‘Squid Game’ Season 2 May as Well Be Ripped from the Headlines

Warning: spoilers for Squid Game season two ahead

Is it possible to get PTSD from a television show? Squid Game is not listed as a cause in any medical journals, but bingeing the second season of Netflix’s global hit left me feeling like the haunted figure in Edvard Munch’s The Scream.

The first season of the series dropped in 2021, amidst a pandemic in which millions around the world died from Covid. Its apocalyptic vibe felt perfectly in step with that death-drenched moment, even as the show’s propulsive action distracted us from what was happening in our real world. Its savage critique of capitalism was so cleverly wrapped in a thriller’s clothes that Netflix was able to transform Squid Game into a cash cow, squeezing out of its premise a video game, a live interactive game (yes, I tried it), a reality show (which ironically resulted in some complaints of exploitative treatment), and lots of merch—including green track suits and pink guard uniforms, in case you feel like cosplaying.

This time around, Squid Game doubles down on both its relentless brutality and its critique of capitalism. One of the episodes is even called “Bread and Lottery,” in case the drama’s premise didn’t already have the idea of “bread and circuses” whirling around your head. The show is steeped in income inequality and a winner-takes-all mentality, as broken, debt-ridden people debase themselves for bored billionaires. What could be more timely?

Once again, our guide through this wasteland is Gi-hun (Lee Jung-Jae), the survivor of last season’s game. His win was the definition of a pyrrhic victory, and it has changed him. No longer an antsy gambler willing to throw his fate to the wind, Gi-hun is a traumatized man. He sees his prize earnings as “blood money,” to be used only for tracking down the game’s creators and ending the bloodbath. That hunt brings Gi-hun together with Jun-ho (Wi Ha-jun), the policeman from last season who has been trying to find his way back to the island.

Both men are fixated on bringing the game’s perpetrators to justice, and both actors bring a sweet humanity to their roles. Unfortunately, convoluted plotting and searching takes up the season’s first two episodes, substantially slowing down the beginning of this go-round.

“You manipulate people who feel like they’re at a dead end,” Gi-hun says, teary-eyed, when he finally makes contact with the Darth Vader-masked Front Man (Lee Byung-hun). “You think people are just horses in a race and you own the horses.” The Front Man is disdainful, citing (in a funhouse reference to our distorted current politics) The Matrix. “They could’ve lived in peace if they took the blue pill, but still they chose the red pill to play the heroes. Do you also think you’re a hero who can change the world?” The answer is yes, and thus the season begins properly as Gi-hun is once again dropped into the game as Player 456.