Survival and Morality: Squid Game’s Ongoing Social Commentary

Introduction:

Squid Game, Netflix’s award-winning and most-watched show of all time, is back with another season. The stakes are pretty much the same as season 1–you win or you die. But this time around, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-Jae), the previous game's winner, returns with an ambitious goal of terminating the savage game tradition for good. While Squid Game seems entirely dystopian and fictitious, many connections between the characters and the games with real life and society can be drawn.

Bread and Lottery:

In Episode 1, the recruiter (Gong-Yoo) offers a group of homeless people a ticket or bread at a park. This “game” is not technically part of the recruiter’s job but a hobby he does in his free time. Everyone chooses to go for the lottery ticket instead of the bread. After making rounds, the recruiter goes to the park's center and barbarically stomps on the bread in front of all the homeless people. There’s obviously no correct choice between the ticket or the bread. People had to choose whether they wanted the slim opportunity to win the lottery or temporarily satisfy their hunger; the bread symbolizes practicality and playing by the rules of society, while the ticket indicates taking a leap of faith. Ultimately, the decision between the ticket and the bread does not matter because the game or system has already failed them. The decision between the bread or the lottery comments on the devastating realities of being in poverty. Moreover, the scene highlights the societal struggle between fulfilling basic needs and the dream of sudden wealth.

Six-Legged Race:

The Six-Legged Pentathlon was the second game in season 2. It consists of five children’s games: Ddakji, Biseokchigi, Gonggi, Paengi Chigi, and Jegi. Each team must complete the games within a five-minute time limit, or else the whole group will be eliminated. Since this game was a group effort, it offered a rare moment of hope and unity among the players. People on the sidelines cheered on the teams as they completed each game, and groups worked together to finish the finish line on time. However, the solidarity among the team members quickly turned into cutthroat competition following the game, and the players continued to take advantage of every opportunity to sabotage others and protect themselves. The Six-Legged Pentathlon shows the harsh and exploitative reality of the game. In the games, people need to be calculative and selfish to survive and these characteristics manifest in the relationships and group dynamics of the game. The players turned their backs on others who were once their team members in a heartbeat. The game explores the selfish nature of people in real life and the moral grey area. Players were faced with difficult choices that tested their values and principles. In the end, the players regularly choose to benefit or save themselves at the cost of other people.

Mingle:

The third game of the season was Mingle, where players had to group up and enter rooms following a predetermined number. Players who fail to make it into the rooms in time or if a room does not have the correct number of people, they will be eliminated. This game is favored among the Squid Game fanbase because it embodies many of the themes that season 1 explored, such as power dynamics and human psychology. Throughout the rounds of Mingle, people scrambled to form groups and enter rooms in time. In desperation, Min-Su (Lee Da-Wit) betrays Se-Mi (Won Ji-An) by choosing scissors so he can run to safety with Thanos (T.O.P) and Nam-Gyu (Roh Jae-Won.) Additionally, Geum-Ja (Kim Young-Ok) and Yong-Sik (Yang Dong-Geun), a mother-and-son duo, are separated after a group of men drags Yong-Sik away from Geum-Ja. Min-Su’s betrayal and the separation between the mother and son further emphasize the lengths people are willing to go to in order to survive. Min-Su is probably one of the most hated characters in Squid Game because of his betrayal. While his betrayal was definitely cruel, his reaction is very realistic; the average person would have likely done the same thing to survive.

Closing:

Season 2 of Squid Game masterfully continues to explore the complex interplay of human nature, survival, and morality within a brutal system that mirrors our real-world struggles. Each new game offers compelling social commentary on themes of poverty, ambition, self-preservation, and betrayal. Whether it’s the desperate pursuit of a better future or the harsh reality of competition, Squid Game remains a chilling yet thought-provoking examination of society’s most pressing dilemmas. The show’s gripping storytelling and rich symbolism extend far beyond the screen and pose the question of the true cost of survival in a world driven by inequality and competition to the viewers.