Just in time for the Christmas hangover of late-stage capitalism, Netflix will release the second season of Squid game. The hit pandemic-era show garnered Emmy acclaim with wins for lead actor Lee Jung-jae (The Acolyte) and its director Hwang Dong-hyuk. Hwang, who also created the show, took some time to develop the rest of the vision Squid game as the first season was inspired by the Korean financial crisis and the ongoing socio-economic turmoil in the wake of a global pandemic served as the basis for two seasons and three.
In an interview with ExpirationHwang talked about how global events since the series became a hit have brought out more of the conversation he explored in his original concept. “Do we have the willpower and strength to try to make the world a better place? Does humanity have what it takes to change the course of the world and can we really let go of our greed and desires to create a better world together? Those were some of the questions I wanted to ask, not so much about who or how these people behind the games value who they are,” he shared. He’s more interested in how the faceless enemies driving late-stage capitalism have continued to strike again more the lower classes in the wake of a pandemic, rather than finding out who They they are exactly.
What topics are we talking about? Squid game season 2?
“The one thing that was on my mind the most was the current world and how it divides us all, separates us from the other group, creates different sides that become hostile,” he reflected. “There are so many things that divide us today, whether it’s race, religion, language, haves and have-nots, generational divides… We look at the political divide, the left versus the right, the conservatives versus the progressives, and things like this lead to such a divide that it almost feels like there’s this line that absolutely can’t be crossed. It seems that world leaders are creating these walls and divisions and this leads us to think that whoever is on the other side, who doesn’t think like you, is an enemy who can never be forgiven.”
Hwang described how recent political events pushed back by the aftermath of the pandemic have factored into the Game of Squid allegory, and how a new level of judgment in the form of votes among Season 2 participants reflects the culture. “Even more than the tension that comes from the matches themselves, I felt more intense feelings of suspense and tension from these votes, because you can’t help but wonder what will happen if the matches go ahead, who will vote,” Hwang explained. “That leads people in games to think whatever (is chosen), I’m right, you’re wrong. I’m an angel. You are absolutely evil. Throughout the second season I focused on this question: is there really hope for us?
Because it is Squid game Season 2 is only 7 episodes long?
“The first season came out during the pandemic, and it’s been about three or four years, and now, if you look at the world and the environment that we live in, I think it’s trending downward. Things aren’t getting better.” Squid game the creator told Deadline. “We still see the exacerbation of the gap between gender and the poor, wars around the world and conflicts between races, religions and classes. Looking at all this, I also have the feeling that young people just want a jackpot because they don’t have that ladder to climb on, they don’t have it anymore. I think that because these things are still happening in our world, I might be influenced by it and I might create a second season.
The central arch of Squid gamewhich includes only seven episodes (the first season had nine), sets the stage for the final season of the series. “I wrote seasons two and three at the same time, and we were in production on both at the same time, and we’re currently in the post-production process for season three,” Hwang shared. “When I was writing the script for the two seasons, I felt like there was a big turning point or turning point, and that was the end of episode seven, so I thought it would be right to have a separate season after That That’s why I got the first seven episodes of season two and then the rest of season three.”
In season two, we’ll get a fuller view of everyone trapped in the system put in place by those running the games at the top. “In the first season, I used the policeman who infiltrated the game, Hwang Jun-ho, as a way to introduce the lives of the workers there,” Hwang said. “This time, you get to see a sneak peek into the lives of the soldiers and managers and how they became who they are.”
Squid game the second season will be released on December 26 on Netflix.
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