Yesterday, season two of “Squid Game” started streaming on Netflix, but it looks like not everyone’s a fan.
Heads up: there are some light spoilers for season two of “Squid Game” in this article.
Despite critics giving the sequel high marks, audience reactions have been more modest. For instance, on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, “Squid Game 2” kicked off yesterday with an audience score of 58% (though it has since climbed to a more respectable 63%), while critics awarded it 86%.
So, what didn’t the viewers like? Based on the feedback — the lack of enough games, the season being limited to seven episodes, and the inclusion of a transgender character among the participants. Some also criticize the second season for a boring plot and an open ending, blaming Netflix for wanting to make money rather than quality content. Overall, terms like “horrible” and “disaster” were often heard in viewer comments, although by morning the number of positive reviews had increased.
As for the critics, overall, they consider the continuation to be “good but not as innovative as the first season.” Here are some direct quotes from authoritative publications:
- Theresa Laxon, Collider: “Squid Game struggles to break free from rehashing the same exhausting lessons about greed and human nature, and it weighs down the narrative more than it elevates it.”
- William Goodman, TheWrap: “The Front Man’s appearance this season was truly remarkable, and his role change was one of the season’s best developments.”
- Ben Travers, IndieWire: “The second season thrives on understanding that there is still much to uncover. It banks on our expectations and occasionally manipulates them, unfolding a twist here and there, but often skillfully meeting our anticipations.”
- Daniel Finberg, Hollywood Reporter: “What was initially captivating about the series’ premise isn’t entirely lost; the style remains consistent, and Lee’s performance is solid, though less intriguing.”
- Andrew Webster, The Verge: “The second season doesn’t explore much new thematic territory but cleverly expands the Squid Game universe, offering a thriller that feels like an even more brutal remix of the original.”
- Kristen Baldwin, Entertainment Weekly: “As interesting as this new group of players is, it’s disappointing that in the second season they spend more time in the dorm arguing about whether to continue the games than actually playing them.”
Let’s remember that the second season follows the character Seong Gi Hun (Lee Jung Jae) — last year’s competition winner who returns to the deadly arena with new participants to confront the game organizers and end it for good. In addition to Jae, Lee Byung Hun (the game’s frontman), Wi Ha Jun (the young police officer who was searching for his brother), and Gong Yoo (the recruiter of new players) reprise their roles in the sequel.
The second season was filmed simultaneously with the third, which we expect to hit Netflix in 2025.
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