Squid Game season 2 is now streaming on Netflix, and make sure you prepare yourselves and your hearts because this season is a doozy. There's so much emotion. And though there's a lot of new characters, you definitely get invested in them and their stories. Just like what happened to us in the very first season!
Speaking of, if you notice, Squid Game season 2 is actually slightly shorter than season 1. There's a total of 7 episodes while the first season of the hit survival series was 9 episodes. So that's two less. Why is that the case? Well, creator, director, and absolute genius Hwang Dong-hyuk has an answer for us.
In an interview with Deadline, Hwang was asked about the shorter episode count. It has to do with the fact that seasons 2 and 3 were written at the same time, both were filmed together, and the third and final season is now in post-production. So when Hwang looked at the story overall, he found a good place to stop. Here's what he had to say:
"When I was writing the script for the two seasons, I felt like there was a big turning point or an inflection point, and that was the end of episode seven, so I thought that it would do it justice to have a separate season after that. That’s why I had first seven episodes as Season 2 and then the rest of Season 3."
So basically it comes down to where Hwang felt like it was a good stopping point in the story. And boy was he right to end it where he did. I won't give away any spoilers, but there's some major stuff that happens in the season 2 finale. And there's some really good cliffhangers too. While we would of course love to know what happens next, I'm so antsy, storytelling wise this was a smart decision to make.
The good news is that we won't have to wait two years between seasons 2 and 3, unlike the first and second installments, since they were shot together. Netflix announced that the third and final season was confirmed back in summer 2024, and has shared that we can expect to see Squid Game season 3 sometime in 2025. Now let's hope the streamer doesn't wait too long into the new year to share the conclusion. I need to know what happens!
Squid Game season 2 is now streaming on Netflix. Be sure to check out Show Snob's dedicated Netflix page for reviews and more coverage of the series.