**Warning: this review will contain spoilers for Squid Game season 1 and 2!!

Look, I know it’s kinda weird that I’m reviewing Squid Game 2 by ranting about a Squid Game 1 character, but I cannot be convinced otherwise: you cannot beat Kang Sae-byeok.

In such a gruesome, violent setting such as Squid Game, it’s really the characters that bring the story to life. It’s the characters, with their bravery and desperation, their compassion and heart (or lack thereof), and their gripping backstories that lets the audience overlook all the gore and blood. They are the reason why viewers sympathize with the social commentary, the reason why Squid Game is such a compelling, binge-worthy series.

As a character, Kang Sae-byeok hits all the marks–with flying colors. She’s astoundingly brave and strong. She’s cool and cold on the surface but at her core one of the most caring, heartfelt players in the game. Her backstory–as a North Korean defector trying to reunite her family in the South–gripped audiences worldwide and weaves seamlessly into her personality. And you can’t deny: her look is so memorable. Her short, wavy wolf-cut, icy stare, and freckled skin–she has such a memorable face.

Squid Game 2 had some good characters. But in my opinion, none of them came close to Sae-byeok from a character-writing viewpoint. Thanos was fun, but his existence seemed too closely enslaved to the show’s need for comedic relief. Cho Hyun-ju was an absolute girlboss, yes, but I felt her backstory wasn’t as fully developed as Sae-byeok’s to make her just as compelling.

Look, I don’t want to be mean, but I could honestly go on:

• I was definitely rooting for Jun-hee, but her pregnancy was really the only thing that made her unique;
• Jun-bae was destined to die the moment he came into existence;
• Se-mi was hot, for sure, but existed for like two games then got killed;
• Dae-ho was just there, then was forced to freak out to make Gi-hun’s plan fail;
• The sailor guy’s true loyalties could be seen from a mile away;
• Young-mi’s death could be seen from ten miles away;
• And Min-su was…meh.

I think what Squid Game 2 was missing was an episode like episode 2 of Squid Game 1, where we spent a full hour just getting into each character’s backstories and understanding why they would choose to participate in something like Squid Game. Yes, such an episode is perhaps long and not as exciting, but you can’t just introduce a whole new cast of characters without illustrating where these people are coming from. Otherwise, no matter what, their actions in the games will feel hollow–unique and interesting, perhaps, but without any motivations or desires behind them to make them compelling or relatable.

I think another problem with Squid Game’s 2 characters was they felt a little… haphazard. Yes, there were clear “O’s” and “X’s,” but the teams or groups among the players didn’t feel as clear in Squid Game 1. In Squid Game 1, all the characters were basically either Team Deok-su or Team Gi-hun. In Squid Game 2, there was a team Gi-hun, but the mother-son duo, Young-mi, and Hyun-ju were kind of like an adjacent protagonist team. Additionally, Squid Game 2 didn’t really have a clear antagonist…In-ho was playing on Gi-hun’s side, Thanos wasn’t exactly the opposite of Gi-hun, and the player 100 guy who’s massively in debt just randomly shouted some things at Gi-hun once in a while. It just felt like the screenwriters were bouncing around, trying to stuff any and all of the character tropes that they thought might be appealing into Squid Game 2’s cast.

One thing I will say about the characters, however: I did really like Gi-hun’s transformation. That happy-go-lucky side that he had in the first season is completely gone…we can totally see how the deaths of Squid Game have impacted him, changed him. It’s some real character development for him.

Yes, I did just spend this whole rant bashing Squid Game 2. But did I still watch the whole season and enjoy it? Also yes–but let’s be real, not nearly as much as Squid Game 1. Bringing Kang Sae-byeok back to life would be totally immoral, for sure. But I think Kang Sae-byeok really encapsulates the whole Squid Game spirit: the desperation for money, the bravery to put your life on the line, the heart for others in such an intense environment…she illustrates the mindset and character of each Squid Game player and the entire Squid Game universe in such a beautiful, gripping manner. Squid Game really misses out without her.