Squid Game Review: Is It Worth Your Time?

For good reason, Squid Game is one of the most talked-about shows of the year. The series follows a group of down-on-their-luck strangers as they compete in a series of life-or-death children's games for a reward of 45.6 billion Won for the final victor, but there's a catch "losing a game means losing your life". The series has a lot to say about human nature, especially the depths to which we will go for money, and it does it in a highly stylized manner with a terrific performance from its cast and a well-crafted, tightly-woven plot.

While some may consider the series of killings and violence excessive, they are important in conveying the themes of greed and desperation that money and debt can elicit in individuals. Squid Game is, after all, more of a study of human nature than a game, as individuals are given sufficient background before being forced into the competition. The show can bring out the best and worst in a wide range of varied, unique people by putting them in a similar environment—the games.

The Cast of Squid Game:

In Squid Game, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-Jae) is a regular person in desperate need of money for a miracle. He’s in a bad situation, with a daughter he may never see again and an old mother who is nevertheless required to look after him as if he were a child. So when Gi-hun is offered the chance to play a series of children's games for a huge sum of money. He can't say no.

Jung Ho-Yeon, who portrays Player 067 Kang Sae-ByeokBook, the female lead and breakthrough star of the series, is another standout among the cast. Jung has built a reputation for herself in South Korea as a model since the age of 16, but Squid Game was her first acting role—a fact that is difficult to believe while watching her on the show. For want of a better description, Jung manages to create Sae-Book a distant, cynical, and emotionally restrained heroine while also making her an adorable badass.

There are plenty of more outstanding performances to round out the cast. Oh Yeong-us, who plays Player 001, a heartbreaking elderly contestant with dementia who develops a bond with Gi-hun; Anupam Tripathi, who plays Player 199 Ali Abdul, a strong, kind-hearted, and fiercely loyal Pakistani migrant; Park Hae Soo, who plays Player 218 Cho Sang-Woo, a calculating former business student with some tricks up his sleeve and Lee Yoo-mi, who 

Even the contenders' minor enemies succeed as well-written and portrayed characters; Heo Sung-tae as Player 101 is an outstanding example. Jang Deok-su portrays a slimy, vicious, and generally unlikeable character, while Kim Joo-Leong is Player 212. Han Mi also excels at being infuriatingly irritating, which is the entire objective of the deceitful and opportunistic character.

Of course, it's terrible, but what’s scarier is the fact that these folks are willfully engaging in the game. The prospect of going back to their previous lifestyle and facing their obligations is so terrifying that they would rather die. It's an idea that lingers throughout the series' short nine-episode run, especially when the tale grows beyond Gi-somewhat hun’s selfish existence to include the other players.

It's not always that characters die, it's how they're "eliminated" that makes you sit up and take notice. The first game has a creepy robot doll that scans for violators by turning around and "looking" for persons who are still moving after the "red light" has been issued. The second game requires players to chisel a form out of a piece of honeycomb, pushing the most resourceful players to utilize whatever tools they have, even if it involves the humiliating process of licking the treat over and over to make the work simpler, as it does in the other games.

Final Thoughts:

While the Squid Game series is practically flawless, it does contain one little drawback. In the interest of not giving anything away, I'll just mention that there's a group of characters in the last few episodes whose performance is simply terrible. Those who have seen the show will recognize who I am referring to. However, because these individuals are minor characters in the season, their poor performance is unimportant to the main plot.

Squid Game has a strong first season, despite the presence of a few subpar performers in the supporting cast. Because of the tension he had while writing the first season, Hwang says he is doubtful if a second season will materialize anytime soon, but I believe a second season would be worth the wait. With Squid Game, he has developed an intriguing universe and plot that leaves many questions to be resolved in the future.

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