Gi-hun comeback: Who else will return to ‘Squid Game’ in season 2?
Survival dramas are fun to watch till we realize their resemblance with our own reality. According to director Hwang Dong-hyuk, Squid Game season two will be released by the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024. Sounds like a substantially large wait time, yet, considering each month comes with new seasons & releases to binge-watch, the wait is lightened.
Although there are other dystopian T.V. shows to watch on Netflix like Black Mirror, not all series are as controversial as Squid Game. But why was everyone so obsessed & shocked with this story? Here’s a small refresher of the storyline. Hundreds of people with economic issues accept a rare invitation to compete in children’s games. Inside awaits an irresistible prize, yet, the risk is deadly.
If you liked Squid Game, you can kill time waiting for season two with movies like The Hunger Games (2012) directed by Gary Ross or El Hoyo (2019) directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia. Reading Orwellian dystopia can be either entertaining or traumatic but it shares the same vibe. Meanwhile, here’s all you need to know about this gripping show and its next season, including Gi-hun’s comeback.
Squid Game symbolism
The series goes around a contest where 456 players, all of them going through a hard financial scenario, risk their lives to play a series of games that promise a big prize. All contests are inspired by real children’s games, which makes the show even creepier, in fact, the title emulates a similarly named Korean children’s game. Starting with the title, Squid Game announces several shocking symbolisms.
The truth is the current system drives anyone crazy, surviving economically is grueling and scaling is almost impossible. Certainly, some countries experience class differences more than others, but it’s definitely a universal struggle we all go through eventually.
The fact that this enormous amount of people put their lives at risk, goes further than the big prize, but the level of desperation workers go through. Suddenly it looks like there’s no way out as expenses augment and there are bills people can’t do without. Also, general labor conditions tend to be inhuman, and unfortunately, they usually don’t pay as they should, leading workers into a never-ending burnout.
Sadly, this is the reason why the show is so successful, due to its relatability with the general economic world scenario. In fact, the director conceived the idea of this story based on the economic struggles he went through during his early life, as well as the class disparity in South Korea.
Who’s coming back to Squid Game season 2?
After knowing one of our favorite shows is returning with another season, the next question is: Which of our beloved characters are coming back? Squid Game season one’s cast included Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon, Jung Hoyeon, O Yeong-su, Heo Sung-tae, Anupam Tripathi, and Kim Joo-young. However, Gi-hun’s character is definitely the fans’ favorite.
Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) is depicted as a compassionate man who displays striking notions of kindness & ethics but still makes huge mistakes during the show. This is also what makes him a relatable character to the audience. A big mistake mainstream content has done for centuries is depicting humans as “good” or “bad” archetypes, establishing life can only hold villains or heroes.
For all these reasons, having Gi-hun back in the show is a must. Director Hwang explicitly mentioned through a post on Twitter that Gi-hun is returning in Squid Game season two. Anyhow, this comeback will definitely generate an impact on the audience, as they loved his first season performance, it’ll be exciting to see what’s coming for this character next.
If you haven’t finished the first season of the show, then stop reading here before you get all the spoilers. So far, all we know is that Gi-hun won the game, getting the prize which is the equivalent to $ 35 million. Nevertheless, before enjoying the prize, he passes through some days thinking about the atrocities that he went through on the hidden island.
Gi-hun is an exciting character who was able to escape poverty, but now he’s having a moral confrontation with himself to live peacefully. We think season two might spin around all the emotional & ethical complexity of economic survival, which is a reality in this post-capitalist world.
