Squid Game, Season 2

I admit that I did enjoy season 1, but had decided there was too much gratuitous violence to bother with the second season.  What changed my mind was a Globe & Mail review that assured there would be more social relevance.  From a news item from Rebecca Sun states "the games are cruel, but the world is crueler".  Also season 2 is very violent.

For the first series see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/10/squid-game.html

There are differences.  A brother of the survivor is now a policeman who had taken himself off crime division and took on traffic now wants to stop a second set of games.  The survivor volunteers again, but with his knowledge attempts to mitigate the killings and perhaps stop the game.

The police officer on his own time arranges for his brother to have a tooth replaced with a GPS tracker, but the organizers are able to render it ineffective.. 

In the second round we see how the participants are recruited.  Organizers are sent out to look for desperate people who are generally marginal.  Some people who are homeless are offered bread or a lottery ticket.  Most of them choose the lottery ticket.  In the end over 400 desperate people, many heavily in debt are recruited.  Also we are shown also that the soldiers are recruited.

The games themselves have important differences.  After each game the survivors get to vote and if the majority want to stop playing then they all get to divide the pot.  Even though after the first game it is amount greater than their individual debts the majority votes to go after the increasing pot.  The organizers label the vote into x and o teams thereby dividing them into greedy hopefuls and cautious fearfuls.    Human nature being what it is, the most desperate vote to continue.  This of course sets up rival strategies with one tribe wanting to increase the pot at the expense of those who wanted to take the safe route.

There are many individual stories to explain the desperate situations that induced many volunteers.  Fraud and exploitation were common factors.  

Organs are harvested (for sale).   Apparently some parts are only usable if a person is still alive, but one overzealous soldier prefers to shoot again.  In the first series it seemed that one very wealthy man felt his life was too boring and he set up the games as entertainment.

The ending is ambiguous and plans are already in motion for a third season.

To generate such massive global interest requires a lot of talent.  Here are some of the talented people. 

The key person who created and developed the idea is Hwang Dong-hyuk who wrote the script and directed it.  After Korean graduation he wrote and directed some shorts.  After that he came to Los Angeles and earned a Master of Fine Arts at University of Southern California.  Back to Korea he experienced heavy debt and admitted that he felt desperation and considered survival games to escape disaster, sparking an idea.  He did successfully write and directed  films.  He has 9 writing credits, 7 directing credits and 2 for producing.  One was for "Silenced" (2011) which was based on a legal case for abuse for deaf students and corruption.  After serious concerns it was released, helped bring about re-opening the case and to change the law. Another film was "Miss Granny" {2004) that was humorous and was copied in other languages.  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/09/comparing-two-grannies.html.  

Jung Jae-il was responsible for the music.  He has 6 credits for composing, 10 for the music department and 2 for soundtrack including "Okja" (2017) and "Parasite" (2019).  see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/09/parasite-breaks-oscar-tradition.html

Lee Jung-jae played Seong Gi-Hun, the previous winner of the first game.  He won a Prime Time Emmy for his previous role in Squid Game, Season 1.  On another occasion he had to learn English for an American movie, "The Acolyte" (2024).  He owns a chain of high end Italian restaurants named after one of his movies, "Il Mare" (2000).  With 45 acting credits he has appeared in "The Thieves" (2012), "The Housemaid" (2013), "Assassination" (2015) and "Along with the Gods:  The Two Worlds" (2017).

 Lee Byung-hun plays the front man in both series.  Graduated from university with a degree in French literature.  He has appeared in a few American films and has even been a presenter for the Oscars.  He has 54 acting credits including "Joint Security Area" (2000), "The Good the bad the weird" (2008), "Masquerade" (2012), "The Magnificent Seven" (2018) and "Our Blues" (2022).   see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/07/korean-mini-series-to-watch.html  covering "Our Blues" and several other Korean films.

Wi Ha-joon played Hwang Ha-Joon, the policeman trying to stoop the Squid Game. He has 22 acting credits including "Little Women" (2022).   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/06/little-women-korean-version.html

Park Sung-hoon played a transgender prisoner ex military, Hyun-Ju.  There had been criticism they should have gotten a real transgender, but it was realized this was too touchy in Korea.  Sung-hoon had done a number of thetarical plays and has 29 film acting credits including "The Glory" (2022-23) and "Queen of Tears" (2024).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/05/queen-of-tears.html

Kang Ae-shim played Geum-ja, the elderly prison mother of another prisoner.  she has 23 acting credits including "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" (2022) and "Divorce Attorney Shin" (2023).   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/08/extraordinary-attorney-woo.html

Jun Suk-ho played Woo seok, part of the team pursuing the location of the Squid Games.  He has 31 acting roles including "Hyena" (2020) and "Love Next Door" (2024). See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/10/love-next-door.html

Park Gyuyoung played No-eul, one of the killer soldiers.  She has 20 acting credits including It's Okay not to be Okay" (2020).   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/03/its-okay-not-to-be-okay.html

Gong Yoo played a recruiter.  He has 27 acting credits including "Silenced" (2011), "The Suspect" (2013)"Train to Busan" (2018), "The Age of Shadows" (2018) and "The Trunk" (2024).

"Squid Game, Season  1 and 2 are available subtitled or dubbed on Netflix.  A third season is scheduled for sometime later in 2025..

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.  They are not necessarily a recommendation, but generally I found them worthy of my time.  If you follow the links you should be better able to determine if a particular film is worth following up.

Korean Mini Series Capture more Attention

Interest in Korean tv series is increasing.  Netflix must find them rewarding as they keep offering more and more.  There is quite a variety.  Here are some I have watched in the last months.

 "Our Blues" (2022) A series of relationships on Jeju Island, which had been presented to me as a sort of honeymoon destination, but here is a fishing enterprise.   Based on co-workers in fishing boat and fish mart.  There are 14 or so characters who appear in most episodes.  Two single fathers (who don't like each other)whose young children become pregnant.  Old resentments and disappointments  misunderstandings.  A woman been through several relationships with a Down syndrome sister who she keeps secret and then abandons relationships when it might be revealed.  There is a jarring relationship between a mother and her son.  In the end most of the conflicts have been resolved.  As with many Korean dramas the action is slow and complicated.  This one was very satisfying.  Among the cast were at least two that have made an impression on the American market:  Lee Jeong-eun appeared in "Okja" 2017) and the Oscar winner "Parasite" (2019).    Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/09/parasite-breaks-oscar-tradition.html   And Lee Byung-hun who appeared on "The Squid Game, " very popular series on Netflix.   Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/10/squid-game.html

Some other series of interest seen during 2022.

"Misaeng" (2014) was recommended to see an early quality series.  About  a business internship with a group of young people and their adventures.  The main protagonist was relatively disadvantaged, but eventually wins acceptance by his humble persistence.  The character playing a mentor role, Lee Sung-min shows up in a more current  "Juvenile Justice" (see below).  Part of film was filmed in Jordan.

 

 

 

"Thirty-Nine" (2022) gets its title from the age of three close female friends.  They are all single and in different kinds of romantic relationships--one with a married man, another with a business partner and one with a younger man.  The romances proceed predictably, but one of the women learns she has a fatal disease and that disrupts the relationships.  One attraction for me was Son Ye-jin who was the female lead for a very popular series, "Crash Landing on You" (2019).  She is now married to her co-star from that series, Hyun Bin.  Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/02/crash-landing-on-you-very-addicting.html

 

"Twenty Five Twenty One" (2022)  is a sweet story involving maturity, friendship, failure,  A young woman has a dream of being a top fencer.  The older man (4 years) is the son of a bankrupt .  We follow her fencing career and his media career.  There are a few satisfying romances, but not everything works out the way your might predict.  

My Liberation Diary (2022)  When told how difficult a task would be one character says "I beat the odds (100 million to one) when I was conceived."  Three siblings, all somewhat introverted and all of them long distance commuters.  A stranger enters to work for the father of the three siblings.  He is not talkative, drinks to excess after work, but is a very good worker.  His background does play a role, but there are other elements.   The dialogue and a strange plot keep the viewer engaged, but it is a slow moving story.

 

 

 Some other series that had been blogged about earlier this year.  

My Holo Love   science fiction/romance  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/02/my-holo-love-mixes-science-fiction-and.html

Science fiction appeals to those of us who like to fantasize about inventions, but it can also be a tool to better understand human behavior.  People represented as holograms with artificial intelligence (plus emotional feelings) is exciting and forces humans to look at ourselves.

My own experience regarding science fiction went through stages and I now appreciate that it can be a very useful tool.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2011/09/conversion-can-sneak-up-on-you-too.html
 

 My "Juvenile Justice" thoughts at:     http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/03/juvenile-justice.html 

Courtroom dramas are popular, but juvenile cases are rare.  This series takes a look at how juveniles get involved.   Some of those in the justice system become hardened and others look for excuses.  The public is resentful that violent juveniles can get away literally with murder.   Topics include test cheating, bullying, prostitution, blackmail, and of course murder.  Kim Hye-su, a veteran actress plays the main tough judge who also provided one of my favorite laughs, "Hyena" (2020).

I have overlooked the category of action, but Koreans are pretty impressive when it comes to tension and violence.

Just started watching on a weekly basis.  (2022) "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" (2022) that has caused me to do something I have never done before.  I have never rated an episode of any series, but was so overwhelmed by the third episode that I felt compelled to give the episode a 10.  One of the best I have seen.  Autism is being a subject for more films as we better understand (still a long way to go) and the Asperger is drawing attention.  Hans Asperger was an Austrian doctor who got involved with Nazis, probably for practical reasons and diagnosed the condition we identify as Asperger's syndrome. Amusing in many parts as autistics lend themselves to be laughed at, but also shows what it is like to live on the other side of the derision.  Her father and her fellow lawyers make adjustments as they are forced to deal with an autistic.  Eun-bin Park plays the autistic lawyer, making her a realistic human.  Last year I watched her as the lead in "The King's Affection" (2021) where she portrayed a woman masquerading as a man who was the king having to hide her emotions in an historical drama.

One of the best explanations of how autistic people fit in the world comes from an autistic comedian--yes you read it correctly:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/04/funny-you-dont-look-autistic.html