Round 6 (2021)

Amazing show,not just for its story but also it’s popularity…

I didn’t know what to expect when I first started to watch this show,I had ideas in my head of how it could be a Korean version of Alice in borderland(which I love of course-peep the name of my profile) so I was really looking forward to it and some ways it is similar to Alice in borderland but also very different.

Story-
I loved the concept of the show the whole show has a underlying theme on just how far your would go to save yourself and gain wealth,for the players that participate it test there characters and who they are as people,my favorite episode has to be gganbu, reminds a lot of the episode in Alice in borderland where arisu and his friends have to play the big bad wolf game against eachother,it brought out a lot of frustration and almost tears at one point.

Characters- let me just say hoyeon jong (kang sae byeok) was by far and away the best character for me,first moment I noticed her in the train station when she gets bumped into even know you can’t see her face fully,I was more intruiged by her having seen half of her face for the rest of episode,to say that this show was first time she was properly acting is unbelievable,she killed it,and she’s honestly one of the best looking Korean actresses I’ve ever seen, Ali and ji yeong get a special mention too I really enjoyed them in the show because they were to honest decent people.

Negatives-not many things popped out for me but I obviously wanted sae byeok to win so I was pissed off when they decided to blow up all that glass and injure her for no good reason really and then 218 kills her.

Overall/ wether you think this is overhyped nonsense or the best thing to come on Netflix in years this show is now on track to being Netflix’s most popular show EVER,that’s crazy because this show is a kdrama,this show will therefore open the door for so many big shows for korean actresses and actors, I will create so much exposure to the world that korean shows are in fact every bit as good if not better than the likes of stranger things and money heist, Vincenzo and itaewon class just to name the big ones,

My point is this show will be a game changer for the korean industry, I absolutely loved it.

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Roteiro nada original e sem surpresas

Uma série coreana chegando no topo do Netflix é uma raridade, então muitos estão assistindo Squid Game mais por curiosidade do que pelo interesse em si. Como eu acho que cada um precisa tirar suas próprias conclusões vou listar alguns pontos que podem ajudá-lo a decidir se essa série é para você ou não.

Produção/ fotografia: logo de início dá para perceber que o alto investimento financeiro da série valeu a pena em termos de produção, os cenários, o figurino e a fotografia são impecáveis, na minha opinião o ponto alto da série.

Storyline: não é nada original, já vimos essa receita de um monte de gente presa em um lugar, onde são obrigados a competir em jogos mortais, não é mesmo? A trama é previsível, não tem plot twists e para aqueles que gostam, e estão acostumados a assistir séries de suspense, dá para desvendar quase tudo na metade da série e assistir só para confirmar.

Personagens: a série não tem nenhum personagem cativante o suficiente para fazer com que o espectador sofra e se compadeça de seus problemas (e sua morte). A construção de personagens é importante para manter o interesse, para despertar sentimentos, para torcer por ele ou contra ele.

Trilha sonora: nos primeiros episódios é interessante como eles colocam alguns clássicos, porém não há uma trilha sonora que embale a série e ajude a construir aquela sensação de antecipação, tipo um hino como em psicose.

Minha opinião: essa é uma série para puro entretenimento, com um ritmo mais americano, onde você assiste para passar o tempo, mas ela não agrega nada e não desperta fortes emoções. Eu gosto muito de séries de ação e suspense, então essa parte deixou bastante a desejar, confesso que quase dormi nos 2 primeiros episódios e esperava que meu coração acelerasse mais nos jogos, mas a previsibilidade me deixou quase que sem expressão. Como eu sou uma dorameira me senti na obrigação de assistir, mas acredito que nesse ano fomos abençoados com thrillers maravilhosos que merecem muito mais reconhecimento do que Squid Game (assistam Taxi Driver, Beyond Evil e Mouse). Agora se você gosta desse tipo de temática e só está buscando uma série para passar o tempo, pode ser que adore esse drama. Cada pessoa tem uma preferência.

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Interessante, intrigante mas só no começo.

História:
O início conta bem a situação do nosso protagonista, que está num mar de dívidas, é sustentado pela mãe e não não consegue ser um bom pai para a própria filha (ele tenta seu máximo, mas ele vê que a falta de dinheiro é o problema), até que um dia, um ser estranho na estação de metrô, o chama pra jogar um jogo, lhe oferecendo dinheiro caso ele o vença. Ele consegue depois de algumas tentativas (e alguns tapas kkk) e se anima com a ideia de ganhar dinheiro jogando. Ele recebeu logo após o jogo, um cartão de visita daquele homem misterioso e, animado, decide entrar em contato. E bem, é aí que começa a bagaceira...

Elenco:
Muitos dos atores eu não conhecia, mas todos foram excepcionais, sem exceção! Amei cada um do começo ao fim, entregaram um ótimo trabalho!

Meu ponto de vista:
A história é sim muito boa, mas infelizmente o contexto e os motivos para as coisas "terminarem" daquele jeito, é simplesmente forçada, sem graça e desumana (aliás, é desumano do começo ao fim), até.
O que realmente me interessou nessa obra como um todo, foram realmente todas as mensagens e questionamentos que ela quer passar, como a velha expressão "caixão não tem gaveta", que você pode ter tudo na vida e nada ao mesmo tempo, que o ser humano é capaz de se tornar muito ganancioso e maldoso quando sua vida é posta em jogo, ainda mais se o prêmio for de um valor bem alto, e que não importa o quanto a gente lute pra conseguir subir na vida, o sistema é bosta demais pra deixar isso acontecer. Entre outros pensamentos que tive enquanto eu assistia Squid Game, essas são as que mais prevaleceram na minha mente.

Enfim, não importa a crítica que eu faça sobre Squid Game, eu devo admitir que vai ser uma obra memorável e até estou ansiosa pela segunda temporada (sim, este tem final aberto), mas claro, não posso negar que eu esperava algo mais incrível vindo de um início tão forte e promissor como foi o de Squid Game, foi realmente um pouco decepcionante...

Obrigada por ler!

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The finish is not up to the mark!!

The start was so exciting and the story was going good. Each game way shown very well and was waiting to know what would the next game be. Till 8th episode everything was going well but in the last episode many things are still mystery What happens to Hwang Joon Ho (the police officer) and what happens to his brother Hwang In Ho (Front man)? And what was the reason he became a front man? Who was continuing to conduct the games? These questions remains un answered even though the drama ended. This ending is not what I was excepting. The expectations were high from episode 1 but the last episode was not satisfactory.....

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Overhyped

Look, I really liked visuals, bright and recognizable costumes, colourful design, cute ost, but the story is nothing special. Whining about capitalism first episodes was too excessive, but i held on and the middle part was quite interesting despite it being too dragged out, but the ending just killed it off completely.
I am that kind of person who never skips any part of movie and I like different arthouse movies with camera being settled down for indefinitive period of time, but this show really challenged me. Especially the ending, god, I just literally skipped it. Such a disappointment.
It was ok to watch it once, but if you saw "13 tzameti", "The platform", "Cube" or "Battle royale" then Squid game won't surprise you at all, you would just easily guess the next moves and mysterious characters and after completing the show you would feel like just wasting 485 minutes of your life.

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Esperava mais do desfecho

Vi pelo Gong Yoo e Lee Byung Hun, quando vi que estavam no elenco decidi dar uma chance a serie. Bom, os jogos foram em si interessantes, uma mistura de blatte royale com kaiji (que lembra os jogos mortais do ocidente), mas deixou pontas soltas (que mesmo uma segunda temporada não responderia, como e a família do Paquistanês? Simplesmente foi esquecida, mas a família dos 'amigos' coreanos, o prota foi lá ajudar) e teve um final previsível, o que decepcionou. colocaram uma mulher para ser vadia (e tem um final idiota e sem sentido para o papel de mulher 'forte' que se propoem), outra que não tinha 'motivo de viver' e simplesmente aparece para morrer, e a norte coreana (fria, desconfiada e que só quer o visto e casa na coreia do sul, como se fosse o único objetivo em vida sair da coreia do norte), tanto ela como o paquistanes, só estão lá para cumprir cota de 'politicamente correto'. O 'amigo' se desvirtua ao começar a matar no jogo e por isso perde o sentido para ele ganhar, e só no final ele se 'redime' para fazer o 'amigo' ganhar. E obvio que temos mais um protagonista que basicamente não faz nada a história inteira, e acaba ganhando 'sem matar' e 'inocente' (o que não é a realidade, só a hipocrisia dele) e nem vou falar do final-final e a decisão dele u.u
*PQ o líder estava nessa função? outra ponta solta u.u

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I wish I could give more stars to this series, but it’s a huge no. 6,5 is more than enough to this silly what-they-called-game!

Why?

Here’s my opinion:

From the second episode I tried to guess every detail about what could happen in every episode, and all (like every one of them) of the guessing are correct. :(
Oh man, that’s not funny. I was thinking “should I continue watch this series?” and yet, here I am writing this review.

Another biggest problem that occurred to this series was the acting of some characters that really annoyed me every time they talked.

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Look for the deeper message

- A beautiful allegory on the effects of capitalism. It was so exhilarating that it literally kept me up at night! Some portions seem quite predictable, but i feel that it was on purpose. It is fiction, but a metaphor for real life experiences. Anticipating what may happen next is its beauty because that means it is relatable in some aspects. Given that it ended on a cliffhanger, I am really looking forward to another season.

- The production is absolutely insane. The details, the colors, the music choices, etc. are all spectacular. I applaud the team behind all of the sets!

- The actors did a really great job immersing themselves in their characters. I was really opinionated on all the characters, which is a sign of great acting!

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I don't really think I can write something about it. It was really, really intense, but I will try to write as much passive as I can.
The story is nothing new, is a type of Hunger Games more or less, the plot even the whole building of the characters and their relationships. But actually it is a analogy to our world, where a lot of people believe that they can step in the bodies of others to succeed and they do it. But in the end, if you are poor, you have to stay like that and the rich dectate your life... Maybe this is my own interpretation. This analogy, this absolutely crazy story is trying, with the most horific way, to tell that this isn't the solution. Even if you step on everyone, this system is designed for you to fail or to became on of them.

Ok, in the more prominent staff. Exceptional shots, photography, scenery (the colourful stairs, oh my god). And also amazing music and acting. At last, I really don't think it needs a season 2 (nothing official, just the way it ends it surely gives that vide). Some stories need a final end. And it is enough. But, with all this success (do you know how huge is for a k-drama be no1 in Greece? Here, they don't even acknowledge BTS' success), I'm almost sure they will continue. And I really, really don't want that.

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Brilliantly Brutal

"Squid Game" is a tough watch. Really tough. If you don't like extreme violence, or seeing blood, this drama is not for you. What I loved about "Squid Game" is that it isn't just mindless violence. In this case, the violence is important to the story, and the story is much more than the brutality of all of the games. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I will avoid talking about the games specifically, but the childish and cutesy presentation of each game juxtaposed to how anxiety-filled and traumatizing they were is definitely a highlight of this season, and probably the main reason for its popularity. It is definitely what initially sucked me in, but it was the characters that kept me watching.

The main lead is Lee Jung Jae as Seong Gi Hoon (or #456). We get to know him as a likable screwup with a gambling problem and a divorced father of a young daughter. He is easy to root for from the start even when his choices are frustrating. I love that through him we can see how good people can make bad, damaging, and even selfish decisions, and it helps that he is extremely relatable. He is approached by Gong Yoo in a brilliant cameo that leads to him joining these mysterious games.

The games are where we meet the majority of the rest of the cast. They are a random group of people desperate for money that we soon learn to love and hate. Yes, many of the players are the equivalent of the "red shirts" on Star Trek, but there are also many memorable players. Besides the obvious leads like Park Hae Soo as Cho Sang Woo (#218), Gi Hoon's childhood friend now turned desperate failed small-town success, or Jung Ho Yeon as Kang Sae Byeok (#67), North Korean refugee turned master thief, there are quite a few characters that stand out and kept me invested while watching. I absolutely loved Anupam Tripathi as Ali Abdul (#199) and Oh Young Soo as older and wiser Oh Il Nam (#1). I think of them as the main squid-squad.

I do think the thug characters were a bit stereotypical but also well played. especially the dynamic between #101 & #212. Of course, I can't forget Wi Ha Joon as Officer Hwang Joon, who I also liked and I appreciated that on his obligatory quest for the truth he didn't make many silly decisions, and was clever instead of going for the too emotionally invested to be smart trope. Then there is Lee Yoo Mi as #240 who is another amazing standout player. The only characters that were bad... really bad... were the spectators. Their scenes were so long for the acting was so terrible. Distractingly terrible. I know English-speaking characters in KDramas are usually pretty bad but I wish for such significant roles that they could have been better.

Would I watch this again? Definitely, and that's saying a lot considering the extreme violence. It's insanely popular for a reason, and I'm sure I will pick up things I missed when watching it again. I am also curious about watching the dubbed version (Which I never do normally). There are a few times when the script's pace slows, but being such a short series it's easy to just binge watch in a day or two. I was intrigued and engaged the whole time and only took a break from watching when the episodes became more emotional (episode 6 had me ugly crying), but was also my favorite episode. There are also countless theories to explore to keep you viewing some things very differently.

The suspense is consistent throughout this drama, even if some parts of the story felt stronger than other parts. There was one major plot twist that I expected from the beginning, and another that took me by surprise until the moment it was revealed, but either way, it was entertaining watching how it would all be revealed. I do wish they gave it a more definitive ending than just leaving it open-ended, possibly for a season 2, or maybe just to keep us thinking. The lack of a neat ending made it a more haunting story which works too. You can definitely say that the plot isn't perfectly neat, or even completely original... (you know the comparisons already "Hunger Games"..."Battle Royale"..."As God Wills"...), but the execution of the plot (No pun intended lol) is where it excels. Just the idea of us watching the games just like the VIP observers in the show is very meta and disturbing. This drama is disturbing.

Overall, "Squid Game" is a great dystopian spin on capitalism and greed, and human nature/survival instincts. I love stories that explore the good and bad of humanity, and this takes those questions to the extreme. I also love stories that make the viewer question what they would do if the stakes were extremely high, and that's where this drama more than succeeds. Plus it's visually iconic. The sweatsuits, the guards, the giant girl at the tree, those stairs... so many images are now permanently a part of pop culture because of the brilliant direction. I'll never look at shapes the same way again!

I still don't quite understand how you play the Squid Game... it looked kinda like full contact hopscotch gone sumo on a mini baseball field lol! Now that I think about it, children's games can get pretty rough! But I do know that as far as dramas that live up to the #1 on Netflix hype goes, this one definitely wins a spot on my KDrama favorites list!

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Strong Start, predictable end!

So I watched this show because I wanted to watch smth similar to Alice In Borderland And Die Now, and I watched this. I'll try not to give spoilers and just write generally.

Watched the trailer, gave me alot of expectations but I wasn't disappointed. First few eps are really good, but then towards the middle and end it kinda stops your hype. It's like, you'll be able to predict what happens next. Now alot of people compared this show to Alice in borderland. I'll tell you what's the difference. Alice In Borderland plays with your mind, you'll be playing with the characters and trying to solve with them which makes it quite interesting. SG games are also good, but you'll just figure it out quickly.

Acting wise is good. All of the actors have done a good job. So i think that's ok.

For me, i think i expected alot after watching AIB and Die Now (chinese drama, really good. If you have time do check it out) But ig that hype died down as i was watching further eps. If this is your first time in this kind of genre or if you just want to watch it, go for it. This show is not all bad, you might be disappointed at some parts but overall its good. But personally for me, Japan will always take the cake for this types of genre.

Hope you have a great time watching!

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