Squid Gameintroduced audiences to the gambler Seong Gi-hun,played by Lee Jung-jae, as he competed in a series of deadly children’s games for 45.6 billion Won. At the end of the first season, Gi-hun emerged as the sole survivor and prize winner, but during season 2, he returned to the games with the new goal of tearing them down.
Squid Game
Already dystopian, season 2 ofSquid Gamedelves even further into disturbing political, financial, and moral themes. And as we await all thechaos and carnage to come in season 3, several horrifying realizations keep playing in our minds.
10The Players Can’t Escape
During season 1 ofSquid Game, the players were offered the chance to leave if a majority voted to end the games. When the vote succeeded, they were told that they could return to the games at a later time, and many of them did just that. However, a few chose not to return, leaving viewers to wonder what might have happened to them. A scene in season 2 suggests that whatever happened, it wasn’t good.
Eyes Still on Them
Early on in season 2, Gi-hun learns that he’s been embedded with a tracking device. This is how the Front Man knew he wasn’t boarding the plane, and it implies that other previous players are also still being tracked. Whether this is simply to keep eyes on them, to convince them to join a later game, or perhaps even to find and kill them as a preventative measure remains unknown. Regardless, it shows that those who leave the games—either by winning or voting to stop playing—are still very much a part of them.
9The Games Spare No One
Season 1 ofSquid Gamefeatured a married couple who both wound up dying, one in a challenge, and one out of guilt for having beaten her in said challenge. During this season, a pregnant woman competed, and the effects of her pregnancy were visible from game to game. Additionally,a mother and son were players, and after a round of Mingle, they nearly watched one another die. These scenarios were even more horrifying than that of the married couple and suggest the games spare no one.
Cliffhanger Ending
Season 2ended on a cliffhanger, which means many of these players could still die. The mom, Jang Geum-ja, said she would have nothing left to live for if her son died, and as her son Park Yong-sik showed, he would never be able to move on from the guilt of losing her, especially since he previously put her life at risk after voting to play “one more game.”
8Organ Selling Is a Game-Feature
During season 1, several guards harvested organs from the players' dead and dying bodies. It was implied that the game organizers allowed them to do this so long as it didn’t interfere with the games, since they only stepped in after a participant became involved and was given an unfair advantage. However, in season 2, viewers learned that the organ harvesting wasn’t done by a few errant guards and players; rather, it was a central feature of the game.
Pain and Suffering
Early on, No-eul, a new character who serves as one of the guards, is seen shooting dying players. At first, it seems like she’s doing this for fun, but it’s later implied she’s either trying to end their suffering or simply hoping to prevent the organ harvesting from being successful. While her motives still remain a bit of a mystery, the fact that organ harvesting is a game feature, not a bug, is undeniable, as her own boss tells her not to interfere. Worse, this means that many more players were still alive when their organs were ripped from their bodies.
7Gi-hun’s PTSD Is Worse Than We Thought
Throughout season 2, Gi-hun has many horrific nightmares, such as one in which the Front Man shows up to his home with two decapitated heads and another in which he accidentally misleads the players into picking the most difficult cookie in Dalgona. Already, audiences knewhe was sufferingfrom his time in the games, but these visions showed that, even while sleeping, they continued to haunt him.
Even Worse Nightmares to Come
Unfortunately, Gi-hun’s experience in the second games will only add to his nightmares. Now, he’s watched his best friend die before his eyes and also seen various players commit even more horrendous acts. He had hoped that coming to the games would mean saving everyone, but instead, it seems like he’s lost even more of himself.
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6One More Game = Many More Games
After learning that they can split the money after winning a game, many of the players are eager for “one more game,” which will mean more deaths, and thus more money. During season 1, it was all or nothing, meaning that the contestants could leave (or die) but couldn’t take any money with them unless they won. This change in the rules makes everythingfar more dystopian, as the players have more incentive to leave, but instead, see the extra money as more incentive to stay.
Two More Games
So far, the players who wanted one more game have actually played two more. This suggests that they might continue playing indefinitely. Sure, some have said they’ll stop once they each have a few hundred million Won, but after that milestone is reached, what’s stopping them from continuing? Certainly not the fear of others losing their lives, as that’s exactly what they want to happen.
5Some Things Are Darker Than the Night Fight
While season 1 introduced viewers to the special game known as the Night Fight, season 2 brought a new layer of awful with the Bathroom Brawl. During this scene, five people were killed after the players who voted to leave the game clashed with those who wanted to stay. Bloody, violent, and frightening, the characters were out to kill, and this time, it wasn’t even for the money.
The Nighttime Sacrifice
Even worse than the Bathroom Brawlwas the Nighttime Sacrifice, if only because Gi-hun allowed it. After the Brawl, the contestants who had voted to leave headed to sleep, only to be viciously attacked by those who voted to stay. Gi-hun, having known this would happen, had instructed his teammates to hide under the beds. They then watched on in horror as others were sacrificed, which Gi-hun claimed was necessary in order to take out the Front Man—but truthfully, there were other options.
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4The Frontman Killed His Own Workers
The Front Man is an enigmatic character inSquid Game.A former winner, he chose (or perhaps, was forced) to continue on with the games, but this time, as the main coordinator. During season 2, he chooses to join the games yet again, most likely to learn more about what Gi-hun is planning, and possibly what drives him. While undercover, he helps Gi-hun take out numerous guards without mercy, even though these guards were working for him and the organization.
Betrayal in Every Direction
While we still don’t know much about how someone becomes a guard as opposed to a player, there’s something extra sinister about the way in which the Front Man turns on the very people he hired to maintain order. One of them even recognizes him and seems surprised that he’s there. This implies that the Front Manbetrayed the guardsin order to trick the players so that he could later betray said players as well.
3The Recruiter Was a Sadist
Like the Front Man, little was known about the Recruiter during season 1. In season 2, viewers watched as he gleefully made homeless people choose between bread and a lottery ticket, only to then stomp on the bread and blame these people for choosing a gamble over food. Later, he admits to having killed his own dad in the games, and he forced Mr. Kim and Woo-Seok to play a game of Russian Roulette before later playing the game with Gi-hun.
No One Is Safe From the Games
It’s possible that the Recruiter wasalways a bad guy, but he certainly seems to have been warped by the games. None of his actions in season 2 were necessary—he could have walked by the homeless people, left Mr. Kim and Woo-Seok where he found them, or simply given Gi-hun the information he wanted. Yet, he seemed to relish in inflicting pain and fear, which leads a viewer to question how someone could devolve into something so inhuman.
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2Gi-hun Learned the Wrong Lessons
Gi-hun startedSquid Gameseason 1 a loser and left as the sole winner. Since then,he stopped gamblingand developed a more heroic side, but unfortunately, this heroic side has some issues of its own.
While playing Russian Roulette with the recruiter, Gi-hun was told he could have the information he needed if he simply admitted to the Recruiter that he was no better than anyone else who played the games. Rather than do this, Gi-hun chose to play another round, which could have easily ended in his death. Later, he chose to sacrifice others who had voted to end the game to trick the guards and steal their guns, but from a practical standpoint, it seems he had other options—this was simply the most “heroic.”
True Heroism
If Gi-hun’s main goal is to truly save others, he should be willing to put his ego aside and act like a hero as opposed to wanting to be called one. Right now, it seems like what he really wants is to win and show the frontman that he’s superior. Unfortunately, that reads more likea villainous arcthan a heroic one.
1Things Are Worse on the Outside
Perhaps the most dystopian thing about season 2 ofSquid Gameis the realization that itreflects the dystopian world we actually inhabit. This was already implied in season 1, which highlighted the desperation brought about by poverty. Expanding upon this, season 2 focused on how easy it is to fall into poverty while also highlighting how, in the real world, this is happening to people daily. As a result, for many players, the dangers of the games were nothing compared to those of the outside world.
Real-Life Losses
Many of the players in season 2 entered the games after receivingbad crypto advice. Sadly, this is a situation many real-life people find themselves in today. Additionally, the show focuses on how Gi-hun and Jung-bae wanted to help one another but didn’t even have the money to help themselves. Combined, this all reveals why someone might trade one dystopia for another and chooseto play the games for real.
