If you’ve checked your Netflix account, you might see a banner for the series Squid Game and find yourself wondering what it could possibly be about. Is it about actual squid? No. Is it a sequel to the Academy Award-winning film, My Octopus Teacher? No. Is it a reality show? Most certainly not.
Squid Game is a new nine-episode, Korean drama/suspense show from Netflix that has taken the world by storm. It’s on pace to become the biggest show Netflix has ever released; eclipsing series like Stranger Things, Bridgerton, The Witcher, and more. Not only is the cast made up of some of the brightest stars in South Korea, but it’s a fascinating and binge-worthy TV series that has captured millions.
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Netflix has released the title in multiple different languages and subtitled, so if you would prefer to watch the show with an English dub, go for it. I’m going to suggest you listen to any show in its native language, but if that’s a barrier for you, you have options.
On the surface level, Squid Game is about a group of debt-ridden contestants participating in a game where the stakes couldn’t be higher. If a contestant can complete six challenging recreations of childhood games, they will be eligible to win a fortune big enough to pay off their debts. However, if they lose, they’ll be immediately eliminated. On a deeper level, it’s about the socioeconomic structure in Korea and the difference between the haves and the have nots.
Squid Game isn’t subtle about its violence, it’s absolutely visceral. If that’s a reason why you might skip a television show, then this won’t be the title to change that. If I had to compare Squid Game to anything, for most Americans it would be The Hunger Games series as the easiest comparison, but for others, it might be easier to envision Lord of the Flies or Battle Royale.
This is not a review of Squid Game because I’ve actually just begun to watch it myself. I’ve seen the first three hours of the show, and even though I had an idea of what it was going to do, I was still pleasantly surprised by the twists. You might not take a simple game so seriously, but when failure isn’t an option, that game becomes a lot more stressful. I’ve come to really enjoy some of the characters in the series. The protagonist, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), is an obsessive gambler with a huge debt. If he doesn’t pay soon, his life will be forfeit. It seems hopeless until he meets The Salesman (Gong Yoo) who gives him an option to participate in a series of games to pay off his debt. Over these three episodes, we spend the most time with Gi-hun, but there are plenty of other characters that have plights of their own.
This monstrous success story didn’t happen overnight as it took a long time for Squid Game to become a series. The Wall Street Journal reported that series creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk had been shopping the idea for Squid Game for the better part of the last decade. There wasn’t interest in bringing this macabre survival story to life. Netflix has been more apt to take chances on material given their large collection of original series, but I have to imagine there is more to it than that. The Korean film, Parasite, won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2020 improving the market not only for Korean-language media, but international media in general. Include the musical group BTS, a growing interest in Korean drama’s on Netflix, and you’ve got yourself a market that is hungry for more Korean media.
I’m really impressed by the show and I think audiences that aren’t turned off by violent shows, will find a really riveting program in Squid Game. I mean there is a reason why the show is #1 in 90 different countries.
Links
Chris Evangelista of SlashFilm wrote a comedy article about articles he would write about Squid Game even though he hasn’t seen the show.
This helpful article from Aja Romano of Vox discusses what Squid Game reveals about Korean society and how the show’s premise turned people off.
Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast writes about violence in Squid Game and how even though it’s given people nightmares, they continue to be enraptured by it.
Finally, Matt Kim of IGN has an explainer for the different games played in Squid Game. This one is obviously full of spoilers, so it’d be best to check this out as a reference while you watch the show.