After a long three years, “Squid Game” came out with season two in December, right before the new year. I had been lounging on my couch when I was notified of this information, and immediately opened Netflix on my computer. With the mass amount of popularity the first season gained when it came out in 2021, I was excited to see what the producers did with the second season.

The gory yet fascinating season one gained popularity worldwide, and had viewers on edge throughout the episodes. Season two lives up to all of the talk surrounding it, but definitely doesn’t surpass the initial first season.

Season two follows prior Squid Game winner, Seong Gi-hun, who makes it his mission to stop the games. He chooses to return, playing with entirely new people, and different games from when he had been there before.

Compared to the prior season, the characters seemed much lighter, in a sense. The first season’s characters were scary, brutal killers. They were much more calculated, cold and unsuspecting, such as player 101, Jang Deok-su, who had a history of violence and was quite aggressive in the game. Season one’s players seemed to have more depth, and were well written. There was more of a focus on their stories, and the outside world, especially when it came to Gi-hun.

Season two’s characters felt much more frivolous, especially player 230 (Thanos), and player 124 (Nam-gyu). The two were very unserious for a majority of the games, even going out of their way to end other players’ lives in order to gain more money. The characters of this season were much more likeable than the first, and many gained sympathy from viewers.

This season’s plot was also very focused on voting. The players had to vote whether they wanted to stay or leave the game after each round. Majority voted to stay, to play just one more game in order to raise the amount of money they each would win. This certainly depicted the desperation of these people, the way they were willingly risking their lives and actively watching people die for money. To them, money is power, and they would do anything to be able to rise to the top.

Compared to season one, it was a lot easier to tell what was to come. In season one, there was an element of surprise in each episode, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats. Season two, on the other hand, was easy to predict. Viewers could kind of relate to Gi-hun, as he had played the games before, and knew what the players’ fates would be. Viewers also knew what to expect, which may seem like the second season would be boring, but it was very well done. The new games were interesting, such as mingle, where the players had to find a certain number of people to fill a room.

Overall, season two definitely was a good watch, and was made very well. It was a good sequel to the first season, although it left us on a cliffhanger, eager for more. It obviously isn’t better than the original first season, but it did have its aspects that outdid its predecessor. I really enjoyed it myself, and can’t wait for season three.