Season 2 of “Squid Game,” which debuted on Netflix on Thursday, December 26, is under record-breaking pressure. The first season has logged a whopping 2.2 billion hours and 265.2 million views since its premiere in September 2021, making it the most-watched show in Netflix history.

Will the second season's seven episodes and cast of new rivals reach the television stratosphere in the same way? In 2023, series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk assured Netflix, “We'll see.

Fortunately for fans, Season 2 of the Korean dystopian drama garnered early critical acclaim and was nominated for a 2025 Golden Globe Award for Best Drama Series ahead of its release; it is already #1 on Netflix and has a Rotten Tomatoes, and has an 85% Certified Fresh rating.

However, these numbers are considerably higher than the more populist Popcornmeter, which as of press time rated “Squid Game” Season 2 at 63% by audiences. Both scores also fell short of the season 1 index, holding steady at 90% certified fresh and a 74% Popcornmeter average from viewers.

The overall consensus of Rotten Tomatoes viewer reviews seems to be that Season 2 suffers from an abrupt ending, but it is assumed that the third season, already in production, will wrap up these suspended storylines.

Fan recently revealed that he originally envisioned seasons 2 and 3 as a single story, telling Entertainment Weekly ahead of the second season premiere: “That's what I wrote it as. But in the process, there were too many episodes. So I thought it would be better to split it into two. That's why “Squid Game” Season 2 is shorter (7 episodes vs. 9 episodes)

If you haven't pressed play on the new episodes yet - here's how to watch “Squid Game” Season 2 - the official synopsis for the second season goes like this: “Win the Squid Game. It says: “Three years after winning the Squid Game, Player 456 is determined to find the masterminds behind the Squid Game and put an end to their vicious sport. Song Ki-hoon uses this large sum of money to fund his search, starting with the most obvious: finding a man in a sharp suit playing dakjis on the subway. But when his efforts finally bear fruit, the path to destroying the organization proves more dangerous than he had imagined.

Tom's Guide will keep you updated with new information (plot, character details, ratings data, etc.) about “Squid Game” Season 2 and Season 3.