Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Squid Game Season 2!
squid game season two introduces an entirely new voting system for the titular competition, and here's the terrifying reason why Netflix's latest batch of episodes does this. squid game was always horrific, with the show's deadly take on children's games causing many characters to risk their lives for money. Although the main games are basically the same in squid game season 2, the biggest difference has to do with how the competition's voting system works, with this major change being the key to unlocking the new themed purpose of squid game 2nd season.
In squid game In Season 1, participants in the games are given the opportunity to leave by voting to leave the island. However, squid game Season 2's voting system has some key differences. Firstly, characters can vote on whether they want to return home after each game, doing so after each of the games. squid game 2nd season. Secondly, if the characters choose to return home before the end of the competition, they will be able to split and keep all the money accumulated so far, whereas in Season 1 leaving meant that no one would receive the money.
Squid Game Season 2's voting system further proves the leader's point
He knew they would never choose to leave
Although the competition leaders in squid game are behind the deaths of tons of people, the Front Man insists that participants are choosing to be there. The Front Man and the other characters who help operate the competition believe that the participants are inferior people, being in debt and in poverty due to a personal failure and not a systemic one. THE squid game the villains use the competition to highlight this, believing that the participants' quest for money always leads to the destruction of their humanity and their lives.
Although Front Man is giving the players the chance to leave the island, he knows they will never do so as he believes their greed will drive them to continue sacrificing each other. After the first three votes of the week, the Front Man turned out to be right, with the players voting to remain twice and the vote ending in a tie for the third time.
Although players always say they will vote to leave after one more game, this never happens, with the continual increase in money making them want it even more. At the end of squid game In Season 2, the vote is split, although some players who originally wanted to leave were convinced to stay for one more game. Although the people who want to leave try to appeal to the humanity of the people who want to stay, this doesn't work, with them even resorting to murdering each other before giving up the chance to get more money.
Gi-hun failed to get the players to stop the games twice (as the frontman expected)
But they tie on the third vote
At the beginning of squid game In Season 2, Gi-hun wanted his mercenaries to invade the island where the competition is held. However, when he discovered that the tracking chip on your dental implant has been removedhe quickly realized that wouldn't work. Instead, Gi-hun adopted a new plan, with him wanting to guide players through the first game and save as many lives as possible. Gi-hun believed that upon seeing the deaths in the first game, players would voluntarily choose to leave the island, although this did not happen.
Gi-hun was given a second chance after the second game of the competition, the six-stage race. Although the number of remaining voters was almost equal, Gi-hun believed that trying to convince the other players to change their votes would be dangerous, with him believing that they would naturally change their votes after the game. Again, however, the players chose to remain on the island for one more game.
All this time, Front Man knew that the players would never vote to leave the island, with him disguising himself as Young-il to ensure this. Gi-hun came close in the third vote, which ended in a tie, although things quickly turned bloody and players began killing each other.
Squid Game Season 2 Foreshadowed Its Voting System Twist With “Bread or Lottery”
Both moments are thematic parallels
Node squid game pilot, Gi-hun hires tons of people to track down the Recruiter, the character who recruits people to join the squid gamecompetition by playing Ddakji with them. Eventually, two of Gi-hun's men find the Recruiter, tracking him through the city. They see the Recruiter buy tons of bread and lottery tickets and then follow him to a park. The Recruiter approaches the homeless and offers them a piece of bread or a lottery ticket, with the vast majority choosing the lottery ticket and losing.
This scene in squid game season 2 foreshadows the season's voting system. In both the lottery ticket and voting scenario, Struggling characters are choosing a small chance at money over safety. Just like the people who didn't choose bread, the players who didn't vote to go home believe that the small chance of something big is better than continuing their normal lives, a belief that leads to the deaths of most players.
The O vs. vote X from Squid Game was a metaphor for the story of season 2
It's key to understanding Season 2's themes
Although the voting scenes in squid game Season 2 only happened a few times, it was the core of the episodes, serving as a metaphor for the story of Season 2. squid game Season 2 spends a lot more time focusing on tribalism and the factions that form throughout the week, with characters literally wearing patches on their chests that signal who they voted for. The two teams begin to dehumanize each other, to the point of killing each other at the end of the season, showing how money turned them against each other.
Team O players are hated for betting the lives of team X players, something that is perfectly seen in the relationship between mother and son Jang Geum-ja and Park Yong-sik. While squid game season 1 used gaming to critique capitalism, season 2 more specifically used gaming and the voting system to highlight tribalism, something that will no doubt continue to be explored in squid game season 3.