©Courtesy of Netflix 

Repeat championships are rare in most legitimate sports, but that is especially true for this secret life-and-death game. As fans of the 2021 Korean streaming phenomenon well remember, Seong Gi-hun was the only survivor from a field of 456 contestants when he first played. Seong had no desire for a rematch, but his ill-fated attempt to expose the shadowy operation lands him back in the game. Presumably, he should have an advantage since he played before, but he inevitably learns some changes have been made in the second season of creator-director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s Squid Game, now streaming on Netflix.

At current exchange rates, Seong’s 45.5 billion Won prize money (₩100 million for each player killed) equals roughly 31 million U.S. Dollars or 4.9 billion Yen. That represents serious life-changing money, but not a Bill Gates-level fortune. Still, it comfortably allows Seong to pay off his debts and ironically hire his former loan shark, Mr. Kim, to organize a search for the predatory recruiter who lures desperate players into the game.

 

This is Squid Game, so no returning viewer will be surprised when Seong and Kim finally find the Recruiter, they end up playing ostensibly simple “children’s” games that quickly turn sinister. Seong planned to use the Recruiter to reach the masked “Front Man” running the game, whose identity we learned towards the end of season one: Hwang In-ho, the estranged brother of junior police officer Hwang Jun-ho. The younger brother barely survived infiltrating the game as an undercover “soldier,” in hopes of finding his missing brother. Since then, he tirelessly hunts for the game’s hidden island location, hiring the services of Captain Park, the grumpy skipper who rescued him at sea.

©Courtesy of Netflix 

Having forged an alliance with Seong and Mr. Kim, Jun-ho leads the search operation when the Front Man abducts the former survivor, reinserting him back into the game. Of course, Seong constantly lobbies his fellow players to vote against continuing the games. Yet, just like the first time he played the game, a majority of players are too greedy, too ruthless, or simply too short-sighted to heed his advice.

However, his old friend Jung-bae (seen briefly at the start of season one), realizes Seong knows of what he speaks, so he sticks close, to follow the survivor’s lead. As always, some of Seong’s fellow players represent the most immediate threat to him and his “X” alliance of players regularly voting to terminate the games. Notably, Player 230, a.k.a. “Thanos,” a rapper with a grudge against another player, is especially unhinged.

With season one, creator-writer Hwang tapped into a cultural zeitgeist that transcended language and borders. Somehow, he avoids a sophomore slump, delivering a second season that maintains a similar level of dramatic tension and overall quality. Much of the first season analysis understandably focused on Hwang’s criticism of social inequities. His perspective has not changed in that respect. However, the second season carries a less overtly polemical tone. Instead, its focus on the individual players’ decision-making processes during each vote suggests a keen understanding of game-theory, from economic and psychological perspectives.

©Courtesy of Netflix 

Over and over, players vote against ending the games, even though that would result in the greatest net benefit collectively, because they believe they have greater personal incentive to continue. Arguably, Squid Game represents the classic game theory model known as “The Prisoners’ Dilemma,” in which the pursuit of self-interest consistently leads players to the worst possible outcome. Consequently, the second season might hold even greater interest for fans of the pop-economics book Freakonomics and the network procedural The Irrational, since both explore how incentives sometimes produce seemingly perverse results.

Regardless, Lee Jung-jae broods just as hard, or possibly even harder as Seong. His character is angrier this time around, which is understandable. Yet, he also eloquently expresses Seong’s frustration whenever he inevitably fails to prevent another round of bloodshed.

Perhaps the biggest news is the greatly expanded on-camera role for season one’s surprise guest-star Lee Byung-hun, who plays the Front Man, Hwang. Fittingly, for the star of Joint Security Area and the G.I. Joe franchise, the Front Man takes on greater “hands-on” duties this season. Indeed, his steeliness makes Hwang a worthy antagonist to the righteously outraged Seong.

©Courtesy of Netflix 

Lee Seo-hwan provides a relatable, everyman perspective as Jung-bae, whose backstory also helps maintain the series’ class consciousness. Choi Seung-hyun is flamboyantly psychotic as Thanos, while Chae Kook-hee is spectacularly unnerving as Seon-nyeo, a disgraced shaman, who regularly freaks other players out with her crazy talk. Compared to the first season, Wi Ha-jun gets considerably less screentime, but he remains credible intense as the driven cop, Hwang Jun-ho. Of course, character actor Oh Dal-su is reliably crusty as old Captain Park.

Indeed, season two boasts many colorful supporting turns, from even relatively minor players. Yet, viewers should know by now, anybody could go, at any time, so emotionally invest with extreme caution. As was true before, the colorful and surreal design of the facilities elevate Squid Game above and beyond the platoon of other series depicting online survival games. Indeed, it is quite a tribute to the large ensemble that so many can stand out and make an impact against such overwhelming backdrops.

If you enjoyed Squid Game’s first season, the second is just as addictive—and it might even be smarter. However, the cliffhanger lack of resolution will surely frustrate many. Admittedly, it also inspires further pessimism regarding human nature, especially on account of the over-the-top violence, but that is partly why it is such a wild, white-knuckle ride. Highly recommended for fans of extreme K-dramas and survival thrillers, Squid Game’s second season now streams on Netflix.

Grade: A-

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Here’s the trailer of the series.