REVIEW: ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ Season 2 Struggles To Deliver Any Impact

Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 sees a new batch of 456 contestants enter a competition where the winner walks away with $ 4.56 million. But the games aren’t the only peril to face, as the game’s design forces players to turn on each other to amp up the social maneuvering. 

If there is one thing that drives reality show competitions, it is drama. Tearful goodbyes and shocking betrayals are often the biggest elements that draw viewers in as they try to guess who will be the last one standing. But for such moments to land, they have to feel earned. And to at least some extent, they have to feel real.

Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 almost completely forgets that it is supposed to be a reality show. Many moments are blatantly scripted, as contestants make decisions that feel implausible at best and ludicrous at worst. Every major moment in the show feels completely planned, leaving little doubt about how real the series is. 

Obvious scripting in Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 removes any sense of reality or fun.

Not only does the drama feel frequently scripted, but it tries so hard, so often, that it becomes eye-rolling. Every time anyone is eliminated, everyone around is instantly heartbroken. The tears flow so heavily, the biggest shock in the series is that no one collapses from dehydration. It quickly becomes obnoxious. 

It also leaves the contestants looking dumb. It’s clearly stated that only one person can win the prize, so why is everyone sobbing every time their odds get better? Did they come here to not win?

Sure, if occasionally in the later stages of the game a staunch ally fell by the wayside, a few tears would feel real and dramatic. However, the pervasive sorrow the show heaps upon the audience is unbelievable. Sadly, all of these problems are most prevalent in the final episode of Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2. Possibly the weakest entry in the season, the finale stumbles to the finish as it tries desperately to be memorable. 

The emotional impact is lessened when everyone reacts at a 10 with each elimination.

While the drama of the games in Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 is often ham-fisted and weak, some of the challenges are cleverly constructed. Old games, new ones, and old games with twists come out, giving the style of competition a fresh, varied feel. One social deduction challenge stands out above the rest, thanks to clever camera work that helps keep the audience as in the dark as the contestants. 

This particular game showcases just how good Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 could’ve been, and how it should’ve striven to create drama. Rather than fabricating unnecessarily elaborate moments, use production and sleight of hand to keep the audience engaged and wondering. Give them a reason to invest in an outcome, rather than try to convince them it mattered by showing people who barely know each other bawl over an elimination.

Despite many of them crying way too much, the overall mix of personalities creates a strong cast when they interact. A good blend of helpful, assertive, and uncertain personalities brings some solid dynamics. Clever players shine at times as the games push contenders to single out others for possible, or sometimes certain, elimination. 

Still, the cast’s personalities make up for some, but not all, of the negatives here.

These strong moments are held back by the fact that there are so many people. The series is so scattered among the numerous constants that few ever truly feel familiar. Since it’s necessary to even highlight those who will be leaving to keep the uncertainty intact, no one ever gets to truly shine. 

Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 tries to make up for this lack of time spent with its cast through frequent interview moments. These scenes lay out the players’ backgrounds and motivations, yet never allow the audience to know who the players are. It is often said that in storytelling, show, not tell, is the best way to provide information to an audience. Never has that been clearer than here.

Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 fails more often than it succeeds. Despite some strong challenge designs and solid personality interplay, overly dramatic and often blatantly scripted moments run roughshod over what good this production manages to piece together. Leaving little to make people excited about the promise of another season that comes with the final credits roll.

Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 is streaming on Netflix.