The highly anticipated release of season two, of one of the most-watched shows ever, premiered on December 26th, 2024, and it was a massive success. Many thought highly acclaimed director Hwang Dong-hyuk was done with the series after the first season. However, in an interview with BBC News, before the season dropped, he told them the real reason he created another season was “money.” This put a sour taste in many Squid Games fans’ mouths as many believed the second season would be a quick cash grab and not have much thought, time, or energy put into it. Not only have fans expressed discontent with the motives of the season but they also argue that the plot of the film was too similar to the first and was able to be predicted before even watching the show. Ben Gong 26‘ expressed his opinions on the new season by saying, “ Season 2 was interesting but then kind of started to repeat the same storyline as season 1.” Little did they know that the second season would be arguably better than the first season in many people’s eyes. It broke records in its first week with the most views for a show in its premiere week, ranking #1 in 92 countries, while also making it into the Most Popular List in record time. The second season had fantastic acting performances from the popular South Korean actors Lee Jung-Jae, player 456, and Lee Byung-hun, the frontman, along with spectacular performances and new fan favorites Goo Yaang, the recruiter, and Choi Seung-Hyun or T.O.P., known as Thanos or player 230. T.O.P’s “zero to hero” story caught the attention of many people on social media as numerous creators researched T.O.P’s background. As people learned of how he was incarcerated for drug charges and was recently released from prison but shunned from performing in any popular groups they took a deeper dive into how he got this role. As it turns out, the director of Squid Games 2 realized that T.O.P deserved a second chance in the performing industry so he created the role of Thanos a rambunctious character with his iconic snarky lines in English and iconic purple hair. The show thrived and is still currently thriving even a month later, being listed as #4 on Netflix’s top shows as the season plans to release the third and final installment later this year after the cliffhanger plagued many to season two which only makes fans wonder more and create more theories about season three. As Brady Paquette in the class of 2025 says “I thought it was worse than season 1 however the cliffhanger at the end makes you eager for season 3.” Overall fans of the first season have gathered around for one of the most anticipated TV seasons in the last decade. The season whether or not a critically acclaimed masterpiece or just an influential social icon deserves a watch.