*This article contains spoilers.
‘The Rose of Sharon has bloomed’, ‘Dakjichigi’, ‘Dalgona Game’… .
‘Squid Game’, which debuted in September 2021, aroused global interest in Korea’s old ‘alley game’ as much as the work itself. After the release of Season 1, foreign tourists flocked to Korea’s Gwangjang Market to buy Dalgona, and social networking services (SNS) were filled with videos parodying scolding on subway platforms around the world. K-games have become such a social phenomenon that no one knows about the giant robot ‘Younghee’ and marble games have become popular. What games will appear in Season 2, which was released on the 26th, and provide different fun?
The main content of Season 2 is the battle between the frontman (Lee Byung-hun) and Ki-hoon (Lee Jeong-jae). Ki-hoon, who was about to leave Korea, speaks to the frontman and re-enters the game to seek revenge. Kihoon is given number 456 like in the previous work, and the frontman participates as number 001 without Kihoon’s knowledge. Kihoon and the frontman stimulate the good and evil nature of the participants and question what humanity is.
Director Hwang Dong-hyuk said in a press release released on the 26th, “The main axis of the story is the confrontation between ‘Frontman’ and ‘Ki-hoon’,” and “The ‘Frontman’, who chose the path of ‘Darth Vader,’ is a human being who has no choice but to act selfishly. “He wants to prove his claim that it exists.”
This conflict ultimately leads to Ki-hoon gathering the participants and starting a rebellion in the latter half, which is brutally suppressed by the frontman. Ki-hoon condones the death of physically weak participants, saying, “Let’s make a small sacrifice for the greater good,” and the frontman, after suppressing the participants, points out, “Playing heroes is over.”
Some say that this scene is reminiscent of the martial law situation on December 3. Actor Lee Jung-jae said, “After the game he participated in in Season 1, ‘Ki-hoon’ felt a strong sense of responsibility, that is, remorse, and this had a great impact on him.” He added, “The organizers of the game started ‘Ki-hoon’.” .
The basic rules of the game are almost similar to Season 1. Just like in Season 1, 456 participants wearing green training suits compete in a cruel game for a prize of 45.6 billion won. If you are eliminated from the game, you die, and only those who survive can participate in the next game.
In Season 2, the rules have been upgraded. First, a rule was added to hold an OX vote to stop the game after each game. At the end of each game, participants can decide whether to participate or not. This is why there are ‘O’ and ‘X’ signs on the right side of the Season 2 contestants.
‘The Rose of Sharon Has Bloomed’, which caused a worldwide craze, appears again. When the giant robot ‘Younghee’ detects a participant moving while in ice, the killer soldiers kill the participant in the same way.
On the other hand, games that exquisitely mix Korean and international tastes also stand out. For example, the second game of the new work is ‘5 Players Hexagon’. Five people must tie the legs of the person next to them and run around a rainbow-colored circle within the time limit. Of course, there are more difficulties. This is because each of the five people must pass the games called Ttakjichigi, Tombseokchigi, Gonggi Nori, Top Nori, and Jegichagi.
There is also a ‘Mating Game’. First, participants stand in a large circular space with a carousel in the center. When a girl’s song called ‘Round~Round~’ plays, the circular space spins, and at some point a number appears on the screen.
Also, Ddakjinam (Gong Yoo), who only showed Ddakjigi in Season 1, goes further and presents a new game that is a mix of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors, Minus One’ and ‘Russian Roulette.’ The tension is further heightened by mixing Korean and international games, where victory and defeat are determined by luck rather than skill.
The colorful sets of yellow, pink, and green are the same as in the first episode, but the camera often shows the blood stains left behind by the participants after their deaths, emphasizing the tragedy through color. Korean pop songs, like Infinite Orbit’s song ‘To You’, are also played, and musical changes are also noticeable, such as the unique OST being transformed into an electronic version.
It is full of humorous codes that only Koreans can read, such as Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s famous saying, “If you want to die, you will live, and if you want to live, you will die,” and the salute scene brought about by the Marine Corps’ standard-bearing culture. Since Ki-hoon’s birthday is October 31st, ‘Halloween Day’, and the title of episode 2 is ‘Halloween Party’, there is speculation that season 3 will tell the story of the Itaewon disaster.