The second season of Netflix’s hit series “Squid Game” (2021-) has been receiving lukewarm reviews from foreign media outlets since its release on Thursday, falling short of the acclaim garnered by its first season.

Media outlets, including The New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter, seemed to agree that the new season fell short of the originality and sharp insights showcased in the first, criticizing it for rehashing what came before.


“You will hear things you essentially heard in season one. You will see things you saw in season one,” The New York Times said in its review.

It also pointed to the second season delivering “more stylized carnage,” but said the story “stalls.”

“This season of ‘Squid Game’ hints at larger-scale ambitions but does little to pursue them,” it said.

It also mentioned the repeated slaughter scenes, saying, “But if the series is just a vehicle for more of the same high-design carnage, are we, collectively, just a bargain-basement version of the V.I.P.s?”

The Hollywood Reporter's review said on Thursday that the show was losing its edge, warning viewers to “brace for less impact.”

The outlet dished out critical opinions of the second season, calling it “a thorough letdown.”

“It will be interesting to see whether the most disappointed viewers are those craving only a clever reproduction of what the first season did so well or those demanding additional depth in the series’ mythology and world-building,” it said.

“Because somehow, over seven episodes, the second season of ‘Squid Game’ manages to do neither. It’s lacking in the fun and whimsy that kept the first season from wallowing in its backdrop of misery, and entirely lacking in new details or insights on the nature of the game.”

The review slammed the series for simply serving as a buildup for the upcoming third season, slated for 2025.

British outlet The Guardian also gave a similar opinion, saying, “It spends far too many episodes dragging its heels extremely painfully. Series three must do better.”

It commented on the characters as well, especially Thanos, a retired rapper played by Choi Seung-hyun. Choi is also known as a former Big Bang member, T.O.P.

“In other cases, it makes the villains cartoonishly awful,” the outlet said. “A rapper named Thanos is one of the most irritating characters to appear on TV in recent times.”

Time magazine said the sharp insight displayed in the previous season has lost its way in its latest, diluting the first season's original message.

“The populist point of the original ‘Squid Game’ was that we should resist the commodified and aestheticized violence inherent in a system that enriches a wealthy few, while forcing the poor to fight each other for scraps,” it said. “If anything, the bankability of ‘Squid Game’ the brand — a category in which I’d include 'Squid Game 2' — illustrates how thoroughly we’ve failed to absorb that lesson.”

“What ‘Squid Game’ does has drowned out what ‘Squid Game’ says.”

However, some positive reviews were seen from foreign press outlets, like Variety.

In its review, Variety called the new season "disturbing, ultraviolent and offering new insights." The media outlet said, "‘Squid Game’ Season 2 is a worthy follow-up expanding on the ominous themes of its predecessor."

“Boasting several mind-blowing twists, these seven episodes advance the story to what will undoubtedly be an electric conclusion when season three debuts in 2025,” it added.

The new season consists of seven episodes and was directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The story follows Seong Gi-hun, the sole winner of the last contest, seeking to put an end to the bloody and deadly prize competition.

The series returns with familiar faces like actor Lee Jung-jae, portraying Gi-hun, Lee Byung-hun as the Front Man, and Wi Ha-jun as detective Hwang Jun-ho. New cast members are also featured in the series, including Yim Si-wan, Jo Yu-ri from project group IZ*ONE, Choi, Park Gyu-young, Park Sung-hoon and Kang Ha-neul.

The second season has received an 85 percent fresh rating from critics and a 64 percent rating from general audiences on Rotten Tomatoes as of Friday at 2 p.m. The previous season received 95 percent from critics and 84 percent from general audiences.


BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]