Money-deprived individuals are faced with a one-ina-million chance of winning a lot of money by just playing innocent childhood games. With the first season of Squid Game hitting 265.2 million viewers in just the first 91 days, Squid Game is leading the charts with being the most watched show of the week and being at the top 10 in all countries according to Tudum.
In the beginning of season two, viewers see audience-favorite “The Salesman,” a guy that goes from bus station to bus station playing Ddakji, a traditional Korean game. The Salesman’s job is to go up to people in debt or with extreme financial issues and offer to play a few rounds of Ddjaki with them.
At the end of the round he gives them a card to call a number to be able to play in Squid Game for a chance to win 45.6 billion South Korean won ($30,903,120 US dollars). However the contest has a twist.
If a player loses any of these games, they will be shot dead. During the games, 456 people are put on ships and taken toan island where they will play a series of fi ve children’s games to win the money. After each challenge, the players get a choice whether they want to keep playing or not. In the first season the other players did not get this option, but they do in the new
season.
This was so the “Front Man,” (man in charge of the games) can prove that people will put their own lives at risk and choose money over their well being. The front man’s main goal is to show Gi-Hun, the winner of season one, that there is no way he can end the games due to people’s greed and desperation.
The cinematography in this show does not fail to shock with how descriptive it is and how it goes into every little detail with the plot. Viewers see the playful colors with an eerie unsettling theme in each of the games. The symmetrical framing and wide shots emphasize the control of the game creating a kind of claustrophobic scary atmosphere. The close up shots also show the amazing emotions of each character. Gi-Hun returns so he can try to put an end to these games and save the lives of 455 innocent people.
Gi-Hun gets put into the game and we see him form his own group with similar people in the previous season. Each of the characters in the show have their own backstories, making the characters
feel more authentic and memorable. I also admired how some of the characters such as “Thanos” had his real life backstory used in his character, just making it feel more real.
Like many, I took a liking almost immediately to this show after seeing the way the director portrayed greed and desperation through each of the characters. The story was well put together to demonstrate what people will do and put themselves through just for money.
