It inspired a reality show, a Mr. Beast video, and absolutely ruined Halloween for a year: after the massive cultural phenomenon that was Squid Game, a second season was a foregone conclusion. After initially announcing a release date, Netflix has finally put out a full teaser for the second season. Front and center in the trailer is a Gi-hun who's evidently chosen not to keep the red hair infiltrating the games in an apparent attempt to derail them entirely, which is an interesting twist on the formula.
As with any fresh project that makes the leap into being a franchise, however, one worries about the continuation missing the point. Under the candy-colored aesthetic, the first season of Squid Game managed to be a biting commentary on the legendarily hellish class disparity of South Korea (which also inspired similar works of art like Parasite), with the games themselves serving as a sort of miniaturized stand-in for greater society. Whether or not a bigger budget and doubtlessly greater Netflix oversight will allow the second season to carry on that same message is anyone's guess – but I'm going to be watching regardless for the sheer fun of it, which I recognize kind of defeats the purpose.
