On Sep. 17, 2021, “Squid Game” was released onto Netflix, catching the world’s attention. Since the second season was released on Dec. 26, 2024, it’s even more popular. People of all ages and languages have been talking about the Korean drama, anxiously awaiting the release of its third season, expected later this year.
The show opens with Seong Gi-Hun, played by Lee Jung-Jae, and his struggles with his debts. A strange man plays a game of ddakji with him, and after Gi-Hun wins, the man invites him to play more games. Gi-Hun accepts, leading him to be kidnapped and placed in a building with 455 other competitors. However, after a deadly game of Red Light, Green Light, he discovers that each game will be a fight for survival.
In season two, Gi-Hun is determined to stop the person leading the operation. He’s spent a lot of money on hiring people to help find the man that invited him to the games as well as the island they took place on. Two of his hires locate the man, but they’re forced into a game of Jokenpô mixed with Russian roulette. Gi-hun is able to locate where they are, so he takes a turn playing Russian roulette with the man. After defeating him, he decides to return to the games in order to take the operation down from the inside. He continues paying people on the outside to find where the games are located, but they also have to face a series of challenges and red herrings along the way. Unbeknownst to Gi-Hun, the frontman of the games is now playing alongside him. After a few games, Gi-Hun starts a rebellion, ending the season with a cliffhanger on if he will succeed or not.
One of the major themes of “Squid Game” is the loss of childhood innocence. This is easily clear with the use of Korean childhood games, such as dalgona, squid game, gon-gi and jegi. Season one reveals that there are rich people watching the games, betting on which players will survive. The people watching enjoy seeing the people fail at what was once a childhood game, giving them a sense of superiority and a sick feeling of nostalgia. The premise of deadly children’s games also makes it hard for the people who escape to go to the police with how absurd it sounds, similar to how a child is unlikely to be believed when they try to get out of a lie.
Another show, released before “Squid Game” in 2020, takes the childhood story of “Alice in Wonderland” and turns it into a deadly nightmare. While “Squid Game” is filled with children’s games, “Alice in Borderland” takes an entirely more deadly scenario. This show follows Ryohei Arisu, played by Kento Yamazaki, as his normal life is interrupted when almost all the people of Japan disappear. He quickly learns that he must play deadly games every few days, otherwise a laser would shoot from the sky and kill him. Each game has a card to collect if they win, the suit on it showing what type of game it is while the number shows the difficulty. Spades represent physical games, clubs are teamwork based, diamonds require intelligence, and hearts are psychological games. After a few games, Arisu discovers a hotel named the “Beach,” where a large group of people spend their days partying and collecting cards for their leader. When a game happens at the hotel, Arisu is forced to relocate and play more games elsewhere.
The second season, released on Dec. 22, 2022, picks up directly where season one finished. While the last season focused on the number cards, this one is based on the face cards. The face cards all have a person in charge of them, each one designing their own game. Arisu, along with some of the people he met at the Beach, are immediately put into a king of spades game. To avoid the king of spades, he and his friends set out to defeat all of the face cards. Arisu is also determined to find out what happened to the rest of the people in Japan, and who or what is making them play these games. The second season ends with a crazy twist, one that most people won’t see coming.
“Alice in Borderland” is a wild variation of the children’s story “Alice in Wonderland.” Although “Alice in Borderland” features a lot more death than wonder compared to “Alice in Wonderland,” both have a main character that is forced into a strange new world. Many of the characters in “Alice in Borderland” are inspired by characters from the book, such as ”Arisu” being the direct translation for “Alice” in Japanese. The Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, and the Queen of Hearts are just a few of the characters represented in the show.
While the “Squid Game” players chose to participate, everyone in “Alice in Borderland” is forced into the games. The games are a lot deadlier and darker than “Squid Game,” taking more of an inspiration from the “Saw” franchise. However, both shows have clear similarities, like how they’re both releasing a third season. While “Squid Game” is a lot more popular, with around 330 million viewers, “Alice in Borderland” deserves to trend as well. For people who are looking for a lighter, less depressing and horrific show, “Squid Game” is for them. But for those who can handle intense deaths and many heartbreaking moments, “Alice in Borderland” will change their outlook on life.
