Squid Game

Warning: There may be some minor spoilers about the first two episodes. There will be no major plot points that spoil the mystery of the show or the fate of any of the characters but you have been warned

Details: MPAA Rating: TV-MA

Cast: Lee Jung-Jae, Park Hae Soo, Jung Ho-Yeon, Wi Ha-Joon

Release Date: September 17, 2021

Pros: Squid Game, the show everyone is talking about, is definitely worth the hype. The plot at the most basic level doesn't sound like anything new. A group of debt-ridden individuals have to compete in games with deadly consequences for a chance to win money, is a plot that might sound familiar to a few other shows or movies you guys have probably watched. But throwing in the mix of these games being children games, as well as the complex relationships characters form with one another, and you get one of the most innovative shows of the decade as well as a thought-provoking critique of our capitalistic society. To start with the plot, over the course of the 8 or 9 episodes, the show never gets boring even once. Even when things seem to slow down, the pacing of the plot as well as the complexities of the characters, allow viewers to truly be interested and invested in what's going on. Don't get me wrong, the show is bonkers and it knows it. In no way is it trying to pitch to you that this is a real situation that can happen in our modern world. But it knows that and in some ways, the absurdities of the show drive home the overarching concepts it's trying to enforce on the audience. Everything from the games themselves to the interactions between characters is tense and interesting. This largely is due to the actual actors and actresses themselves. Lee Jung-Jae as the protagonist Gi-Hun is by no means a good guy. He's addicted to gambling, neglects his duties as a father as well as a son, and even during the games makes numerous morally questionable decisions. Despite all of this, he is believable as a real person that any of us would know or we could even be. Park Hae-Soo gave a performance that genuinely made me want to punch the character of Sang-Woo in the face, even though he is of course a fictional character. Jung Ho-Yeon very well maybe the love of my life. This has nothing to do with her performance (which is phenomenal) I just wanted it to be known. And Wi Ha-Joon gives us the classic morally pure cop character who is someone we can steadily root for throughout the show. The beauty of Squid Games is there are no good or bad guys (save for the VIPs, those guys are definitely evil.) The people competing in the games are all actively participating in the murder of the others in the game yet we still root for them. Even the engineers of the game, while more bad than good, have a strong case to be made about if they are "evil."

Start of semi spoilers: After all, a key aspect o the games is players join the games voluntarily. They're not kidnapped or forced into these games as opposed to similar concepts such as Battle Royale, Alice in Borderland, the Hunger Games, etc. In fact, the players can vote to end the games if they so choose and can go home without the money. End of spoilers While disclosing more could dive into spoiler territory, one character in particular plays into this theme of what really defines good and evil and highlights the moral ambiguity of many of these players. Another highly prevalent theme in the show is that of poverty and capitalism. We see the wealthy VIPs watch the debt-ridden competitors as they kill each other for the enjoyment of the VIPs. At one point, these wealthy individuals even bet on who they think is going to win. The scene is sick but is important in order to get to the main point of the show which is the large wealth gap between the impoverished and the wealthy. Even those that act as they care, really don't do anything to show it. While this is an incredibly bleak look at life, there is some truth to it, demonstrated by a scene in the last episode where a beggar is in the freezing cold weather and two people make a bet on if anyone will help him. One man believes that someone will while the other believes that people will avoid him or ignore him. While we all may believe that in that situation we would help the homeless man, the sad reality is most of us probably wouldn't. As shown in the show, most people side-stepped him or ignored him entirely. Now none of us, or those individuals in that situation are bad people, but Squid Game is providing an overall critique of how even the middle class treats those in the depths of poverty. Thankfully, the show does showcase some optimism when a man, who seemed to have left the beggar, came back with the police and helped the homeless man, showing how there are some people that represent the potential to change this mindset. Putting the philosophical themes of the show aside, the actual technical aspects of Squid Game are all on point as well. The action, while very bloody at times, is exciting and doesn't seem bloody for pointless gore. Viewers will for sure feel all kinds of emotions from laughter to full-on sobbing (curse you marble game). The one aspect of the show I can apparently not properly comment on is the writing. In light of the growing popularity of the show, many viewers have reported the closed captioning provided by Netflix to be largely inaccurate and it straight-up changing the meaning of some of the plot as well as key character development so I may have to give Squid Game a rewatch and put the right captioning on in order to appreciate the actual script.

Cons: There weren't any major flaws in terms of the plot, although some sub-plots could definitely have been cut out such as one regarding the human trafficking of organs. It just felt unnecessary and, while interesting, didn't really contribute much to the overall plot. Additionally, the acting of the aforementioned VIPs was abysmal. Since the dialogues shared between them are in English, I can accurately comment on the writing as being horrendous as well as the acting being that of amateurs. The fact that these men and women spend hundreds of billions of dollars to watch people kill others to win money and are above the age of 50 yet still find "69" jokes being funny feels a little outdated and unbelievable.

Star Rating: 9/10

Final Thoughts: Squid Game is a refreshing tv-show with a tense plot, emotionally investing characters, thought-provoking themes, and reaffirms South Korean media being the best in the entertainment industry.