Chinguwa jeok

"Squid Game 2" fails to recapture the magic of the first season. The original thrived on its simplicity, a stark, haunting intensity that drew you in and refused to let go. With a lower budget, it felt more epic - its rawness, its desperation, gave every game a weight that was impossible to ignore. Now, that tension is gone. The heart-pounding dread, the gripping uncertainty, the unexpected brilliance - it's all missing. Season 2 struggles to find the same emotional pull, leaving a series that once felt groundbreaking now feeling strangely ordinary. The spark that made it unforgettable has dimmed.

As previously said by many it's not the best ending. We finished episode 7 at 2am and decided to sleep and continue it the next night, only to realise after having made the popcorn that we had in fact already finished the season without realising it.

Putting it down to Korean vs western media and crossing our fingers that the wait will pay off in the end (also sometimes it's nice not to have everything tied up in a little bow - this truely was a first for us)

The gunfight was too long but I put that down to lazy writing and the fact that they want to keep the bar low so that they can blow us away with season 3.

I'll review only the last episode, but this is the general felling for the entire second season.

The final episode of Squid Game Season 2 was a complete mess, earning a generous 4/10 in my book. After trudging through a season riddled with weak storytelling and undeveloped characters, I hoped the finale might salvage something. Instead, it only solidified how far the series has fallen since its brilliant first season.

The plot was painfully predictable, devoid of any tension or surprises. The main character's arc, which had already been on a downhill spiral, reached its lowest point-dull, nonsensical, and borderline insulting to the audience's intelligence. The emotional depth and moral dilemmas that once defined the show were entirely absent.

The "big moments" in the finale felt forced and hollow, lacking the impactful storytelling or clever twists that made the first season so memorable. The games were unimaginative and poorly executed, with lackluster cinematography that failed to build any suspense or excitement.

Worst of all, the actors-many of whom were already struggling with a bad script-delivered uninspired performances. It was as if they, too, had given up on the material. The final scenes were so anticlimactic and poorly thought out that I found myself questioning how such a promising series could end up here.

Season 2's finale was the nail in the coffin for what was once a groundbreaking show. What the heck happened?! It's hard to believe this is the same Squid Game that captivated audiences worldwide.

The start of the season was written good but the final two episodes specially the seventh was rushed. It's not bad but decent and decent shouldn't be the level of the most successful series ever. I expected it to become a tough season to tell a fulfilled story and I really enjoyed it but the finale was short. It felt like they recorded more material but decided to cut it out and work it out for Season 3. Which is another point I'd like to talk cause at this point Season 2 & 3 don't really exist. It feels more like Squid Game 2 Pt. I & Pt. II.

The biggest issue is for me the subplot it's completely ignored and dragged. It appears for a really short time which is huge failure. They should've made the 9 episodes and let them find their target or at least get to find out the culprit in their own crew.

For the people that still think it's about the game show and who's gonna win it: if this was the case that would be a recycled story and no extended and meaningful addition to the series. Squid Game is about society and how the human who participate for these games deal with depression, desperation and who's willing to go over all limits to reach their goal cause they feel obligated to do so. On the other side the operator and its recruits and VIP's ( another critic point btw we haven't seen them again like in Season 1 ) who prefer to get entertained to hedge bets, laugh and have a good time while watching people fighting for their lives.

Our main protagonist wants to break this traditional event for once and forever but it seems way too hopeless.

They really need to deliver 9 episodes for the final arc to bring this story to an end. It still has the potential to become one of the most memorable series of all time.

The season ends really abruptly without any real payoff.

On its own this is a good episode but it feels like there would an episode after it but there's not. It feels like the writers didn't know where to stop to carry on for season 3 so they just cut very suddenly. It's still a good episode and I enjoyed it but it didn't feel like a season finale in the slightest.

If they added an extra 30 minutes to the episode to make it complete I think it would be rated higher.

It doesn't even really feel like a set up episode it just looks like they forgot a few episodes to release after and stopped it because they needed somewhere to start season 3.