That’s right, my friends, I just could not ignore the tremendous amount of buzz surrounding this show, and finally sat down to watch it.
Do I think that it’s the most amazing thing, evar? Well, no, but then I’m also not part of Show’s target (I assume) tween audience.
Did I have a fun enough time, though, that I don’t regret the investment of my drama hours?
Yes. And that definitely counts for something, right? 😁
THE SHORT VERDICT:
A very compact, impactful little series, Squid Game is the show that you can’t help but check out, even if you’re typically not into the death game genre.
Show is very expensively and carefully produced, and is the kind of drama where, the more you dig, the more little gems you tend to find, in terms of hidden details and added layers of meaning.
In my estimation, beyond Show’s shiny packaging, there are two key things that draw audiences in, namely, 1, the characters and their backstories, which are effective and engaging, and 2, the themes and ideas Show serves up, which tend to be deeply thought-provoking.
It lives up to the hype, in my opinion, and is worth a look, even if just to satisfy your curiosity.
So, full disclosure, everyone: this question wasn’t an actual submission for Dear kfangurl; it’s just that enough people have asked this question, or a variation of it, both here on the blog, and over on Patreon, that I thought I’d attempt to answer the question.
And since Dear kfangurl is where most of my attempts at answering questions sit, I thought this would be a suitable addition. 😉
Just so we’re clear, I’m not an actual professor of Korean entertainment (is there such a thing?). These are simply my personal observations and opinions, after hanging around the Dramaverse for.. (woah) 14 years now.
Maj writes:
I have paid subscriptions to NFlx, Prime, VIKI, YouTube.. but still out of luck.
There are so many warnings about ”bad” streaming services.. what to do?.. could you write about the topic of access??