Let the games begin! ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 now on Netflix – what to know [VIDEO]

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard – or are one of its fanatical followers – of Netflix’s popular dystopian series  Squid Game (or 오징어 게임). 

In its first season, it accumulated over 1.6 billion viewing hours in less than a month and topped Netflix’s Top 10 in more than 90 countries.

After three long years of waiting for the follow-up of the cultural noir phenomenon, the sophomore season of the streamer’s hit dark K-drama premiered this morning (Thursday, 26 December) for South African viewers. 

According to Netflix, Squid Game Season 2’s spiralling plot of deadly games is going to be “as sinister as ever”.

Quick plot recap: What is ‘Squid Game’ about?

In case you haven’t watched the first season, Squid Game follows a group of people (most of whom are experiencing financial troubles), as they are given the chance to compete in a series of games to win money that would allow them to pay off their debts.

The winner can walk away with a prize cash of a staggering ₩45.6 billion (roughly half-a-billion rand). Of course, there has to be a catch: Once-innocent childhood games are turned lethal in the remote, private island enclave the players are transported to.  

Season 1 ended on a cliffhanger, with Player 456, or Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-Jae), vowing to seek revenge against the masterminds behind the sinister game.

ALSO READ: ‘Squid Game’ becomes Netflix’s biggest-ever launch hit

Gi-hun back in action: Viewers will see ‘much heavier, darker side’

Gi-hun returns to the competition in Squid Game Season 2, facing a series of new opponents vying for the life-changing prize.

According to director Hwang Dong-hyuk, Gi-hun is “a different person” in the new season. 

“In Season 2, you will not be getting the foolish and clumsy or childish at times Gi-hun that you saw in the beginning,” Hwang told Entertainment Weekly back in September.

“You will get to see a much heavier, darker side.”

New twists and turns: What to expect of ‘Squid Game’ Season 2

• The game universe will expand with the addition of new cast members, including Yim Si-wan, Park Sung-hoon, and Kang Ha-neul, among others.
• Wi Ha-joon will reprise his role as Detective Hwang Jun-ho, who narrowly escaped death.
• Lee Byung-hun will be back as the mysterious Front Man, who continues to orchestrate the sinister and deadly games.
• It appears as though Jun-ho, who is also the Front Man’s brother, is also playing a major part in trying to take down the games from the outside.
• Gong Yoo, who made a brief appearance in the first season, comprises an extended role as the recruiter in the new season possibly revealing his backstory.

Core themes and even deadlier games

• The new season will have more extreme and deadly games that will push players to their limits, testing not only their physical and mental endurance, but also their morality.
• Contestants will face even more daunting challenges, forcing them to make heart-wrenching decisions that intensify the psychological suspense.
• The “Red Light, Green Light” game will return.
• The core themes of economic inequality, human avarice, and the desperate measures people take to survive are set to become even more pronounced and intense in the new season.
• In the new season, players will be forced to confront not only the psychological strain of the games but also the moral and ethical consequences of their decisions.
• Gi-hun’s righteous crusade will take centre stage, but his inner turmoil between seeking personal revenge and fighting for the greater good will add depth to the show.

ALSO READ: The real-life violence that inspired ‘Squid Game’

Squid Game’s sophomore season introduces a whole host of new characters, as well as some familiar faces including Jun-ho the detective, the mysterious ddakji salesman and the low-key terrifying Front Man.

How many episodes do Season 2 comprise of?

There will be seven episodes in Squid Game Season 2 – making it two episodes shorter than Season 1.

Squid Game season 3 has already been confirmed and is set to be released next year. It’ll be the final season of the show.

Expect another cliffhanger as the final episode of Season 2 will likely set up what’s to come in the third and final instalment of the cultural phenomenon…

WATCH: ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 trailer