Squid Game was an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. It's definitely something you could finish in one day if you were willing to give up that much time, but I think you'll find yourself getting sucked pretty easily into this cutthroat death game that also serves as a critique on capitalism.

First and foremost, I need to talk about the characters, or more specifically the participants of the game, because they were definitely a driving force in this story. Even though the time spent with each character varied, I still thought that most of them were really well-written and were able to provide a huge impact on the overall story. Each one had justification for participating in this game and I didn't find any of their actions to be overly forced. I found myself rooting for a majority of characters, and when each of them was killed off, it definitely struck an emotional blow. These are definitely not the usual 2-dimensional stock characters that are written into survival stories that we often see today. It was also really interesting to see how the different characters changed over the course of the game due to moral decay, or in some cases, didn't change at all, which helped to further the show's illustration of capitalism.

This then brings me on to the next thing I'd like to talk about, which is Squid Game's stance on capitalism. They pretty much nailed their argument against it, which basically boils down to: there is no equality under capitalism, and the poor will always suffer for the sake of the rich. The people who were running the game kept on stressing that the rules for each game were created in order to be fair for everyone and that every player would be given an equal chance to win, but it's also important to keep in mind that the reason these games were started in the first place was for the entertainment of the rich. There was never any equality to begin with because it was their poor status that placed them there in the first place.

The characters were also supposedly given the option of participating or not participating in the games, but in reality, just like with capitalism, there was actually no choice. Even though the people who were controlling the game insisted each player was there because it was their own decision, we're actually shown that these characters have literally nothing to lose. Nothing could be worse than the hellish situation they were placed in because of their debts under capitalism. It was only an illusion of free will, and ultimately, the choice was already made for them. This is an exceptionally well-crafted representation of how capitalism works. You have to participate in this rotten system in order to survive, and if you don't, you're basically deemed as having little to no value and are seen as less than a human being and basically become forced into poverty.

And even if you think you have a chance at beating this corrupt system, it doesn't come without a cost. No one becomes a millionaire or a billionaire without stepping on other people. There is no ethical way of achieving that status of wealth. Squid Game brilliantly illustrates this point by setting up the games in such a way that you can only win at the expense of other people's lives. Every dollar that was added to that heinous piggy bank represents the value that was attached to the life of every player who died. Specifically, players who were poor and impoverished and were only playing this game in order to pay off their debts. Capitalism strikes again by forcing poor people to compete with each other in order to survive and make a living, all the while the ultra-rich get to kick back and enjoy the show. There were lots of moments that were truly sickening to watch, but unfortunately, they are pretty accurate in regards to how a capitalistic society functions. The poor stay poor and the rich get richer.

Okay. Rant finished. I'd like to point out that I also highly enjoyed the production, acting, and music of Squid Game. It was all extremely well-executed and helped to add to the intensity of the show.

However, I did not like the ending. It felt like the writers were really building up to this big, grand conclusion, but instead, we were given an ending that was underwhelming, and quite frankly, didn't make much sense. It also seemed to undermine a lot of the character's actions from beforehand, so I was pretty frustrated with it.

Overall, I still pretty much enjoyed the show up until the ending. I kind of went into this with pretty low expectations if I'm being honest, so I was pleasantly surprised. If you're looking for a good show with lots of action but isn't mindless and cheap in the slightest, I would definitely give Squid Game a chance. It definitely deserves all the attention it is receiving since its Netflix release, and I hope that it can really help to pave the way for people to reconsider their beliefs about capitalism as we know it, as well as to help encourage Western audiences to branch out more when it comes to the kinds of media they consume. As director Bong Joon-Ho said while accepting an Oscar for his film Parasite, “Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films." I think Squid Game's popularity will help more people realize the meaning behind this sentiment.