Round 6 (2021)

started better than it ended .. a shame

ok so i tried to go into watching this with no expectations but was hard due to the hype it was getting , but regardless i gave it a watch and i did really enjoy it at first , however towards the final few episodes it started to lose its momentum - for me personally. i think the final episode was awful tbh… i hate how the police guy was just killed by his bro with no explanations, his story was acc the most interesting tbh but they wasted a good opportunity with his storyline, also i hate how ali was made to be so gullible in the show, altho maybe im biased since he was my fave character. none of the plot - except the old man’s connection to the game - surprised me at all , i never felt i was on the edge of my seat unsure of what will happen next cuz its all pretty obvious , regardless it was a nice watch and it does deserve to be given such a great attention, just a shame how rushed the ending seemed , i understand the ending dont get me wrong, i just think it sucked lol

anyways, the acting was incredible though! it made me keep going regardless of the boringish plot

Leia Mais

Here’s What You’re Not Missing, spoiler Alert: Nothing New

I normally take many months or years before I review shows and movies. This peculiar routine has allowed me to objectively think and analyze shows better. Although it's only been a few months, I can't help but want to either save someone from wasting their time or help someone discovers what will soon be one of their favourite shows.

Squid Game is a thought-provoking television show on the one hand. It was all around made with wonderful cinematography, frequent violence, occasional sexually explicit, and contains a caustic caricature of income inequity.
On the other hand, it is a widely used theme across the world. Wealthy and privileged people play games with the lives of those who are less fortunate. You can definitely see it as catering to its audience's twisted inner child. The vividly coloured, massive playground (both theoretically and literally). I didn't find anything remotely fresh and innovative in this plot.
The show tried too hard and failed horribly to persuade its viewers that everyone is evil simultaneously  ( the wealthy gamblers and/or the less fortunate players). As I previously indicated, it attempted to shed light on a topic that we have all encountered and are all too familiar with: when their lives and money are on the line, all human beings become morally corrupt barbarians.

Despite the large ensemble, the premise is glaringly obvious and plain. And the failed comedic portions about the terrible billionaires who come to wager on the game have the personality and dialogues I would come up with as an elementary student when imagining the lives of the top 1 per cent—blatantly laughable and unrealistic. The drama attempted to be more meaningful than it was. It tried desperately to squeeze the viewer's perceptions of individuals and circumstances into overused cliches—restricting itself with its inane jargon, particularly at the climax.
In its attempts at distorting and layering the audience's perception of characters, only around five or six characters were developed decently out of hundreds. The rest of the hundred could have led to great possibilities but they simply remained as food for powder. At first, you may think that some characters appear to be well-developed, but you'll easily find them inexpensive pawns for conveying the drama's fundamental theme.
An example of that being, the covert police officer plot feeling unessential. I will give it the positive recognition of it being thrilling in its own particular manner. However, his only purpose in the drama is to give the audience a peek of the cruelty that goes on behind the scenes. His sole purpose, in the end, was to provide the audience with an inexpensive perspective to look through.

In conclusion, it's a show you should only watch once if you've run out of things to watch. Although director Hwang Dong-hyuk has announced a season 2, I might watch it if it contains a different cast, but it's not necessary. It was terrifying, but not in the conventional sense of a Korean drama that delves into philosophy and morality. Like justice and equality.
If a show that supposedly wishes to contain true philosophical, psychological, and morality v.s. values themes, that show must challenge me in all those aspects and mentally as well as emotionally. That being said, Squid Game definitely did not do any of that. As my last attempt at holding a candlelit for this disastrous show, I will watch the second season and form an opinion that is un-bias and not affected by my opinions of this season.
My final words to you as an audience is to watch at your own risk. You'll either gain dissatisfaction or attain satisfaction.

X0X0 <3
---Taemangi

Leia Mais

A+ Set Design

I'm not wild about the story - it's a relatively straightforward "murder game" take, though I think for me one of the most interesting elements plot wise is the pseudo informed consent of the participants. A lot of murder game takes - from Most Dangerous Game to Battle Royale - have unwilling participants. But these participants (barring the ones in the first game who did not entirely know the stakes) continued to play willingly. In fact, that seemed to be part of the point.

There's no particular reason to stress the anti-capitalist messaging in this. If you have read anything about Squid Game it's probably about that. It's interesting, but also to an extent deeply nihilistic in a way that I find a bit unengaging. while accurate, hopelessness in the face of death like experiences just feels....pointless. I know that I'm likely to go bankrupt if I suddenly get cancer, and I know that there are people who have so much money that they could easily wipe my debts but instead build a (probably fictional) massive murder island so they can sit on human furniture and take bets on whether I'll off myself after she dies. Bleak af.

For me, the thing that stands out the most about Squid Game is the set design. There's a real story in the way that each of the sets is designed from the bright yellow piggy bank floating like a light in a casino above the room to the childrens's school yard at the end. The performances - specifically newcomer Jung Ho-yeon - were also really solid.

Leia Mais

Very engaging, but disappointing ending.

I have to say the strongest parts of this drama are the acting and writing. There are some great performances by the talented ensemble cast and the writing is very good with a few minor implausibilities. The drama is fast paced and keeps you at the edge of your seat. You grow to care for the characters and feel for them when they face tragedies. There are some strong messages of compassion and responsibility for your fellow man in the face of the most horrifying circumstances and how those circumstances changes the contestants for good or evil.

The drama seemed to be going in a good direction, but suddenly derailed with some plot twists that changed the perceptions I had already formed based on the previous episodes. I felt disappointed and manipulated. ML seemed to have a split personality. He was irresponsible and apathetic in the outside world, while compassionate and protective in the game. The over the top violence and gore may not be suitable for some viewers.. I guess it adds a certain sensationalism to the drama and attracts younger viewers given its Hunger Games qualities.

Guest performances by Lee Byung Hun and Gong Yoo give the show an even greater star power and their performances notable, albeit small. I wouldn't be surprised if this show has a second season. The last episode seems to set it up that way. However, I am not sure wether I want to continue on with this story based on its wrap up.

Leia Mais

Good for its genre, weak ending!

It is definitely overrated but the actors are good, the production quality is high enough and especially the middle episodes are very stressful and anxiety-inducing, which is the exact goal of this show. The 'lessons' are very on-the-nose but ultimately - very real. Some of the characters are very very well-written and well-acted and you wish you could be with them a bit longer than you actually are.

If you like survival-style shows, definitely watch this! at least that way you'll know what everyone else is talking about it! Especially all the memes lmao.

Leia Mais

Brutal survival game that represents how hungry the society for money

For a super trending series, I tend to lose interest watching it (just my personal thing) but a lot of my friends keep recommending this one for me so I ended up watching the show too late that I've been exposed to a lot of spoilers from social media, that somehow affects my enjoyment from watching. I've seen a lot of the same kind of genre and Squid Game is a "just fine" drama, not that great but also not that bad.

Money, the root cause of why the players gathered in one place. The show explicit fairness and honestly in the game rule, which is something new for a survival-of-the-fittest environment. Except for the first game, it was a big surprise to the players that elimination brings death to them. It was unfair for those who died in the first game because they had no idea that they will end up killing from participating in the game. Unlike those who chose to comeback even after witnessing too many people that has been killed in front of their eyes. This shows how such people will be unethical in times of needs. They're afraid of being killed but they're also afraid of living life with too much debt. Personally speaking, if I'm one of those lucky player who survived the first game, I don't want to return obviously but I have a different life situation than with those characters who chooses to return. Good thing that they highlight the reason of the main characters on being in the game.

The bad thing about the series is that they let players kill each other outside the game. It isn't just fair for those who lacks physical power to fight back, and also a will to kill a person. It is really hard for me to watch such brutality presented in it. I also read some of the feedback that they disappointed with the ending. I kind of agree with them because the show really started as an absolute shock but during the last few episode, the tense are keeping lower and lower.

Anyways, the show deserves the recognition from the viewers. My favorite yet most painful part of the story is during the marble game. I cried for the sacrifice, I cried for witnessing betrayal, and I cried for losing someone's precious life by playing a child's game.

Leia Mais

Contrary to popular opinion

Yep I dropped it. Why? Well, it became kind of dull, same ol same ol concept of greed, betrayal, lies and murder.

The concept of playing games for money, being manipulated by a bunch of rich dudes with nothing better to do is nothing new. Sort of like a rich man’s sport. Some reviewers found the background stories of each character interesting, but I was just skipping through to get to the good stuff :)

I liked the Tug Of War game, at least it had a good strategy and concept instead of the normal thinking of Big and Strong is better. The deaths, killing and piles of bodies were just a bit too disturbing for me. Just a tad lol.

At least it’s not your typical Kdrama with crying and slapstick humour. :) Quite similar to Hunger Games if you can stomach it.

Leia Mais

Korean Hunger Games which reflect today society

Watch this series due to the hype. Overall it's good to watch, even though for me I already can guess the "bad" guy earlier.
Episode 1 is quite boring with slow pace and the introduction of characters, etc. Afterwards the pace is quite ok.
But actually for this type of genre the suspense is not really there, not something that make you glued to the screen, maybe because it's similar to hunger game, so the surprise elements is not really there. Sometimes it's just too "lucky" and hard to believe, like how easy for a policeman to sneak in, can survive hiding for few days (no foods and drinks?) and the main role always win easily, especially when he licked the sugar candy and during first game when he about to fall.
The good thing about this Korean version is the moral of the story or maybe the background story on why people are easily blinded by money, and the lost of morality in our society which is kinda true... In our current society, people tend to be selfish and don't care of others, will use any means to reach their own goal.
Acting wise, thumbs up to all the actors and actresses !
Overall, this series is still worth watching, but not up to the hype. And be prepare of some bloody scene for those with not so strong heart to see blood

Leia Mais

I fell asleep watching some episodes

My son asked me to watch this cos he enjoyed it, and it being his first K-drama. So my husband and I sat down to watch. We managed to complete the series but can you believe it? I fell asleep from ep 1 to 3 and even the last ep. The 1st 3 episodes were particularly a pain to watch as they established the plot and we only continued to see if there were any redeeming qualities. Although the plot picked up a little, overall it was rather underwhelming for us and we are scratching our heads over the hype. My son agreed that it's overhyped but he liked it cos it showed him "the true colors of people". I think the storyline is unique but the drama doesn't make me care for any of the characters. Okay, maybe I cared a little for Ali. I didn't feel sad about the girls. I was disgusted with the sex scene although I guess they wanted to establish what a desperate woman needs to resort to to survive. The insertion of the "police investigation" was quite stupid although it wasn't exactly meaningless. Anyway I told my son, there are so many better K-dramas around. But I gotta give it for being clever to be so popular.

Leia Mais

Stupid game yet powerful

I wasn't interested to watch even tho I am big fan of thiller because I have watched same kind game drama 10+ times. I could easily tell who is the villian and plots ?
For me the show clearly stole by old men and Kang Sea/ Ho Yeon
I would say 3 ladies were instersting they were so distinct to eachother yet different morals from eachother . They have their own flaw finally thiller drama who did justice to women character in thiller otherwise they aren't given no character progress, character development and their distinct choices . I love that they were different from eachother one knew to sacrifice another revenge another just wanted to win . Kang Sea clearly is eye catching from the start from her acting to character
Although I am happy she didn't win as that would make devil too. No character were good here they all have devil inside them a good person could never have win the show . The old men stole shows from start to end. He was in every part of it yet distinct . I remember first time when he try to convince that guy. I knew it things were never coinsidence here . Yeah it has Eposide 9 only, there gonna be plot wholes Especially if you watch the show once only . I love that these types of drama are creating distinct fanbase in Kdrama as k- drama/series is being global
Dear Old men and Ho yeon if you don't win awards I am gonna be real pissed . Hope to see her in new dramas in future someone take her with that short hair girl in drama why they have so good chemistry like I forgot she was gonna die instead rooting for them . Their chemistry is the best part . They remind me of some GL manga now I am gonna watch their fan edits to satisfy myself as I didn't see both of them dying ??

Leia Mais

Before I get into the irate rant from hell I have bubbling within me -- let's start from the top.

I love this show. I can't even try to deny that. I started it out of curiosity because I kept seeing so many people talking about it and once I started, the storyline and acting kept me hooked.

Okay scratch that. I can't go through this in order. I'm mad as hell. I mean I could chew bricks at this point. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ENDING?!?! I am so pissed off Gi-Hun won. Sorry, but I am. In what world did I ever think he would grow brains and actually think about others? I mean even in the games, he tended to just hide behind people to never get his hands dirty. I don't blame him. It was a good strategy even if he didn't mean it. But he is a coward. From trying to take advantage of a old man to blaming everyone for the outcome.
I honestly had hoped that once he left he would have at least followed up on his promises to not only those 2 people but to his daughter as well. But would you look at that. A year later and still looks and acts like a bum.
Like I try to think yeah what he went through was traumatic but how can you promise people that you'll take care of their families... and then not? Even at the very end end he didn't do what he said he would. Wow, okay, he got the kid out and homed him with the old lady and left the money there... I'm just like what the hell? She's probably going to try to turn it over to the police. Lol As what about finding the kids mom? Why bother promising that if you didn't plan too?
I'm sorry. I'm just pissed. Even at the end when we find out there is going to be a season 2 and he is saying "how can you do this to people" -- like they didn't give then a choice? They all went through the first game and left. Guess what... they all (most) came back, did they not? The choice was ALWAYS there, no one just took it again. How can you blame them for the other people's greed? Lol Were you not there too? That makes you just as greedy. I can't stand people like this. They want to put the blame on everyone else while trying to make themselves a hero. It pisses me off. I didn't want him to win honestly. I really wish Sae Byeok had won. I SAID WHAT I SAID!!!!

So if we completely bypass the pos he really is and focus on the other aspects of this show... holy hell there is so much I'll never be able to think of innocently again. Lol RIP kids games. XD
I really do look forward to season 2 though. Mostly to see how Byung Hun and Ha Joon turn out. mostly because I feel like Ha Joon is still somewhere if you know what I mean.
And I mean come on, any chance I have at seeing Gong Yoo you know i'ma take it. I hope he is in season 2 with more parts. Lol


I realize this review is 99% pissed off and complaining and 1% of me all over the place. I'll probably come back to this once I have calmed down and add more to it because I know this show is really good. They all just played their parts all to well that I feel like my head might explode. Lol

Mind you, I know not everyone will agree with what I have to say and that's great. Just don't dump your complaints on my review lol they have a spot where you can write your own review. :p

Leia Mais