[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Squid Game - Season 2" Episode 5

So as I mentioned in the last review, the design of the second game is pretty great. It's a five person, six legged race with five stations featuring individual children's games. There's a time limit, but noone's actually directly competing against anyone else, so there's a bit of a carnival atmosphere as we watch spectators cheer on other teams as they wait their turn. Even the enforcers look positive and enthusiastic, though they kill people as might be expected.

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The visuals are also a lot better than that description would imply due to excellent camerawork featuring some nice tracking shots. When Gi-hun's team steps up, they also get their own song- the eighties rock ballad To You by Sin Hae-cheol, which you might or might not recognize as the theme song to "Reply 1988" from a few years back. There's a lot of subtext to unpack from that particular creative decision, although it ends up not being all that important when the reality of the game sets back in.

Because see, while everyone was cheering each other on as the game was ongoing, the whole premise for why everyone agreed to continue was for a bigger payout. But the payout only increases if other players die. It's not much of a spoiler to say that a new vote to end the game is held, and this one isn't even close. Voting against ending the game isn't just a matter of greed or sociopathy. For many players, they simply don't have realistic options on the outside unless the number gets high enough.

The episode does tend to drag a bit once the second game finishes though. While this isn't a complex idea, pretty much every character with lines gets to have an extended discourse about their motivation. There's around a dozen such characters, most of whom have trouble keeping track of each others' names, which makes me feel a little less bad about not being able to remember them all myself.

I do get the impression that at least some of these characters are going to die in the third game, since even if the kill count is lower overall compared to the first season, their continued survival is starting to strain credulity. Although in all fairness, the fact that only certain specific groups have died off is part of what makes the remaining players feel increasingly invulnerable against all logic. The rules of the next game, though, seem likely to fracture that sense of community.

Written by William Schwartz

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"Squid Game - Season 2" is directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, written by Hwang Dong-hyuk, and features Lee Jung-jae, Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Jo Yu-ri, Yang Dong-geun, Kang Ae-shim. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2024/12/26~Upcoming, Thu on Netflix.