Squid Game: An Honest Review

Andrew Boob

If you have been on social media recently, you have definitely heard of the most recent Netflix hit: Squid Game. Squid game was released on September 17 of this year solely on Netflix. The show is currently the most-watched worldwide and currently is on track to become the most-watched show ever on Netflix.

Squid Game is an action thriller that is based on South Korean children’s games. In the show, competitors are each contacted by an agent of the organization that runs the “Squid Game.” This agent challenges the possible player to a game of ddakji. For each time the possible player wins, they are rewarded with cash. Each possible play has suffered misfortune in his/her life and is in desperate need of money. After playing the game, the agent entices the possible player with more money ($38 million dollars). All the possible players must do is play a few games. If the possible player agrees to play, they are taken to an island where they compete in children’s games where the stakes are life and death.

The show explores the complex nature of humans through the strategies adopted by the players in which they attempt to survive. Violence, deception, and self-preservation are concepts that are extensively explored in the show. Squid game not only questions the morality of the players but also presents the question of whether or not the organization that created the games are righteous in the fact that the game is providing the players with a chance to gain wealth in a pure instance of “survival of the fittest.” The show brings some complex issues derived from the human psyche.

Personally, I believe that the games brought out the best and worst in the players and sparked a necessary change in their behavior that brought them back to the reality of the world. However, the barbaric and unforgiving nature of the games was a bit excessive. I would rate the show a 5/5.