The first season of Squid Game showcased 456 contestants participating in a deadly tournament composed of well-known Korean childhood games. Indeed, the games, which were once played in all casualness, were given a deadly makeover. As the games progressed, fewer contestants remained standing, until it was left to the (former) childhood friends – Cho Sang-woo and Seong Gi-hun to decide who would be the victor and take home the prize money.
When Season 2 of Squid Game arrives, will there be a new set of games or will viewers see more of the old games? Considering Season 1 was almost pitch perfect, the instinct to raise the stakes and surprise the viewers with new games in Season 2 is understandable. However, the games are part of what made the first season work so well, and with new players, the old games could be just as exciting as the first time around.
Squid Game Perfected The Games In Season 1
In the final minutes of the first season, the victor of the games, Gi-hun, was shown to have deliberately missed his flight to take the games down to prevent further futile loss of life. During that scene, he called the authorities of the games and seemingly vowed to return and stop the games. What’s interesting is that over the course of Season 1, there was not a lot of information known made available about the previous games before the one in which Gi-hun participated. As such, it is unknown whether the games were always the same, or if the games changed over time.
Should Gi-hun return to the games, that would pose an interesting conundrum for the makers of the games. If the games were always the same every time the deadly competition was played, it would put Gi-hun at an advantage, as he would already know everything and could reveal strategies to the new contestants. This allows for new games to be the best option for Season 2 of Squid Game. However, there is no guarantee that Gi-hun would return to the games in Season 2, he might instead choose to take down the competition in a different way. If that is the case, there is a genuine worry about viewers being bored seeing the same games again. But with new players, the same games could be just as exciting, maybe even terrifying for viewers, as they know exactly what’s coming if the new characters fail.
How “Squid Game” Can Still Be Core To Season 2
The games were important to Season 1’s overall story and just putting it on the side to focus Gi-hun’s revenge would damage the essence of Squid Game. The players’ stories, their struggles for survival, and ultimately the suspense in waiting to find out who emerges as the victor are all elements that made the freshman season a success. As such, side-lining all of that will not bode well for season 2.
However, viewers witnessed Hwang Jun-ho, the police officer, sneak into the game and disguise himself as a guard to try and find his missing brother in the freshman season. Perhaps the sophomore season could take a similar approach, allowing the games and Gi-Hun’s story to both be vital, just as the competition was never subdued to tell Hwang Jun-ho’s story as he searched for his brother. As such, the games should, of course, still be shown in Squid Game Season 2, but the creators of the show have to find a way to make it concurrent with Gi-hun’s new mission.
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