The creator of ‘Squid Game’ reveals his favorite game of Season 2

with “Squid Game” Creator Hwang Dong Hyuk ups the ante in Season 2 with a new lineup of terrifying challenges. He recently shared which game became his favorite.

Known for combining childhood nostalgia with life-or-death implications, each game in the new season carries its own emotional weight and psychological complexity.

However, one game in particular captured the vision of The Squid Game director more than any other.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for The Squid Game Season 2 Finale, now streaming on Netflix.

Squid Game Season 2 brought back some familiar games presenting a series of new, difficult challenges. Ddakji, the game used by the Salesman (Gong Yoo) in seasons 1 and 2 to recruit potential players, is back, setting the tone for the season’s high-stakes dynamic.

The season opened with a fresh addition: Bread and the Lottery, featured in episode 1. In this recruitment game, a Salesman buys 100 brownies and 100 lottery tickets, offering them to seemingly random people in the public, creating an unsettling sense of randomness and desperation in broad daylight.

Later in the same episode, there is a violent confrontation in the third game, where the salesman pits Mr. Kim and Woo Seok against each other. Their fate depends on Jokenpô—better known as Rock, Paper, Scissors—a deceptively simple game with deadly consequences in this context.

Another popular game, Russian Roulette, makes its terrific debut. Notorious for its life or death stakes, this game was introduced by The Salesman as a means for Gi Hoon and himself to settle their escalating conflict, leaving the outcome entirely up to fate.

Of course, fans of Season 1 will immediately recognize the terrifying return of Red Light, Green Light, the iconic childhood game controlled by the formidable Yeon Hee doll. Her presence serves as both a throwback to the series’ roots and a reminder of the ever-present danger lurking in every seemingly simple task.

Viewers also saw a six-legged pentathlon, which forced participants to perform a series of interconnected tasks that required teamwork, precision and unwavering trust in their partners. In Mingle, alliances became both a lifeline and a potential trap, as players were forced to navigate shifting social dynamics under extreme pressure. Meanwhile, a special round (light blackout) plunged the arena into complete darkness, removing any sense of safety and forcing players to rely on instinct and raw skills to survive amidst the chaos.

When it comes to the brutal and emotionally charged games of The Squid Game Season 2, creator Hwang Dong Hyuk has a clear favorite.

“I would say the pentathlon,” he said Diversity. “Not only was it the most difficult thing to shoot, but I think after we finished filming, I enjoyed watching it the most myself. And especially because you get five smaller games in one round of games.”

“And like Season 1, I wanted to show the real childhood games that Koreans grew up with, especially the ones that I grew up with,” he continued. “Considering that I got to show the world five different games in one round, I’d say the pentathlon was the most satisfying.”

Within a month of its release, The Squid Game became Netflix’s most watched series, breaking records as the first Korean and foreign-language show to receive a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) nomination. Riding high on its unprecedented success, Netflix has expanded the franchise with a reality competition series inspired by the series, set to premiere in November 2023.

“Because I created season 1 without thinking about season 2, when it was decided that we would do season 2, the pressure was really huge,” said director Hwang IndieWire. “I thought to myself: can I do this? Will I be able to create or write something that surpasses Season 1?”

“But once I got down to writing, and once I got into the story of Gi Hoon (Lee Jung Jae) coming back to the game with his own motives, it went a lot better than I thought it would,” he continued. “I was able to create a story that I thought was more intriguing, come up with more interesting characters, and come up with more original and intriguing games.”