This text comprises large spoilers for “Squid Recreation” season 2.
The idea behind “Squid Recreation” is straightforward: 456 gamers at the moment struggling to outlive in monetary break are rounded up into a contest the place they play standard schoolyard video games from childhood to the demise, and the final particular person standing walks away with 45.6 billion gained, or roughly $32 million relying on the present change charge. As soon as gamers have agreed to play, they’re popping out a winner or they’re leaving in a physique bag. Morbid and dystopian, positive, but it surely’s definitely not troublesome to wrap your head round. Whereas loads of elements of “Squid Recreation” season 1 have carried over into the second season, present creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has added just a few new wrinkles into the video games, not not like a malevolent President Snow in “The Starvation Video games: Catching Hearth.”
After Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) gained the video games final season, the overwhelming guilt he felt having survived whereas 455 others perished radicalized him to place an finish to the video games for good, inspiring him to re-enter and take issues down from inside. Nonetheless, he realizes in a short time that this 12 months’s video games are working somewhat in another way — after every recreation, gamers can now vote to separate the cash and run or proceed enjoying within the hopes the our bodies pile up and the golden piggy financial institution will get somewhat bit fuller.
It was one factor when it was each particular person for themself, it is one other factor when half the room has the choice to depart and publicly votes to place your life in danger. This seemingly democratic addition to the sport helps to deepen the social commentary of the unique sequence; the elite constantly pit the poor in opposition to each other however now that the gamers are voting whether or not or to not proceed enjoying, factions will likely be made they usually’ll focus their ire in opposition to each other straight as an alternative of remembering who the true enemy is.
Voting like your life will depend on it as a result of it does
“Squid Recreation” will not be the primary (nor will or not it’s the final) story to give attention to gamers volunteering or compelled to play horrific video games, however the enlargement of a voting aspect makes the story hit even nearer to house than season 1 — particularly for the People who will likely be tuning in after the newest presidential election. The contestants of those titular video games are actually voting like their lives rely upon it, however everybody voting has been pushed to the brink. It is a group of horrified, traumatized, exhausted, borderline ravenous folks with debt hanging over their heads. Those that wish to go away acknowledge no greenback quantity is value their life, however that may’t be stated for everybody.
Some are fueled by greed, others by feeling as in the event that they’ve already made it this far and should not go away with an even bigger payday, a lot have been corrupted by the evil of the video games, however some are simply plain scared. As simple as it’s to demonize the gamers who’re voting in opposition to their finest pursuits, to behave as if all of them are nothing greater than avaricious, bloodthirsty monsters is wildly inaccurate. The true villains listed below are the individuals who put them in these positions within the first place. Watching the voting happen after every recreation is harrowing, not solely as a result of we’re witnessing the communal nature of a microcosm of humanity disintegrate earlier than our very eyes, however as a result of we will even empathize with these keen to vote in a approach that places them within the direct path of fabric hurt, nonetheless clinging onto the hope that possibly this vote would be the one which brings them nearer to a profitable life. If solely it had been that simple.
“Squid Recreation” season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.