L Harper

Squid Games is a train wreck. It’s so gruesome, so bad you simply can’t look away. If you are searching for a show that contains an original story line, believable characters, and engaging, authentic dialogue, DON’T watch Squid Games. The main conflict as well as several plot elements seem to have been lifted from Hunger Games. The twist of using children’s games for the competition is novel, but so much of what happens -from observers watching the competition from a central control room to competitors’ images appearing and then flashing off once a competitor dies-are all copied from Hunger Games. I don’t know if Suzanne Collins has watched this show, but if she has, I can easily imagine her thinking, “This seems familiar.”Many of the characters are flat, one-dimensional stereotypes which results in over acting by several members of the cast. Additionally, and this could be due to the English translation, the dialogue is so cringe worthy at times it elicits laughter during what are supposed to be dramatic moments. Finally, the gratuitous violence is nauseating. The one redeeming aspect of Squid Games is that it does contain a valuable theme about how poor and struggling members of our society are disposable. This is a reality that has become all too obvious during the COVID pandemic. The popularity of Squid Games is due more to the times we are living through rather than the quality of the writing and acting (because they are both really bad.)