[spoilers sorry lole]
last 2 eps completely ruined the show; too many things left unexplained or given corny ass reasons; last episode REALLY horrendous; tried to make us sympathize with psychos; mid ass ending; hella plot holes and pretty predictable (was able to guess that front man was cop brother cus like who else would it be + old man was behind it all due to the fact that he was #1 like srsly) . really peaked in the "game" part of the show. why fly the vips in so late too? why have the organ plot? and in the marble game, why did ali lose since one of the rules were they HAD to play a marble game, yet lost despite not playing any? i get theres very few rules but one of the rules was they HAD to play a marble game but idk. they should have both died at least as a compromise lole. and final fight was so predictable with the anime-ass rain + ground stab near head instead of the finishing blow and suicide lmaooo.
game-part alone nice 7.5. kinda stupid fun to watch and shit.
kinda psuedo deep commentary on society (yea bro ur not wrong capitalism is ass and pushes us to do wild shit) and show was also pretty corny lolz
The first few episodes were really good but it started falling apart a few episodes in when they tried to push the whole "humans are terrible" narrative while still needing to keep the main character as the exception. Protagonist plot armour was also really obvious which diminished the tension. You can pretty much guess who lives and who dies in each episode.
I was so excited to see Gong Yoo in the beginning and was almost expecting to see his face any time someone took off their masks and even the Frontman until it was super obvious a few episodes in that he was the officer's brother.
Anyway, this was a show I was only vaguely interested in watching but pushed it to the top of my to-watch list because all my friends were telling me to watch it. After binging it, I realised that it was definitely overhyped. All the friends who were recommending this to me should go watch Liar Game and Battle Royale instead. Pros I can think of are: characters who you either like or hate intensely, some interesting games. Cons are unnecessary side plots, certain actions from the characters not making sense or being inconsistent.
The ending was the worst part of the show. His mom dying felt like the writers piling on the main character without it really doing much. I'd have preferred to see him actually becoming a good son after everything made him realise what a POS he'd been. Why did he wait a whole year to fulfill his promise to Sang-Byeok? How did Sang-Woo's mom still have her shop? And who leaves a luggage case full of cash on the street for everyone to see to call after a guy with wine coloured hair? Was he really thinking about going after the squid game people and risk his future with his daughter? Last episode drops the rating a whole point by itself.
As per usual with many popular shows and films, it’s overhyped, overly serious, emotionally manipulative and mostly dumb.
It’s a show that thinks that people with shitty lives and gambling problems are willing to die for a 0.1% chance of winning a lot of money.
Bit of a thin motivation, wouldn’t you say?
Wouldn’t you probably flee the country, if your financial situation was that shitty? Wouldn’t you rather rob a bank, or a rich family? Yeah me too, I wouldn’t hesitate for a single second if it was between that or participating in some sadistic game.
It’s such a silly concept, and yet it’s presented as if this is some sort of serious and important drama with a lot of social commentary about poverty.
I’m sorry, but this is a show where the big villain looks like he walked out of a comic book (he literally looks like Victor van Doom from the Fantastic Four), and his minions have masks with Playstation buttons on them.
It’s schlock, but it thinks it’s Parasite.
And don’t get met even started on the acting, it’s fucking horrible.
This might’ve worked if our characters would be forced to participate involuntarily, but at that point you’re just remaking Battle Royale and The Hunger Games, so you’re kinda screwed regardless with this concept.
One of the most overrated thing I've seen in a long while.
Good points
:arrow_forward: Using children games, that's a fun twist
:arrow_forward: The aesthetics. It looks pretty cool, both the games and the organization part. There is a lot of efforts on this.
Bad points
:arrow_forward:The plot is so cliché, unoriginal and predictable it hurts. Not only the overall plot, but even each episode's. Once you're given the first clue of what an episode's subject will be, you know exactly what will happen. Not only what, but even how and why.
:arrow_forward:The main character is one of the worst I've ever seen. The show tries hard to picture him as nice but he's just a stupid spineless coward and asshole. After the first 10 minutes I was just hoping he would die and be replaced. He basically never does anything. Not only because he's useless, but mostly because he can't even make a decision on what or even whether to do something.
:arrow_forward:Almost everything outside the game is boring as fuck. Specially the main character's parts. And it takes a loooot of time. Even more in the beginning.
:arrow_forward:Attempts at side plots mostly fail. There's a cop story mixed in, but it's mostly just a way to show the backstage organization of the game. It's interesting as background information, but not really as a plot.
Wow, where do I start? First time watching this when it came out, I didn't get the hype. I rewatched it again recently to see if I missed something the first time and...I still don't get the hype. This show is extremely flawed. Like right from the first episode you could tell exactly who was going to win and who would at least make it to the later rounds.
First of all, how have the police not caught up to this? We see in an episode that these games have been going on since at least 1998 . Surely there must have been enough police reports to warrant an investigation? The main character goes to the police immediately after they are released and later when a detective wants to take on his case, he refuses? The government should be getting involved since random poor people (who win) just magically have billions in their bank accounts.
What's up with the incompetent cop? Guy just goes on a risky solo mission and kills the first person he finds without knowing what's going on. Also what type of unlimited phone battery is he using lol. The cop ends up getting shot in the shoulder so I'll pretend to act surprised when he makes a cheap obvious return in season 2.
The frontman claims fairness but this isn't the case. The glass game for example...the last guy obviously has a huge advantage over the first guy. Same goes for tug-of-war and the sugar game.
After winning, the guy just doesn't do anything and when he does, he goes back on it for a really stupid reason.
Saving the worst for last...the VIPs. They alone bring this show down within seconds of dialogue.
The good: cinematography
The bad: too many plot holes
casual rating: 6/10
actual rating: 5/10(-1 for the vips)
Review by IronaBlockedParent2021-10-10T01:58:09Z
Watched it all in one day. I first rated 9 but on second thought this is definitely an 8. I would still recommend. But here are my 2cents on what could have been better, spoilers all the way down so don't click if you haven't watched.
Firstly the police-brother storyline. I hadn't expected the brother to be a past winner so I'll give them(writers) that .But the whole brother is the frontman thing just made this so soapy cheesy and wasn't a shocking reveal.
Wouldn't it have been much better if; after the police reveals his face on the cliff we get a mild reaction from one of the ㅁ(square) minions who we realize is the brother. Also realizing this frontman would order ㅁbro to kill the police bro. would have made much more poetic/suprising like 'You can't escape playing the game' or something. You don't just win a game then become the frontman!. Or maybe at least give us more backstory on him (the frontman episode runtime was shorter too why?). Also shame on the policeman for not catching on the morse code much earlier on. I realized it 2 coughs in lol. Not that the morse messages meant anything anyway.(another kinda pointless plot thing)
The old dude. No1 was sus from the start. Like why would he vote to go home in the first place, I guess that was to maybe let the audience an early hint. & him saying stop and the frontman stopping in the middle of fighting. Too sus.
Throughout there wasn't many elements of surprise (and maybe that was the intention). Could see most of the (potential?) aha moments coming a mile away;
- Like how they didn't kill the non paired off lady in the marble game.
- The rock-marble exchange thing.
Also The games were drawn on the frickin dorm walls. I guess this was a throw back to school gyms having those kind of drawings on the walls, that was a nice touch. I realized in ep 2 after they returned and some beds were gone ;) Shame no contestant noticed.
The games had a nice level of tension. Only 3 games had the half of people must die rules; the tug-of-war, marble, squid. And yet, oh we know, we know! Still was fun to watch and think what I would have done. Would have liked to see people try and cheat (within the rules of course or death). Like maybe on the glass floor game, someone could have tried to walk on the planks holding the glass, there was plenty of foothold.
I read that a lot of people found VIPs stereotypical villainy to be cringe, but I think that was the point. didn't bother me as much
(happens a lot in Korean dramas). Overall had classic Korean movie/drama feel elements to it. I find it stayed true to itself instead of pandering too much to an international audience. It was visually pleasing, did a good job of bringing the audience into its world. Sure the main plot concept isn't anything new but I still enjoyed it.
Pretty sure there will be a second installment to this. And maybe leaving non explored subplots (the organ theft, the recruiter, the minions, the frontman ) was a part of that hope for writers and producers.