‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Blatantly Rehashing a Story Arc From Season 1 is a Terrible Omen For Franchise’s Future
- Three years after the release of Squid Game Season 1, the second season has recently premiered on Netflix.
- One story arc from the first season has been brought back in the second season and it might cause trouble in the long run.
- Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed why there are far more characters in this season than the last one.
Squid Game Season 2 is here with the deadly contest that often costs the contestants their lives. The first season of the survival thriller series was released in 2021 and was a huge hit with fans. So, it was a given that it would be renewed for a second season which is now out while a third season is already in development.
The new season is just as good as the last one if not better. However, fans have not failed to notice the 1 storyline that has been very obviously rehashed from the first season. Although it has not really affected the show’s performance so far, there is no telling if repeating that one storyline in the upcoming seasons would be a good idea.
The Squid Game franchise might want to ditch this one storyline that it has brought back from Season 1
Created by Korean writer and TV producer Hwang Dong-hyuk, Squid Game Season 2 sees Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) return to participate in the contest three years after winning in the first season. He has given up on going to the United States and has a new goal in mind. This time, there are more participants than before, all playing the deadly series of children’s games to win the prize of ₩45.6 billion (approximately $31 million).
The second season has brought back some characters from the first one and also a storyline which entails the player with the serial number 001 turning out to be the villain at the end. This is something that the viewers witnessed in the first season and one would hope that Gi-hun would have learned better than trusting the player with that number.
However, that is not the case and Gi-hun gets tricked into believing player 001 once again in this season, only to be betrayed later. Here is how some fans have reacted to this:
So far, fans have picked up on this obvious repetition of this arc, but are not very put off by it. However, if the creators decide to bring back this same twist in the next season too, there is a huge possibility that the franchise will lose its charm and fans will no longer find the show as interesting as they do now.
Why are there so many characters in Squid Game Season 2?
Viewers must have noticed that there are a lot more characters in this season than in the previous one. It is not easy to remember so many characters, let alone tackle them all together during production. Even so, Hwang Dong-hyuk chose to do it.
When questioned about this decision by the Associated Press, Dong-hyuk’s answer initially seemed generic but carried a deeper meaning.
With seasons two and three, I had more screen time for more characters. This time around we have a lot of younger characters. When I was creating season one, I thought it was very hard for you to be up to your neck in debt when you’re only in your 20s or 30s. I thought you had to be at least middle-aged to need money and want to join the Squid Game.
So, what is different now? According to Dong-hyuk:
But the world has changed. Now I feel like there are less decent jobs for young people and they feel like working hard doesn’t even get them to middle class. They want to hit the jackpot, so that’s why they invest in cryptocurrency.
He further said that in Korea, more and more young people are turning to online gambling to earn money quickly. The show creator aims to reflect the world’s reality through this new season of the show and this is why he decided to introduce so many more characters, some of which are young contestants.
Squid Game Season 1 and 2 are available for streaming on Netflix.
