10 Ways Squid Game Season 2 Mirrors Season 1

Dec. 10, 2024, midnight

Movies

10 Ways Squid Game Season 2 Mirrors Season 1

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Warning! This article contains spoilers for Squid Game season 2.

Squid Game season 2 features many unique story developments and characters but still shares many narrative parallels with season 1. Soon after Squid Game season 1 landed on Netflix, it became a viral sensation, captivating audiences from all over the world. The show soon rose in the ranks to become one of the most-watched shows on Netflix, which encouraged the streamer to renew it for not just one but two seasons. The streaming giant also riffed on the show's fame by expanding the franchise with a reality TV show and a video game.

Although Squid Game season 1 had already established a recipe for season 2 to succeed, the second installment could not merely emulate its predecessor. To keep viewers invested in the series, Squid Game season 2 had to introduce some of its own novel elements. Thankfully, it manages to achieve that by featuring new characters and also a new set of games. However, at the same time, the second season also subtly recreates many elements from its predecessor to ensure it retains what made Squid Game season 1 so popular in the first place.

10 Gi-hun & Yong-sik's Backstories Are Very Similar

Their Gambling Addictions Led Them To The Games

Gi-hun finds himself at the games in Squid Game season 1 because his gambling addiction and the loss he incurred from it eventually drowned him in debt. The Salesman exploits his addiction to gambling to lure him to the games. Squid Game season 2's Yong-sik finds himself in a similar situation after his gambling addiction initially blinds him to the exploitative nature of the games.

Related Every Player In Squid Game Season 2 Explained Squid Game season 2 introduces a new set of players who come with their own unique backstories, struggles, and dreams of winning big at the games.

Like Gi-hun, Park Yong-sik also has a loving mother who is willing to do everything for him. She even follows him to the games, hoping to stop him from falling deeper into his downward spiral. Fortunately, for Yong-sik, he learns his lessons when he almost loses his mother during Squid Game season 2's Mingle game. Gi-hun, in contrast, loses his mother in season 1 before realizing he did not value her when she was still around.

9 Jun-ho Sets Out On A Quest To Find The Island In Both Seasons

He Only Succeeds In Season 1

In Squid Game season 1, Jun-ho tries to track down the Squid Game island to fulfill his responsibility as a police detective. He realizes that the island is potentially the venue for many illegal activities, which encourages him to travel there and find the truth. In Squid Game season 2, however, he is driven by a deeper purpose. After season 1's events, he learns that his missing brother, Hwang In-ho, is among the frontrunners at the games and is willing to do just about anything to keep the games running.

Determined to learn the truth about how his brother became the Front Man in the games, Jun-ho tries to search for the islands again in Squid Game season 2. However, to his dismay, his quest in season 2 leads him to nothing. As the Squid Game season 2's ending arc reveals, the captain of the boat, who pretends to help Jun-ho find the island, seems to be working for the game's organizers and tries to prevent Jun-ho from reaching there.

8 The Guards Run A Secret Organ-Harvesting Operation In Both

One Guard Attempts To Stop The Operation In Season 2

Squid Game season 2 reveals that, after learning about the guards' secret organ-harvesting operation in season 1, the Front Man ended it. However, in season 2, the Officer secretly starts the operation again by recruiting a few guards and a doctor. This time around, he ensures that only the people he trusts are working with him in the organ trade business. However, Guard 011, No-eul (played by Park Gyu-young in Squid Game season 2), tries to disrupt the operation by killing all losers in the games and ensuring their organs cannot be harvested.

7 The Villains Go On A Murderous Rampage Against The Heroes

The Chaos From The Rampage Gives Gi-hun The Opportunity To Execute His Plan

When the villains in Squid Game season 1 realized that only one survivor would eventually win the grand 45.6 billion-won prize, they went on a murderous rampage against the innocent to eliminate their competition. Gi-hun predicts something similar to happen in season 2. His prediction comes true when the ones who voted for the games to continue set out to kill the ones who voted for them to end.

Although Gi-hun's plan initially works wonders, the Front Man stays one step ahead of him and ultimately ends his rebellion for good in Squid Game season 2's final moments.

Gi-hun encourages his allies to stay away from the battle and, instead, asks them to hide underneath the lowest beds and wait for the guards to arrive to de-escalate the violence. He asks them to play dead after the guards enter the common room and snag their weapons once they are close enough to make a move. Although Gi-hun's plan initially works wonders, the Front Man stays one step ahead of him and ultimately ends his rebellion for good in Squid Game season 2's final moments.

6 The First Official Game In Both Seasons Is "Red Light, Green Light"

Gi-hun Saves Many Lives In Season 2

Although Squid Game season 2 features a few other games, like Russian Roulette and Bread or Lottery, outside the game's setting, the first official game in its narrative is "Red Light, Green Light." In season 2, however, Gi-hun understands how the game works and uses his prior experience of playing the game to guide other players. Towards the end of the "Red Light, Green Light" game in Squid Game season 1, Abdul Ali saved Gi-hun from getting eliminated. In season 2, Gi-hun and Hyun-ju fulfill a similar role when they try to save a man in the game's last few seconds.

5 Both Seasons End With Major Cliffhangers

Gi-hun Fights A Losing Battle In Both Seasons' Ending Moments

Gi-hun tries to save Cho Sang-woo in Squid Game season 1's final game, but his friend ultimately dies by suicide. With this, he wins the 45.6 billion-won prize, but at a terrible cost. His season 1 journey ends with him setting out to shut the games down and seeking revenge from the game's organizers. Even in season 2, Gi-hun seems to be on the verge of collapsing the structures the games rest on. However, his plan crumbles, and he ultimately fails to take the game down. His story ends with extreme tragedy in both seasons, forcing him to gradually lose bits of his humanity.

4 Squid Game Season 2 Also Follows A "Game Of The Episode" Format

The Overarching Story's Primary Appeal Comes From the Games

Both Squid Game seasons featured commendable character beats and cast performances. Even the stories surrounding characters like Jun-ho, who do not actively participate in the central games, are gripping. However, the primary appeal of both seasons lies in the titular games. Although Squid Game season 2's first official "Red Light, Green Light" is not shown until the third episode, it keeps viewers invested by introducing some new mini-games that unfold outside the games' setting.

Squid Game Key Facts Breakdown Written & Directed By Hwang Dong-hyuk No. Of Episodes 16 No. Of Seasons 2 Budget US $21.4 million in season 1 and ₩100 billion in season 2 Streaming On Netflix

From Russian roulette to Bread or Lottery, Squid Game season 2 seamlessly blends intense side games with some of its most engaging story beats. Squid Game season 3 will likely do the same while walking through a whole new set of dangerous challenges Gi-hun and other surviving contestants will have to face.

3 Gi-hun Bumps Into An Old Friend At The Games

Gi-hun Had A History With Both Jung-Bae & Sang-woo

When Gi-hun first arrives at the games in Squid Game season 1, he believes he is surrounded by a bunch of strangers. However, he soon spots his childhood best friend, Cho Sang-woo, and is surprised to see him there because Sang-woo was known to be extremely intelligent and successful. Something similar happens in season 2 when Gi-hun bumps into Jung-bae at the games. To ensure Jung-bae does not meet the same fate as Sang-woo, Gi-hun asks him to follow his command during the "Red Light, Green Light" game.

2 Gi-hun Loses His Friend In The Finale

Gi-hun Efforts To Save Sang-woo & Jung-bae Go In Vain

Gi-hun makes the ultimate sacrifice towards the end of Squid Game season 1 by requesting to quit the games and dropping the 45.6 billion won reward. Even the game's organizers and VIPs are shocked by his decision. However, even though he takes this decision to ensure Cho Sang-woo makes it out alive, his childhood friend dies before his eyes.

While Squid Game season 1 has a Rotten Tomatoes critics' score of 95%, season 2 boasts a rating of 84%.

Squid Game season 2 gives Gi-hun the opportunity to get over the regret he feels after not being able to save Sang-woo. After he runs into Jung-bae, he takes it upon himself to protect him to ensure history does not repeat itself. Unfortunately, Jung-bae, too, meets the same fate as Sang-woo after the Front Man outsmarts Gi-hun and kills Jung-bae to show him the consequences of his actions.

1 Player 001 In The Games Is One Of The Antagonists

Oh Il-nam & Hwang In-ho Join The Games As Player 001

Squid Game season 1's ending reveals that Oh Il-nam, Player 001, faked his death in the games. When Gi-hun meets him in the finale, he also learns that Oh Il-nam was the one who created and hosted the games in the first place to be able to relive his childhood memories before he died from cancer. The second season introduces a similar twist where the Front Man, Hwang In-ho, joins the games as Player 001 to keep a close eye on Gi-hun. Like Oh Il-nam, he also fakes his death in Squid Game season 2's ending moments to deceive Gi-hun.