As quickly as the holiday season came and went, so did Squid Game Season 2, but the show's stars and creators have helped to extend its place in the conversation by providing fascinating insight into key details of the second season. Similar to Season 1, the most positive point of contention for Squid Game Season 2 has been the games themselves, which players were allowed to vote on after each round to see if they would like to continue or split the prize money and go home. This is a more recent addition to the show that was absent in Season 1, and during a recent behind-the-scenes featurette, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed why this new element was added to the show:
"They introduce benefits that weren’t provided in season 1, forcing players to split into whether to continue or stop. This intensifies the conflict and confrontation. Currently, we’re seeing an increase in division, conflict, and hatred, not only in Korean society but globally, based on religion, ideology, background, gender, and race. In season 2, I wanted to symbolically represent this by dividing the group into O and X and highlighting how they divide, hate, and confront each other. That’s what I tried to portray this season..."
The players having the option to vote to continue the games certainly adds suspense to the show, especially considering it seems like such a no-brainer to the audience after watching so many people die that the easy choice would be to cash out and leave with your life. But Dong-hyuk is right that the option to choose brings out a level of animosity between the players who are already so incredibly desperate. This new element in Season 2 caused tensions to boil over near the end of the season in a brutal fight that resulted in the death of countless players, effectively doing the game’s job of eliminating them without even having to play. Watching Lee Jung-jae’s Seong Gi-hun sit through people voting to continue after what he’s been through is almost just as tormenting as watching people die in the games themselves.
What’s Next for the ‘Squid Game’ Franchise?
Next up for the Squid Game franchise is the third and final season of the Emmy Award-winning Netflix series, which has not officially announced its release date but a recent leak revealed the show is likely coming this summer. David Fincher, best known for his work directing Se7en and more recently The Killer with Michael Fassbender, has also been tapped to create a new Squid Game project set in America. Original Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk recently weighed in with his thoughts, confirming that Netflix had a plan and that he hopes to be involved going forward.
All episodes of Squid Game Season 2 are now streaming. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of the show and watch Squid Game exclusively on Netflix.
Your changes have been saved
Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children's games. Inside, a tempting prize awaits with deadly high stakes: a survival game that has a whopping 45.6 billion-won prize at stake.
Cast
Wi Ha-joon
, Anupam Tripathi
, Oh Yeong-su
, Heo Sung-tae
, Park Hae-soo
, Jung Ho-yeon
, Lee Jung-jae
, Kim Joo-ryoung
Image via Netflix
English (US) ·