Series Review: Squid Game

Squid Game, Squid Game, Squid Game… I’ve seen and heard this title probably more than a thousand times over the past few years. Nearly the whole world became obsessed with the show, and countless trends were born from it. It felt a little surreal to see foreigners enjoying older parts of South Korean culture, like cracking Dalgona or playing traditional Korean children’s games. But why? Why was Squid Game so special, and how was it different from other South Korean dramas? And, finally, why did Squid Game seasons 2 and 3 receive such severe criticism?

The two biggest elements that, in my opinion, made Squid Game different from other Korean TV shows are its unique atmosphere (especially the set design) and its boldness in breaking away from Confucian values.

My favorite element of Squid Game is the unique atmosphere of the set and the show itself. I believe the core theme of Squid Game is bittersweetness. The main event of the game gives people a chance at redemption, but at the same time, dozens of people are brutally killed. While some characters experience the absolute bottom of their lives, others feel a twisted excitement watching them fall. It’s a situation that can only really be described as bittersweet.

This bittersweetness is not only present in the concept, but also in the props and costumes. They are designed with childlike shapes, bright colors, and almost cartoonish aesthetics. However, their use is brutally ironic and cruel. For instance, every player wears a simple green tracksuit with a number on it. Despite its plain appearance, this costume symbolizes how the players are treated as faceless game characters, stripped of their basic human rights and individuality. In most thriller shows, spaces of violence are depicted with dark, gloomy color palettes. Squid Game, however, uses bright colors—especially pink—to frame scenes of murder and desperation. This contrast strongly supports the bittersweet theme: visually playful, emotionally devastating.

Another major way Squid Game differs from typical Korean dramas is in how it breaks away from Confucian values. Korean shows are usually very careful about what they depict. They often put strong emphasis on moral lessons and “good” behavior. In Squid Game, there are definitely characters who try to keep their morality, but they are powerless to save others. People quickly turn on each other, and the pink soldiers kill the players without hesitation. This kind of boldness—treating human life so lightly on screen—is extremely rare in South Korean dramas.

However, this kind of moral collapse is not unusual in foreign media, which is one reason viewers from other countries may not have felt the same cultural shock. They could simply enjoy the intense and violent setup as entertainment, without the weight of Confucian expectations. Most people agree that season 1 of Squid Game was the best. One reason, I think, is that seasons 2 and 3 shifted more toward story and character backstories, while season 1 focused more directly on the entertainment and tension of the games themselves.

As I mentioned the downfall of Squid Game, I would like to end by explaining my personal reasons for why the later seasons felt weaker. Three main components—declining engagement with the story, a lack of tension in the games, and issues with casting—contributed to lowering the audience’s interest.

At first, audiences loved the show for its fast, intense entertainment that delivered a huge amount of dopamine. But as the story expanded, the tension gradually decreased. In season 2, the show had to divide its attention between people searching for the Squid Game island and the players inside the game. Yet, throughout the whole season, there was very little meaningful progress in the main plot. This made many viewers expect something huge in season 3. Nonetheless, despite the long wait, season 3’s story contained many flaws and developed in ways that were predictable and, at times, a bit boring.

(On top of that, the casting started to affect how people watched the show. As more and more famous Korean actors joined, many Korean viewers began focusing more on the actors themselves rather than the story. The foreign actors also raised questions: their performances often felt awkward, and their roles were not very clearly defined. In season 1, these foreign characters were mysterious figures hidden behind the veil, which made them intriguing. Later, they were revealed to be nothing more than bored rich people who enjoy watching humans suffer for entertainment, which felt underwhelming.

Because the show tried to focus on so many different elements—backstories, investigations, VIPs, and the games themselves—the tension of the survival aspect inevitably weakened. With all three components combined, many people felt that Squid Game did not end in a fully satisfying way.

In conclusion, Squid Game did an excellent job of capturing people’s attention through its unique set design, props, and concept, but it ended on a weaker note due to questionable storytelling and scattered focus. However, I don’t think anyone would truly call Squid Game a “bad” show. Even though it ended with a lot of criticism and controversy, an effective show is one that stays in our memory. As someone who loves watching series, Squid Game will never be erased from my mind, and to me, it still stands as one of the greatest shows in history.