joebloggscity
Joined Oct 2003
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joebloggscity's rating
I loved season one of Squid game like what seemed like the rest of the world. Darkly humorous, frightening and thought provoking it was a pleasant change from the norm on the box. However, it could have been a self-contained one-off series but there was no chance of that taking in the financial spin0offs possible. So after the he derisory reality Challenge series, we have season 2 which I had some trepidation before watching it.
So how did season 2 pan out? It was decent thankfully but not as engrossing, albeit still an enjoyable watch.
The big surprises from season 1 were never likely to be matched again as it had all been done, but we have the first couple of episodes firstly dedicated to how our lead protagonists team up and then their attempts to get back onto the island. The rest of the episodes are running through the mostly new challenges with a new set of contestants, whilst we are uncomfortably watching on.
What we have is the shocks attempted to be ramped up to eleven, the violence definitely is, but often at the cost of character development. We don't really get to delve into the characters back stories as much this time which was a huge part of the first season. If anything this becomes a rush through the myriad of childish challenges, but really I found it difficult to empathise with most of the characters due to little time spent on their development. I preferred the cross-section of contestants from season one but there are still very interesting characters. Some of the characters this season really left me uninterested in them (e.g. The unconvincing bad boy rapper Thanos), but there were a few I did like but we get to see so little of them.
The show is as wonderful to view with its direction, settings and colours but I guess as it's no longer new to us we are less engrossed as there's little new to show in this world.
The story was decent but I'm not convinced yet they went down the right direction once back on the island. Some of the inevitable twists were too obvious if not telegraphed. There's still humour and humanity in the show but beware this is still very much NOT for kids.
It was a fine decent return to the nightmare island which probably was good as any of us should have hoped for. I'm still up for the next & hopefully final season when the episodes come out.
So how did season 2 pan out? It was decent thankfully but not as engrossing, albeit still an enjoyable watch.
The big surprises from season 1 were never likely to be matched again as it had all been done, but we have the first couple of episodes firstly dedicated to how our lead protagonists team up and then their attempts to get back onto the island. The rest of the episodes are running through the mostly new challenges with a new set of contestants, whilst we are uncomfortably watching on.
What we have is the shocks attempted to be ramped up to eleven, the violence definitely is, but often at the cost of character development. We don't really get to delve into the characters back stories as much this time which was a huge part of the first season. If anything this becomes a rush through the myriad of childish challenges, but really I found it difficult to empathise with most of the characters due to little time spent on their development. I preferred the cross-section of contestants from season one but there are still very interesting characters. Some of the characters this season really left me uninterested in them (e.g. The unconvincing bad boy rapper Thanos), but there were a few I did like but we get to see so little of them.
The show is as wonderful to view with its direction, settings and colours but I guess as it's no longer new to us we are less engrossed as there's little new to show in this world.
The story was decent but I'm not convinced yet they went down the right direction once back on the island. Some of the inevitable twists were too obvious if not telegraphed. There's still humour and humanity in the show but beware this is still very much NOT for kids.
It was a fine decent return to the nightmare island which probably was good as any of us should have hoped for. I'm still up for the next & hopefully final season when the episodes come out.
Andor seems to have a strong following but I confess that I'm not yet one of them after having completed season 1. Upfront I'm a Star Wars fan like many others (but not obsessively), enjoyed Episodes 1-6 and the spin off Rogue One. I also have watched all the Clone Wars & Rebels cartoons etc but really not enjoyed what I've seen of the various TV series so far.
As for the good aspects of this show, the ensemble is decent for a Star Wars show bereft of Jedi and the Force, with some genuine talent. The acting and storylines are good, focusing on politics, underground resistance and imperial enforcement. That's a different take for this universe and interesting, especially willing to show the shades of grey in these times of graft. It's kind of adapting the hardship of resistance life in Occupied France under the Axis forces during World War, and applying those scenarios to Star Wars.
Yet for all that, I just wasn't gripped by the show but most often confused by what was actually going on. I respect the lead actor who reprised his role from Rogue One, but I struggled to get that invested in most of the rest of the cast despite finding some characters curiously interesting. I just didn't find the intrigue that stimulating whilst the Imperial forces lacked much real depth to want to boo them (that's despite the unarguable evil some executed in the show). Maybe this show is best respected as it's just better than the rest of the subpar Star Wars fare so far from Disney+! Admittedly I've not watched a bunch of the more recent shows across Star Wars so maybe I'm just out of touch.
Maybe another point is that I've just run into Star Wars fatigue. After the very disappointing Obi Wan TV series, I've just lost any faith at present in that universe (although I seem to still come back to it). I want to enjoy Star Wars again like I used to, and maybe my interest for it will rekindle with future seasons. Right now, I think Star Wars needs to reduce content, reassess everything and stop flogging a tired old horse.
As for the good aspects of this show, the ensemble is decent for a Star Wars show bereft of Jedi and the Force, with some genuine talent. The acting and storylines are good, focusing on politics, underground resistance and imperial enforcement. That's a different take for this universe and interesting, especially willing to show the shades of grey in these times of graft. It's kind of adapting the hardship of resistance life in Occupied France under the Axis forces during World War, and applying those scenarios to Star Wars.
Yet for all that, I just wasn't gripped by the show but most often confused by what was actually going on. I respect the lead actor who reprised his role from Rogue One, but I struggled to get that invested in most of the rest of the cast despite finding some characters curiously interesting. I just didn't find the intrigue that stimulating whilst the Imperial forces lacked much real depth to want to boo them (that's despite the unarguable evil some executed in the show). Maybe this show is best respected as it's just better than the rest of the subpar Star Wars fare so far from Disney+! Admittedly I've not watched a bunch of the more recent shows across Star Wars so maybe I'm just out of touch.
Maybe another point is that I've just run into Star Wars fatigue. After the very disappointing Obi Wan TV series, I've just lost any faith at present in that universe (although I seem to still come back to it). I want to enjoy Star Wars again like I used to, and maybe my interest for it will rekindle with future seasons. Right now, I think Star Wars needs to reduce content, reassess everything and stop flogging a tired old horse.
I just have to state my astonishment. I genuinely thought this show was beginning to overstretch itself and potentially jump the shark, and even thought season five was a fitting end to the run. This Season 6 Part 2 has though blown me away, and I concede that I was wrong.
This show has succeeded on truly dumbfounding all cynicism, with some incredible writing and drama despite the relatively limited budgets and the mostly young inexperienced cast. After what was a decent Part 1 set of episodes, Part 2 has threaded different stories together so well that once the revelations come forth you will laud it.
Daniel and Johnny are bickering as ever whilst the teenage growing pains are still there, but they truly are a loveable bunch. What elevates this show is the heartfelt storylines and development of the characters. There are some clichéd antagonists this season but they don't overshadow the storylines.
Admittedly, there are strands that stretch credibility, but I would just park that. Leeway has to be given in light of the budgetary limitations. The Global Karate tournament is not convincing but the action choreography is still superb and far more enjoyable to watch than even compared to a number of mega budget films (seriously).
I'm being careful to not spill any beans by not going into the storylines for this season here as I don't want to ruin any plotlines (and there's a fair few to keep up with). I would just very much heartily recommend you to sit and watch what has now become to me an all time classic TV series. I can't think of many other shows that have maintained as high a benchmark consistently through as long a run as this one, and once again I emphasise that in light of its more limited scale & budget.
There's lots of humour, surprises and emotional turns along the way in this block of episodes which I rank alongside the best in the show's run to date. I look forward in a bittersweet way to the final set of episodes to arrive next year, although I'm sure there will be some spinoff or future series that will follow our young leads.
This show has succeeded on truly dumbfounding all cynicism, with some incredible writing and drama despite the relatively limited budgets and the mostly young inexperienced cast. After what was a decent Part 1 set of episodes, Part 2 has threaded different stories together so well that once the revelations come forth you will laud it.
Daniel and Johnny are bickering as ever whilst the teenage growing pains are still there, but they truly are a loveable bunch. What elevates this show is the heartfelt storylines and development of the characters. There are some clichéd antagonists this season but they don't overshadow the storylines.
Admittedly, there are strands that stretch credibility, but I would just park that. Leeway has to be given in light of the budgetary limitations. The Global Karate tournament is not convincing but the action choreography is still superb and far more enjoyable to watch than even compared to a number of mega budget films (seriously).
I'm being careful to not spill any beans by not going into the storylines for this season here as I don't want to ruin any plotlines (and there's a fair few to keep up with). I would just very much heartily recommend you to sit and watch what has now become to me an all time classic TV series. I can't think of many other shows that have maintained as high a benchmark consistently through as long a run as this one, and once again I emphasise that in light of its more limited scale & budget.
There's lots of humour, surprises and emotional turns along the way in this block of episodes which I rank alongside the best in the show's run to date. I look forward in a bittersweet way to the final set of episodes to arrive next year, although I'm sure there will be some spinoff or future series that will follow our young leads.