill, and sadness that season one brought me. Season one was popular because we as the viewers did not know what to expect,” said OH senior Sedona DeBolt. “This is not to say season two was not great, but we knew what we were getting into when starting the season.”
The original Squid Game came out during a time when audiences hadn’t been exposed to anything truly like it. And while the second season was great, it isn’t as shocking anymore after the first season, and most of what holds it back is those comparisons to the original. There will never be another first season of squid game, and while the second season is exceptional, it just won’t be as astonishing or thrilling.
My name is Monaco Tiffany. I am a senior at Oswego High School and Oswego East High School. This is my second year as part of 42Fifty. I am serving as one of the Managing Editors for 42Fifty. I am involved in the frc robotics team 2338 Gear It Forward.
You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication
This is my first year as a staff reporter on 42Fifty and I am a senior at OHS. I am also involved in NEHS, Best Buddies, and Reading Corner at the school and in my free time I volunteer at the Naperville Area Humane Society. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
