Squid Game 2 Review: One Of The Worst Sequels Of All Time, Under-Delivers On Expectations

Squid Game 2 Review: While viewers may have innumerable complaints about the latest season of Squid Game and how it so grossly under-delivers on expectations, the way the K-drama loses the thrill quotient it so delectably built up on in season 1 will probably top the disappointment list for fans. Squid Game is about playground games that turn deadly for the participants and how even as introspection haunts them, greed forces them to play on. However, the new themes of redemption and revenge don't quite sit well within the narrative as the show quickly goes from shocking to a big letdown in a matter of an over-stretched, seven-episode-long season.

Squid Game 2 is best described as a boring, meandering and half-hearted attempt at extending a franchise. While season 2 may divide some, for hardcore fans, it's downright bland. Lee Jung-jae returns as Seong Gi-hun, hell-bent on shutting down the games that changed him to the core. However, his preachy ways have no takers within the lot of new players and audiences. A couple of initial episodes unfold slowly as viewers empathise with Gi-hun's revenge story and get drawn into the universe, but the way the character quickly becomes didactic is an unwelcome addition.

Cut to the games, while the thrill of life and death lingers over the contestants, the severity of it is mellowed down in execution. The fear that the initial season elicited is missing entirely. A major part of this is the fact that creator Hwang Dong-hyuk's characters are uninteresting and don't evoke any emotions, good or bad. Only TOP aka Thanos stands out for the melodrama he adds to the games. Except him, all other characters are forgettable and drag the show down with their performances.

Gi-hun seems to surrender to the story wholly and goes with the flow, which has more ebbs than high points. Even the shorter follow-up need not be watched fully to get the gist of what season 2 of Squid Game has to offer. The sad part is that it could have done well by just playing to the gallery. But it doesn't. Arguably, the shock value is difficult to replicate. But, Dong-hyuk doesn't even try. Even the most brutal of situations evoke no reaction as the show drags on to an even more insufferable ending that concludes with a cliffhanger.

The attempt to look outside the arena of the games ends up being a dead-end choice here. Season 3, coming out in 2025, will conclude the saga. But the way season 2 has turned out to be, fans should tune in to witness the ending for the sake of it and certainly without expectations.

Rating: 1/5 Stars