Spoiler Free Review Of 'Squid Game'
Written By Harry Palin
Ever since they greenlit House Of Cards, Netflix has found great success in its original series. Whether that’s the dark, troubling You or the modern phenomenon that is Stranger Things, they have been very smart in the shows that they fund based on perceived crowd reception and audience engagement. As you likely already know, they’ve pulled it off once again, shocking the streaming world with another massive, somewhat out of the blue hit, called Squid Game.
As it is the biggest show in the world at the time of writing, I suspect you have likely already either seen or had conversations with people about Squid Game, provided that you’re a Netflix user in one of the 90 countries in which it currently sits at the number one spot. But if you haven’t seen it yet, or even if you have and you binge-watched it in one day until 3 am and would like some outside perspective, I have a lot of thoughts on the show I’d like to share.
First of all, I think the series as a whole is delightful, I really do believe that it is truly an excellent work of television and after hearing how long the show’s concept had been in the back of its creators' mind, I fully understand him taking all the time he needed to get it just right. The acting is for the most part very solid and the dynamics those performances make with one another play a huge part in the way Squid Game has been hooking in its audience and manages to stay captivating over the 9 episode series. Lee Jung-jae and Anupam Tripathi stood out in terms of performances as they delve the deepest into the emotional range of the people they play and through that give the show stakes as their acting makes us care so much more about their respective characters. The series is obviously very relevant with the themes of capitalism and wealth acting as almost an allegorical representation of our society. This is done masterfully in a way that doesn’t overpower the plot of the show while still having a clear agenda in terms of message. Another thing that has made Squid Game stand out so much is its distinct and already iconic look, with the bright pastel colours of the games reflecting starkly against the way that the city of Seoul is presented as a grey, rainy wasteland that anyone would be lucky to leave. Squid Game often wears its influences on its sleeve but what’s so interesting about it is that the presentation of the series is so unique that I find myself not caring that some themes or designs have been heavily inspired by previous works. The look for example, at times, feels reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s famous style, and the plot of the show is somewhat similar to films like Battle Royale. But you know what no one had ever done before until Squid Game? Played Battle Royale in a place that looks like it was just lifted off of the set of The Grand Budapest Hotel. That in itself is innovation.
I’ll close this out with a couple of finishing thoughts. For one, watch Squid Game if you haven’t yet. I know it may feel like a big commitment and you have a terribly busy schedule but please try and find time, hold me accountable if you don’t have a good time. Also, watch it with subtitles please, I’m sure you can brave them just this once for the sake of a quality experience. Trust me, watching the English dub is like smashing the autocorrect button a bunch of times and hoping it makes a sentence. Okay, that’s the summation of my thoughts on the first season of Squid Game, everybody stay safe and if you need to borrow my Netflix to watch this show, I’m around.
If you have any inquiries, comments or feedback, let us know by commenting down below, emailing us directly through our ‘Contact’ page, or messaging us through:
Instagram: @ubiqueuhs
Gmail: ubiqueteam@gmail.com