I watched Alice in Borderland after following recommendations here. It was ok but nowhere near as good as Squid Game. Alice will def have a second season though and I will watch it.
Squid Game - Netflix
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Just finished it.
I really thought there was going to be an "Oberyn Martell" moment in the final squid game, and Sang Woo-was going to grab that knife, kill Gi-Hun and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Last episode was the weakest.
Not sure about the Gerard Way "Danger Days" hairdo at the end.
Always remember: if you never actually see them die on screen, they're probably not dead (the old man). Interesting that he also had the casting vote for them all to leave, and was the one who convinced Gi-Hun to go back in. Did he go and visit the other 454 as well?
I was interested to know how the cop's brother went from competitor to winner to games master, but I don't think it should be stretched to another series. When the cop visited his flat, I got the impression that he had only been missing a few days/weeks?
Also, Gi-Hun promised to look after the Sae-Byeok's brother, but dossed around for a year before showing up at the orphanage?
Last episode was the weakest.
Not sure about the Gerard Way "Danger Days" hairdo at the end.
Always remember: if you never actually see them die on screen, they're probably not dead (the old man). Interesting that he also had the casting vote for them all to leave, and was the one who convinced Gi-Hun to go back in. Did he go and visit the other 454 as well?
I was interested to know how the cop's brother went from competitor to winner to games master, but I don't think it should be stretched to another series. When the cop visited his flat, I got the impression that he had only been missing a few days/weeks?
Also, Gi-Hun promised to look after the Sae-Byeok's brother, but dossed around for a year before showing up at the orphanage?
Just finished it.I really thought there was going to be an "Oberyn Martell" moment in the final squid game, and Sang Woo-was going to grab that knife, kill Gi-Hun and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Last episode was the weakest.
Not sure about the Gerard Way "Danger Days" hairdo at the end.
Always remember: if you never actually see them die on screen, they're probably not dead (the old man). Interesting that he also had the casting vote for them all to leave, and was the one who convinced Gi-Hun to go back in. Did he go and visit the other 454 as well?
I was interested to know how the cop's brother went from competitor to winner to games master, but I don't think it should be stretched to another series. When the cop visited his flat, I got the impression that he had only been missing a few days/weeks?
Also, Gi-Hun promised to look after the Sae-Byeok's brother, but dossed around for a year before showing up at the orphanage?
yep I thought those as well, only thing I can guess is that the winner gets offered the chance to be games master and that it’s not a full time gig, so the cops brother was called back at a certain time a set time period after winning - possibly similar to Gi-Hun where he’d be all traumatised and over time realise the squid game is the only place he feels he can belong?
also I do feel for the wee boy, again maybe it took go-hun to tackle his trauma and depression to the point he could take that step but still a bit crap he couldn’t sort it sooner! It bothered me that he basically got him then left him with the old woman straight away.
also I do feel for the wee boy, again maybe it took go-hun to tackle his trauma and depression to the point he could take that step but still a bit crap he couldn’t sort it sooner! It bothered me that he basically got him then left him with the old woman straight away.
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Just finished it! Everyones gonna do Squid Game for Halloween aren't they lol
Some thoughts:
Gi Hun and Mr Sexy Policeman are well fit - hope the policeman isn't really dead as we didn't see his body
duck Sang Woo, all my homies hate Sang Woo
The licking scene in the honeycomb game made me so uncomfortable, I skipped the slow-mo licking scenes
Predictable but a fun watch - I sped up some of the talking scenes by x1.25 because they all talk so slow, especially that damn old guy
Speaking of the old guy, I hated the twist, what was even the point of that?
STATE OF GI HUNS HAIR AT THE END, OMFG I HATED IT
Fave ep was the tug of war or the marble game #justiceforali
Also what shape would everyone have picked? I would've totally gone star (but would have considered picking the umbrella first)
I would have picked the umbrella as I thought they were going to have boiling hot sugar poured on them depending where they stood 
Old man must have had a hell of a lot of confidence in his tug of war strategy . I actually want to try it out to see how effective it is
. I actually want to try it out to see how effective it is
There is a "window wonderland" event in my city this weekend where people decorate their windows and people wander around and check out all the art on display.
I liked this one! Great work by whoever lives there
Yes I thought this too. Yes, he was traumatised, but he still promised two people that he would look after their families and left them where they were for a year while he moped around with billions of Wan in the bank. And he hadnt bothered to see his daughter either, and when he finally got round to it, buggered off.
(Spoiler maybe?) On the whole Squid Game was gripping (the end was a bit of a let down though). More importantly, the drama unfortunately is very K-drama cliche in it's homophobia. The only gay characters are foreigners, and they are predatory. This was exactly the same with "The Devil Judge". To be honest the only occasion i've seen that was marginally okay was a lesbian couple in "Designated Survivor" but this too was onlu focused on the discrimination they faced and never really followed up in terms of political change in the series. As a foreign viewer a lot of Korean drama portrays women in a very poor light, and it's like every gay character has to be a foreign, a predator and has a tragic end. The lack of diversity in terms of casting, with roles to foreigners either going to bad guy or exploited labour characters.
Sorry to post a negative comment about the series
On second thoughts about the police man's brother
We know that the brother competed in the games in 2015 (I think that was the date, right?). Let's say his small one room apartment was exemplifying the financial struggle he was going through then. He then wins the game, but like the MC he lives frugally and is distanced from his family due to the trauma of what he was put through. The brother (like the MC) then gets a card (shown) telling him to go back to the game, where he now is in the role of the "front man". I think this was his first time. So this corresponds with how the MC was requested to "return" to the game. This would then explain why the landlady was annoyed about the brother not paying the rent, because technically he's only been absent for the short time the game was running. He didn't want to kill his brother, but he's surrounded by pink guards and likely too has some sort of threat by the VIPs.
I feel the story would have benefited from showing the backstories of the staff. The pink guards also had to live within the rules or face death, and the brother's backstory with this could have been a main episode in itself.
Sorry for the ramble about this lol.
Sorry to post a negative comment about the series
On second thoughts about the police man's brother
We know that the brother competed in the games in 2015 (I think that was the date, right?). Let's say his small one room apartment was exemplifying the financial struggle he was going through then. He then wins the game, but like the MC he lives frugally and is distanced from his family due to the trauma of what he was put through. The brother (like the MC) then gets a card (shown) telling him to go back to the game, where he now is in the role of the "front man". I think this was his first time. So this corresponds with how the MC was requested to "return" to the game. This would then explain why the landlady was annoyed about the brother not paying the rent, because technically he's only been absent for the short time the game was running. He didn't want to kill his brother, but he's surrounded by pink guards and likely too has some sort of threat by the VIPs.
I feel the story would have benefited from showing the backstories of the staff. The pink guards also had to live within the rules or face death, and the brother's backstory with this could have been a main episode in itself.
Sorry for the ramble about this lol.
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More thoughts....
One poor aspect was there was never really any "progress" in terms of the MC's attitude towards parental responsibility. He's still a dead beat dad who promised lavish gestures (traveling to the USA, gifts) but never delivered, he never really cared about his daughter that much when competing together, the main focus was on his relationship with his childhood friend. On one hand, could this be realistic, maybe, but I don't like how he was seen as the "good guy" for fostering the N.K competitor's brother and dumping him with the ageing mother.
Maybe it's asking too much, but it's like the plot shoe-horned a lot of minority characters in really problematic ways and they all had to meet a tragic fate in order to save the feckless MC.
- The woman with the long curly hair, a very rare example of a strong female lead, in K Drama when it comes to owning her sexuality, It reminded me of an interview that Kim Cattrall did about not wanting her character's cancer to be written as though it was "punishment" for Samantha being so free like a lot of female character's of similar personalities were. That was then, so to see a character be called slurs, yet the male characters are just as manipulative, some even sexual abusers seemed a poor really dated trope.
- Every "minority" is portrayed negatively. The Christian man was a zealot, the foreigners were predators due to their homosexuality, or portrayed as being vulnerable and naive, the North Korean character could have won if she didn't absurdly get hit with the glass whilst all the others just got minor grazes, so she gets written out for ease of the battle of the childhood friends.
- The plot just casually threw in that a deceased woman was gang raped, okay we know that the contestants are burned alive and their organs removed, but this was something that was gendered violence, it specifically singled out how women were likely treated, yet never followed up, as if it''s just something participants, staff and viewers are desensitised to.
It was great that there wasn't any romance forced in, but literally apart from the North Korean woman's partner, every woman was either nondescript, a mother who sacrifices herself for her son's, a wife, or is criticised for her sexuality, and they all end up dead or playing the role of doting mother (Sang-woo's mother willingly fostering a 10 year old boy out of the blue, what).
Apologies for not remembering all the names, okay I'll stop now with this rant ha.
One poor aspect was there was never really any "progress" in terms of the MC's attitude towards parental responsibility. He's still a dead beat dad who promised lavish gestures (traveling to the USA, gifts) but never delivered, he never really cared about his daughter that much when competing together, the main focus was on his relationship with his childhood friend. On one hand, could this be realistic, maybe, but I don't like how he was seen as the "good guy" for fostering the N.K competitor's brother and dumping him with the ageing mother.
Maybe it's asking too much, but it's like the plot shoe-horned a lot of minority characters in really problematic ways and they all had to meet a tragic fate in order to save the feckless MC.
- The woman with the long curly hair, a very rare example of a strong female lead, in K Drama when it comes to owning her sexuality, It reminded me of an interview that Kim Cattrall did about not wanting her character's cancer to be written as though it was "punishment" for Samantha being so free like a lot of female character's of similar personalities were. That was then, so to see a character be called slurs, yet the male characters are just as manipulative, some even sexual abusers seemed a poor really dated trope.
- Every "minority" is portrayed negatively. The Christian man was a zealot, the foreigners were predators due to their homosexuality, or portrayed as being vulnerable and naive, the North Korean character could have won if she didn't absurdly get hit with the glass whilst all the others just got minor grazes, so she gets written out for ease of the battle of the childhood friends.
- The plot just casually threw in that a deceased woman was gang raped, okay we know that the contestants are burned alive and their organs removed, but this was something that was gendered violence, it specifically singled out how women were likely treated, yet never followed up, as if it''s just something participants, staff and viewers are desensitised to.
It was great that there wasn't any romance forced in, but literally apart from the North Korean woman's partner, every woman was either nondescript, a mother who sacrifices herself for her son's, a wife, or is criticised for her sexuality, and they all end up dead or playing the role of doting mother (Sang-woo's mother willingly fostering a 10 year old boy out of the blue, what).
Apologies for not remembering all the names, okay I'll stop now with this rant ha.
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A lot of people on Reddit have pointed out that the main character not making any progress is probably a very key thing and something that has been intended. Honestly, if we're being realistic it also makes sense - these people were chosen for these games because they were in debt/need money, had a gambling problem (which MC definitely does) or they just have nothing. They are then thrown into a game where the end result, if you survive, is going to be trauma and possibly PTSD. You're not really going to magically walk out and everything will be fine, and I think that's very clear from how MC dealt with things
Plus, I think MC really did feel like a dead weight in a lot of the games. He pushed through because of luck or because his childhood friend/someone else in the team came up with a solution at the perfect time. I really don't see how he actually develops as a person at all which is lowkey a bit disappointing even if it makes sense. I mean, even when it comes to the crucial moment to kill his friend he settles for just being the nice guy and sharing it despite all this anger he had over the past episode - yet we're meant to be left with this idea that he wants to go and fight this mysterious game?
At the same time, dumping the poor kid with the lady was probably the best he could do. He's not fit to be a parent and it seems that he realised that in a way (which feels disappointing because the rest of the series isn't about his kid) - or is just continuously selfish anyway
I also think Ali was done dirty. To portray a foreigner as so easily trusting and frankly dumb (we're really meant to think he wouldn't notice the stones being changed for marbles?) and then the added level of the VIPs being stupid (which seems to be more intended as a comment on them being rich more than anything) just seems off.
Totally, I pushed through with the series hoping we would have some proper context to the game and the cogs behind it, but as you have pointed out, the little bits that were shown were just really phoned in and problematic. Even the conversations that the VIP's were having just seemed so unnatural. The "evil foreigner" and "predatory gay" tropes were in full force, rather than actually shine a light on and challenge inequalities.
It's a 6.5/10 for me. Most of what I wanted to say has been said far better than I could 
.
The "twists" were so obvious from the first few episodes so the series finale one was a bit of a dampsquib squid 
I'm here all week
They really overegged it by not showing his death and showing that behind shot which must have totally removed any suspense for loads of people.
It's a big no for a sequel from me, maybe do a prequel with a few years of development.
Tiktok can be amazing for promoting songs (how incredible is that heatwaves one? Although I wish it died down a few months ago and it wasn't played so much) but it can really overhype things like a TV show.
.The "twists" were so obvious from the first few episodes so the series finale one was a bit of a damp
I'm here all week They really overegged it by not showing his death and showing that behind shot which must have totally removed any suspense for loads of people.
It's a big no for a sequel from me, maybe do a prequel with a few years of development.
Tiktok can be amazing for promoting songs (how incredible is that heatwaves one? Although I wish it died down a few months ago and it wasn't played so much) but it can really overhype things like a TV show.
How did it catch on on TikTok even?
A part of me can't help but think that they paid someone to promote it there - perhaps not to a Western audience though. As I understand, SK had a lot of promotion for it (similar to what is happening now in large cities)
I just really can't see how so many people agreed so suddenly that this was an 11/10 series, but then again I tend to be very critical of the stuff I watch - especially if it's popular
I'm not really sure. Something's that take off are totally organic and others are planned and paid to get the ball rolling. No idea which this was
Tbh a lot of people, across the world, are into watching kdramas and listen to kpop, my sister being one of them so it’s not too surprising that people found this show on Netflix if they were already watching similar things. Most people talk about what they’re watching on social media and TikTok is the easiest platform to blow up on so I’m guessing that might be how it got promoted on there.
I'm a bit suprised it's scored so highly, maybe I;m being a bit harsh as I did like it but the twists were rather flat.
I watched the first episode and hated it. I am in no doubt that it is very well produced and the visuals are quite mesmerising, but I don’t like watching well produced violence / death scenes. It’s obviously fiction but I just don’t enjoy watching it.
I seem to be in the minority on this, as everyone at work seems to love it.
I seem to be in the minority on this, as everyone at work seems to love it.
My comment was that I didn’t love it, I was fascinated by it and wanted to know what happened but I’ll never watch it again!
Glad to hear that it’s not just me..