Squid Game 2 twists one of the biggest twists of the first season

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Summary

  • Season 2 of Squid Game focuses on character development and uses twists early on to build tension.

  • The big twist of the first season reveals a character's true nature and leaves viewers wondering.

  • Dramatic irony is used in Season 2 to convey important information to viewers while keeping the characters guessing.

Squid game went into the second season with sky-high expectations. The first season was a resounding success due to its mix of dark humor, sharp commentary and surprisingly brutal violence. With all the hype, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk had a seemingly impossible task with his return: give audiences all the elements that made the first season such a sensation without falling into repetition.

The answer seemed to lie in splitting the difference. Season two of Squid game brings the brightly colored brutality while telling a story that focuses less on the games and more on the characters trying to survive them. And instead of ending the season with a big twist like the first season, Hwang instead turns the element of surprise on its head and gives the audience information that the characters are missing. Essentially, Hwang reverses one of the biggest twists of the first season.

Spoilers ahead for Squid game Seasons one and two.

The big twist of the first season

Oh Il-nam (O Yeong-su) on his deathbed in Season 1 of Squid Game
Netflix

In the last episode of Squid game In the first season, the protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) receives an invitation to a seemingly empty office complex a year after he became the last survivor to win the grand prize. There he finds Oh Il-nam (O Yeong-su), the kind old man he befriended during the games and who he believes was killed. As it turns out, Il-nam wasn't just any candidate – he was the man behind the whole thing. On his deathbed, Il-nam tells Gi-hun that he invented the games to entertain bored, wealthy elites like himself, and that he participated in them primarily out of youthful nostalgia.

Squid game director Hwang Dong-hyuk

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The two play another game with a view of the snowy streets of Seoul. Il-nam bets that no one will stop to help a homeless man lying on the street below before the clock strikes midnight. A helpful citizen proves him wrong, but Il-nam dies moments later and it is unclear whether or not he knew the truth before his death.

This was a pretty huge twist at the end of the first season, toying with the audience by revealing the true nature of a character they cared about and sympathized with. It also presented viewers with an uncertain starting point for the games to come. If the creator could join in undetected, who knows what other tricks the games might have up their sleeves?

How the second season reverses the twist of the first season

The frontman and the guards in Squid Game
Netflix

In the second season, this question is answered for the audience, but not for the characters. After Gi-hun's attempt to end the Games by capturing the frontman fails, he makes a final decision to rejoin the Games in order to destroy them from within. First of all, there is no reason to believe that anyone from the Games will try to stop him. That is, until the end of the third episode, “001.”

After the first game has cost almost a hundred lives, the players vote on whether they want to continue playing or not. In reverse order, the last contestant to vote is contestant 001, who casts the deciding vote to continue the games. The camera zooms in on his back until he turns around and reveals that he is none other than the frontman himself, Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun). Gi-hun has never seen him without a mask and doesn't recognize him. In-ho manages to gain Gi-hun's trust and friendship, even siding with him to try to end the games in later votes.

For the rest of the series, Hwang is able to steadily increase the dramatic irony by giving the audience crucial information that the characters do not. Instead of revealing the existence of a mole player with a twist at the end of the season, the second season reveals it to the audience early on, while the characters are completely unaware of it. This creates even more tension in the story. The viewer is forced to constantly question In-ho's motives and speculate about what he might be trying to do to manipulate Gi-hun and prevent his attempt to derail the games.

This is not to say that one narrative is better than the other; Rather, the two simply have different effects on the entire season. By leaving the reveal of Il-nam's identity until the end, the season 1 finale makes the viewer question every previous interaction with the character, and perhaps even take another look to see if there are any clues they missed along the way has. At the beginning of the second season, In-ho's disclosure creates a more immediate effect for the audience, but not the characters, as the viewer can see the manipulation in real time.

Dramatic irony is one of the oldest tools in the playbook, dating back to the time of Greek tragedies Oedipus Rex and beyond. It's also a smart decision on Hwang's part, a smart one Squid game The second season is a unique but complementary experience to the first season. The season ends on quite a cliffhanger and viewers will have a lot to think about before returning to the games for the final time in season three.

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