Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91% Critic, 85% Audience
Overview: A deadly competition for a massive prize incentivized broke citizen to do anything, risking their lives and their morals to break the cycle of poverty they’ve been caught in. A gripping and intense mix of danger, drama, and genuine heartfelt storylines.
Best element: The best part of this series is undoubtedly the unexpected twists. From the first episode when the contestants find out that elimination from the game means death, and that it is elimination of other players that adds money to the jackpot for the winner or winners. The timing of these twists, placed among emotionally poignant scenes and littered with callbacks to earlier moments from the series make it so clear that there was a smart writing team behind this series, who knew how and when to raise the stakes.
Short falls: The one thing I hate about shows like this is that you know who the winner will be at the first episode. And the cycle is never broken. Despite all the character development we see for each other player, or every bad choice the protagonist makes, Seong Gi-Hun, will be the winner at the end of the season. The commentary on the choices we make to achieve our goals and who might be able to survive a game like this, but it takes something away when the danger feels fake for the character in question. The moment he is saved in Red Light Green Light, it was clear the game was his. Beyond that, I found very I disliked about the series.
Recommendations/ Similar works: For those who enjoyed Squid Game, the obvious recommendation would be the Hunger Games movies, same high stakes competitions with live or death stakes and massive rewards to the victor. I am also compelled to think that viewers might enjoy the Escape Room movies for the escalation and stakes.
Megan’s Musings 