To quote Jim Johnston of Motorhead, it really is all about the game and how you play it. And in season 2 of “Squid Game,” the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) and all of his kindergarten shape-faced cronies throw some all-new nightmares into the mix in an effort to thin the herd. Sure, there’s the old classics like “Red Light, Green Light,” but what fans wanted for season 2 was more morbidly twisted games, and we got a brand new one that could be a victory or a loss, depending on who you mingle with.
For a new game called “Mingle,” the players are brought into a circular room with a platform in the center. They must all stand together on that center platform, which will then begin to spin. As the platform spins, a number is called out over the loudspeaker. The players must then gather in groups that match that number. In other words, if the number “five” is called out, players have to band together in groups of five. They then have to quickly run into one of a series of rooms and close the door, therefore giving them safe passage out of the game while the remaining players endure a countdown from hell.
One person over or under the required number results in elimination — aka, death. At one point, the number “four” is called, but only a group of three players makes it into one of those rooms. Unfortunately, those three players are swiftly killed for not following the rules. For our former MVP, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae, as one of the only four returning cast members from the first season), it’s a dangerous new addition that throws our hero off, potentially thwarting his effort to get the remaining players out to safety. More importantly though, it’s another test of team dynamics that shows just who is aligned with who.
Mingle is a team-building exercise in the worst possible way
Believe it or not, Mingle is a real game that’s often played as a team-building exercise, usually at family reunions or corporate retreats. Needless to say, the real-world version of the game doesn’t result in sudden death for players that lose.Â
Just like partnerships were built and broken with some of the best season 1 characters of “Squid Games,” season 2 provides another avenue for characters to align or destroy other players in the games by way of a little mingling. While not as intense as tug of war or the glass stepping stones, there’s still that dangerous dynamic of picking the right group to join to ensure potential debts are paid in the next round. How long those alliances last is up for debate, though, as every game also creates a test that pushes people together to become the worst versions of themselves thanks to the circumstances they’ve chosen to put themselves in.
The difference this time around, of course, is that Gi-hun at least has a slightly inside track on just what kind of demands will be made with every challenge, and that turning on each other is exactly what the Front Man and the masked guests that are gambling with lives want to see. Hopefully, Gi-hun’s words of wisdom will be enough to turn the tide and, unlike the last time, have more than one player come out on top and not wind up in a furnace at the end of the game. Then again, it’s all fun and games, right?
“Squid Game” season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.