Кадр з другого сезону серіалу «Гра в кальмара» / Netflix
The long-awaited second season of “Squid Game,” although it disappointed some fans, set a new record in Netflix history.
According to Forbes, “Squid Game 2” became the first series in streaming history to top the viewing charts in all 93 countries where Netflix is available — effectively surpassing the debut season’s figures, which is now considered the most popular show on the platform. Neither “Stranger Things” nor “Wednesday”, which were also hits among users, have achieved this.
Netflix has not yet provided viewing figures, but the first season, as known, garnered 2.2 billion hours of views.
At the same time, the ratings for the second season of “Squid Game” currently leave something to be desired: critics rated it 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience score stalled at 64%. The continuation is criticized for the lack of enough games, limiting the season to seven episodes, and having an open ending, accusing Netflix of wanting to earn, not to create quality content.
“The second season has its ups and downs. There’s absolutely nothing for fans to shy away from, as it’s still a quality and expensive streaming project. It’s also easy to understand those who don’t vibe with it. The series generally keeps attention fairly well, which is something, but it suffers from some annoying dips, superficiality, and predictability. The season finale ultimately convinces that seven episodes might be too many. Thus, we give it a corresponding score with faith that the creators still have surprises for us in the final season,” — wrote ITC.ua film critic Denis Fedoruk in his review, rating the series 6.5 out of 10.
Recall that in the sequel, the winner of the previous competitions, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), returned to the deadly arena to save a new set of participants and take revenge on the organizers, ending the game forever. A total of 9 actors from the first season reprised their roles in the second, including Lee Byung-hun (the game’s frontman), Wi Ha-joon (the young police officer who was searching for his brother), and Gong Yoo (the recruiter of new players).
The third season has already been officially confirmed (actually, it was developed simultaneously with the second) and is set to premiere on Netflix in 2025 — according to the showrunner, likely in the summer or fall.