*spoilers ahoy*

The best part about Squid Game Season 2 : Part 1 died in the first episode.

Ignoring the fact Season 2 undermines the point of Season 1, there was nothing to expand upon unless the writers threw us for a loop and killed Gi-hun in favor of focusing on another POV like Bunny Triangle Defector Lady’s. It would’ve been interesting to see how one becomes complicit in killing their fellow humans for a few (billion) won. Alas! Instead the writers spent 3 years slaving away only to present us with an MC that has experienced zero character development, and a far weaker plot full of forgettable side characters.

Gi-hun himself remains an idiot gambler ignoring his daughter in favor of his own desires. Instead of gambling money, he’s gambling away the lives of others. That isn’t to say his desire to stop the games is wrong, but his methods of doing so display a lack of character development and intelligence. For all the physical changes the writers show us, Gi-hun is still willing to tank the lives of those around him in favor of his own wants, which is precisely how he ended up playing the games to begin with.

The Front Man is just a front. The folks behind the games are Il-Nam and Fat Tiger Mask, who are physically uninvolved except in giving away their money. Gi-hun literally knows this, yet neither of his two brain cells come together to form a better plan besides finding The Recruiter and joining the games again. Similarly, his half-baked military take-over plan, which simply results in PlayStation Worker Bees getting killed, was inane. The fact he spent two years searching for The Recruiter should’ve clued him in to the fact these folks are powerful and beyond the scope of his capabilities without some serious planning and connections. That Gi-hun never reflects on this, nor pauses to consider that he’s being toyed with, is not his fault, but rather the fault of the writers.

Squid Game is a very on the nose critique of capitalism and trickle-down economics: there are more than enough resources to go around, yet those at the top would rather burn those resources rather than help those in need. The Recruiter exemplifies this when he presents the homeless with the choice of bread or a lottery ticket, only to chastise those who choose the ticket, despite having the resources to give them both. The games function similarly. The rich have so much money, and have such a low view of the poor, they’ll throw away billions of won for the sake of entertainment.

One would think the writers of Season 2 would expand upon this idea even a little bit – the real villains are the ones Gi-hun cannot see, and they’re willing to sacrifice their allies (the PlayStation Worker Bees) for funsies. They have infiltrated every part of society and a couple of guns aren’t going to harm them. That said, none of this crosses Gi-hun’s mind, nor does Hot Cop put his 2.5 brain cells together to develop a better strategy beyond Island hopping.

Speaking of Hot Cop, why was he even there? By episode 7, he was farther away from the Island than he was in Season 1. His entire plot was one big wild goose chase that culminated in him fondling fish bait. The writers were better off having him awaken from his “coma” in Episode 7 instead of wasting our time and their budget. Again, this is poor, wasteful writing. What exactly did the writers spend three years exhausting themselves over?

It certainly wasn’t spent developing Gi-hun’s character. In fact, Gi-hun seems to somehow have grown dumber than he was in Season 1. Being rich with blood money of course he has little motivation to continue the games this time, but how did he so quickly forget the same hopelessness which drives each player to play “one more game” also drove him to return fully knowing the risks? Granted, Season 2 contestants are given the option to peacefully quit after every game, but I digress. Gi-hun should understand why these people carry on, because he was once in their shoes.

Poorly written characters appear to be a theme here because the weakest part of Season 2 are the new characters. Most of them exist as props around Gi-hun on his quest for revenge. Frankly, you could ax any of them and the plot wouldn’t change. That isn’t to say that all of Season 1’s cast were integral to the plot, but even if they weren’t, they were at least memorable.

Shaman Lady has added nothing but annoyance. Pregnant Jun-hee exists for Front Man to appear somewhat sympathetic since she probably reminds him of his wife. Myeong-gi is a YouTuber fuggboi scammer, who’s only value is repeatedly getting harassed by Thanos until he stabs him. The son/mother are boring. Thanos is obnoxious, but at least somewhat entertaining. The only semi interesting characters are Hyun-ju and Bunny Triangle Defector Lady (No-eul), the latter of which barely gets any screen time once the games begin. Again, this just feels like poor writing – why have so many characters who do nothing over the course of 7 episodes? The 10 billion won debt uncle was more memorable than 78% of other characters here.

The pacing is also terrible. 15 minutes per episode are devoted to voting. 15 minutes more to dialogue rehashing stuff we already know (001 is shady, Gi-hun is stupid and willing to sacrifice others to save them, people are selfish and will do anything for money). Every so often, we get a scene of Hot Cop and his goonies opening coolers on an Island, while somehow never managing to find it suspicious that a random fisherman just happened to find his body.

Season 2 is poorly written. And to be fair, Season 1 wasn’t particularly great either, but at least the characters were relatively well-written, the plot was rather tight, and it was clear in what it was trying to say. Season 2 : Part 1 feels all over the place, like are we supposed to be rooting for Gi-hun? The Front Man? Bunny Lady? Given how polarized the world is, a much better Season 2 would be showing how someone gets radicalized or desensitized enough to become a PlayStation Worker Bee, and seeing the games from a different perspective.

Alas! While the remainder of Season 2 could have some surprises, given the show’s current trajectory it seems obvious Gi-hun will kill Front Man in a fit of red hair rage and take his place. The games are already taking a toll on him mentally as he struggles (despite being in their shoes 2 years ago) to understand why people are willing to sacrifice their lives for money.

And perhaps it’s harsh to say Gihun hasn’t changed, because in some ways he has. The Gi-hun of Season 1 would’ve never sacrificed his fellow X-voters for a haphazard shot at revenge.

Squid Game Season 2: Part 1 Rating: 5.5/10