Squid Game: The Challenge has upped the ante in season 2 and is all the better for it

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*WARNING: Contains spoilers for Squid Game: The Challenge season 2 episodes 1-4*

If you’re usually skeptical of TV spin-offs – like many people, including myself – you probably approached Squid Game: The Challenge with some reservations.

The series was a big success when it first came out on Netflix almost two years ago – it even won a BAFTA and racked up 1.42 billion minutes of watch time in the US. However, despite all that, I still felt like something was lacking.

It included all the games you’d recognize from the show, plus a few extras, but honestly, I was a little underwhelmed. I kept wondering if that was it.

Putting aside the fact that, legally, nobody actually dies on the show, it felt remarkably similar to what I expected. So, I wasn’t optimistic about season 2, but I was quickly surprised – in a good way.

Right from the start of season two, things get intense! It’s all about putting the players’ character to the test, which happens a lot throughout the season. They immediately divide the 456 contestants into two groups, and it gets really interesting because twin brothers, Raul and Jacob, end up leading each group – and they’re kept completely separate in different rooms.

From my perspective, each room has this podium with a button, and our team leader has to hit it when we think 456 seconds have gone by. Honestly, it’s incredibly stressful because you quickly find out that over 200 players are eliminated, and things get even worse when the brothers get separated. That’s when the prize money really starts to climb – it’s insane!

Many shows, especially those from Studio Lambert, are great at building suspense. It’s a testament to this series that, despite having lots of unexpected plot twists, it still kept me engaged and didn’t feel exhausting.

Once you confirm the brothers are unharmed, even though their team lost, you quickly understand the producer has many more surprises in store. This means nobody, not even the contestants, knows what will happen next.

Just like the last season of The Traitors, viewers and contestants might feel like they can predict what will happen next, but the show constantly surprises you. Unexpected twists, like the hidden room in Squid Game: The Challenge and secret assignments for players, make each episode more exciting than the last.

With so many shows trying to create buzz and stay relevant after they’ve finished, Squid Game: The Challenge really succeeds. It perfectly captures that attention-grabbing quality.

The new game, Catch, is arguably the most stressful part of the first four episodes. Although the game itself is just a simple game of catch, the fact that two players could be eliminated, combined with player 098’s constant talking, immediately creates a lot of tension.

However, nothing could have predicted the chaos when Viper became the central player and faced off against someone who refused to compete. In the end, both Viper and player 390 were eliminated, and because Viper was chosen to play for him, Jonti was also removed from the game.

Viper expressed his disappointment after being eliminated, saying his hopes were crushed. It quickly became apparent just how much winning the prize money meant to him – and to all the players.

Series director Diccon Ramsay described the game as a dramatic event, bringing all the players together in one location.

This game beautifully uses its gameplay to tell a story, rather than relying solely on impressive visuals.

As a movie and game fan, one thing really stood out to me: alliances are everything. Even when games seem simpler, more lighthearted, it doesn’t make them any less intense. In fact, it just makes you crave that next challenge, that next connection with your team even more!

As a big fan of competition shows, what really grabbed me about Squid Game: The Challenge is that it’s not just about luck. It’s not enough to simply get lucky – contestants actually have to play to win, and that makes it way more compelling to watch.

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2025-11-04 23:38