Squid Game Season 2 “1” Photo-Recap: Nothing If Not Democratic

Ahhhhh yes, here it is, the murder show we all know and love. Did episode three satiate your blood lust, or simply ignite it? 

I know this show loves to put a mirror to society and show us our flaws, but perhaps watching a body of people not only voting against their own interests but also against the wellbeing of the population as a whole… A LITTLE ON THE NOSE, SHOW. 

Let’s put on our favourite jumpsuit and dive right in! 

Hot Cop, Adorable Gangster and their Merry Band of Mercenaries (if this isn’t already the name of a metal cover band, then what are we even doing here) asked the Mermaid Fisherman for a ride as they followed Gihoon’s tracker. It’ll probably work out, nothing to worry about here, folks. 

I’ve heard the best way to get over your PTSD is to just dive right back in to all the horror that keeps you up at night, so I fully support this. Gihoon woke up in the same camp dorm as his past games, in the same track suit (well, not the SAME track suit, there aren’t enough Tide Pens in the world to get out those blood stains) with the same can-do attitude. And he made a new friend who only talked about the ghosts of his past latching onto his soul ONCE. Already off to a great start!

Ah yes, the Squid Spill: the yearly tradition where the everyone gathers round as the guards spill all the hot gossip about the players and everyone judges them as if they aren’t there for their own reasons. Let’s all blame each other instead of the system that forced us into ugly action! Yay! 

The rules of the game have changed! Do you guys think they did that just to troll Gihoon? In his day, if they voted to leave, the money would go to the families of those who died. But this time the contestants would split the money instead of walking away with nothing, which makes it even more horrible if they choose to stay. But that choice would be banana-pants, so I’m sure it’ll be fine. 

Everyone was making connections and bonding before the first game. Gihoon ran into an old pal who invited him out to a drink after the games (sweet dumb-dumb) and there was even a romance brewing! 

My friend informed me this actor is T.O.P. from BigBang, which makes this moment not only funny, but fascinating. Do you think as an actually talented rapper, it physically pained him to be so cringy, or do you think he had the time of life with it? My instinct is the latter, otherwise he wouldn’t be putting his entire body into this role. 

Oh dear. Looks like it’s going to take a bit longer than anticipated to get Gihoon to his small town bakery to help Santa fulfil his dream of staring in the community production of Hairspray. Of course Games Admin found Gihoon’s tracker, and of course they gave it to some random fisherman who probably isn’t even a mermaid in disguise. 

Now that Gihoon knew he couldn’t count on his team of lovable misfits to come save him, he needed to find a way out of the game himself. Step one: don’t die in Red Light Green Light. 

Because Gihoon was coaching them, no one was getting brutally murdered, so the game sent in their most diabolical weapon yet: a bee. You CANNOT tell me you wouldn’t flip out if a bee was on your neck, they are the true terrors of the sky. Anyway, she reacted appropriately, her brains were splattered on the rapper, and the party truly started.

Hello Noeul!! Not only is she guard, she’s some kind of super sniper! And our girl doesn’t take her responsibility as a murder-guard lightly. She wasn’t going to spare a man’s life simply because some misfits with hearts of gold dragged him bleeding over a finish line. Nope! He lost fair and square, so she rid him of his mortal coil. That’s INTEGRITY. 

She did seem to be affected by the sight of Cartoonist-dad, which… yeah, girl. We all saw it coming, but it’s upsetting nonetheless. 

This woman is NOT making a great first impression! Anyone else getting sketchy vibes from her? She seemed to know about Gihoon and was VERY invested in keeping the games going. 

Anyway, now that everyone knew what was up with the games, they seemed pretty keen to get on outta there. That was, until the guards showed everyone the money and explained that more people had to die in order to get a bigger sum. Which was FINE—who would have the hubris to believe they would be the one to make it out?? Who would be totally okay with the fact that they only become rich if everyone in the room dies?

Half of them, apparently. 

Welp, he tried! He even revealed that he was a past winner, and they were NOT impressed. Most didn’t believe him, and others said they could use him to get through the game. In the end it came down to an exact tie (does this happen every year?? What are the odds???) and the person to break it was none other than 001. 

Hahahahahha, it isn’t Squid Game unless one of the people in charge is sneakily pretending to be a player! Using the same number and everything, like he’s TRYING to get found out. Did no one notice he wasn’t in the first game?

What were you thinking by this point? Did you call that the Front Man would enter the games? Did you like that move, or you were like, “This again?” I think I like it. We don’t know enough about the Front Man to either root for his redemption or yearn for his demise. I want to know what I should be feeling! Tell me what to feel, show! 

SOME STUFF

• They really nailed the angry anxiety of watching people actively vote for their own demise. Not topical at all! 

• How long before our lovable doofus figures out who 001 really is?

• A mother-son duo! Oh no! 

• Everyone agreeing that the man who had the most debt was better than them because of the amount he was able to borrow… we are in the darkest timeline. 

• Mermaid Fisherman having a big fat crush on Hot Cop is so relatable. Do you think he hesitated for one single second when Junho asked him for the bonkers favour of transporting a Merry Band of Mercenaries to a murder island, or did he splash on some Old Spice and throw on his most flattering vest before Junho could finish his sentence? 

• Either I misunderstood the phone call in episode one, or Crypto YouTuber has very poor observational skills. I’m guessing the young pregnant woman isn’t his girlfriend, so maybe she lost all her money because of him? There’s definitely some connection there, but he doesn’t seem to know her. 

• The group picture with the rapper was a very funny, very sad touch.

• I’m not going to get on my soapbox about this, but I need to acknowledge how huge it is that this show has a trans character, and that character is not played as a joke or villainized. I know it would’ve been a bigger step to have a trans actor portray her, but that’s simply not be possible in Korea at this time. Every step towards positive LGBTQ+ representation is a win, and I’m so, so happy to see it. 

• Gihoon starting a conga line during Red Light Green Light was so fun! Nice to see him getting into the festive spirit, you know? 

• Anyone you are / were cheering for to die? Like just WAITING for their inevitably brutal demise? I think a lot of people will say the super rich old guy, but my bloodlust yearns for the the shaman to meet her horrifying end. Something is UP with her!

• All the people cheering for their own impending deaths. It’s TOO REAL, SQUID GAME. 

OKAY THAT’S IT FROM ME, HAVE A HORROR-FREE DAY!