Thanks to the meme culture and netflix’s own explosive claims, everyone with access to internet has either watched Squid game by now or is atleast has been exposed bits and pieces of its plot. My opinion on this show deviates slightly from its popularity and I know I am late to the party, but here is a quick and honest review of Squid Game.

The Plot

A group of hapless people with humongous debts are brought under one roof with a promise of an opportunity to win crazy money in exchange of playing some childhood games. The first few episodes go into giving small introductions to some of the main characters slowly introducing us to this bizarre world of gaming where the rest of the story follows .The high point of the show happens when we witness the first of the many live games. The build up to this point and the execution of the brutality of this whole event is done rather artfully. The detailing that goes into building this cruel world of hope and death is extremely immersive.

The Analysis

But once you are exposed to the rules of the game, everything starts getting repetitive and familiar. The unique setting looses its charm soon enough, the characters behave predictably, their deaths don’t shock you anymore, the blood bath starts getting tiring. To its credit, there are some plot twists intended to keep you interested, but they are few and long drawn. Between all this menace Squid game also tries to make a commentary on inequality and free will which is interesting but half hearted.

Final verdict

What works for the show is its deceptive simplicity, which later exposes the complexity of human emotions. But more than that aesthetics are the hero, the geometric shapes, the video game like production design, the costumes, the scale, everything demands attention much more than the story itself almost as if they were deigned for virality. What doesn’t work is its length and a second half that disappoints after a stunning build up.

If you must succumb to FOMO, go ahead and watch it but know that it does test your patience at times.

Going with 3/5