Around 74% Are Already Gearing Up To Watch Squid Game Season 2

Netflix’s Squid Game took the world by storm in October 2021 and dominated the global streaming landscape. What made Squid Game so unique? It’s not just another hit K-Drama; it transcended language barriers, resonating with viewers worldwide. Its themes of kindness, family, and sacrifice struck a chord, evoking genuine emotions that went beyond mere entertainment.

The first season followed Seong Gi-hun as he faced off against deadly childhood games with unimaginable consequences. But the dangers went far deeper than the surface. Corruption, class divide, and the relentless human instinct to survive against all odds were the beating hearts of Squid Game, reflecting the dark realities present in society.

With its heart-pounding survival concept and a captivating storyline, the show left viewers begging for more. And more they shall have, as the highly-anticipated Squid Game Season 2 is set to bring back the high-stakes battle for survival.

Now, as we eagerly await the second season, fan theories run rampant. Will Gi-hun return for another round, determined to expose the sinister truth behind the game? Or will we delve into the captivating backstories of characters like the enigmatic Frontman or the game’s creator, Oh Il-nam?

With the recent cast announcements and a mix of excitement and curiosity from fans, Squid Game Season 2 is already generating buzz. This prompted Real Research, an online survey app, to conduct a survey and gather public opinion on upcoming Squid Game Season 2. The survey results reflect a lot of interesting findings about the success of the previous season and the rising anticipation for the upcoming one. Let’s dive in to explore the findings.

Highlights

• Nearly 40% desire the return of the Squid Game’s recruiter character in Season 2
• 76.34% of the respondents are aware of the upcoming season of Squid Game
• Squid Game Season 2 will surpass the first season’s popularity, opines almost 60% 

Enter the Squidverse

The survey began by asking respondents if they were aware of the Netflix series “Squid Game,” and the findings reflect that approximately 72.67% were aware of the series, of which 41.97% have watched it, and the remaining 30.7% haven’t. Another 27.33% revealed that they were completely unaware of the series.

Of all the people who watched the series, 43.77% reckoned that they liked it, whereas 35.05% claimed that they loved the series when the survey asked about their opinion of the first season of Squid Game. However, 16.85% stated their dislike for the series, and another 4.34% expressed their hatred towards it.

Read Also: The ‘Squid Game’ Craze Around The World

Game On!

Since this survey was more focused on gaining an understanding of people’s sentiments towards the upcoming Squid Game series, the following questions asked the respondents if they knew about the recent announcement made by the show’s creators regarding the commencement of filming for the second season in July 2023.

Surprisingly, a vast majority (76.34%) acknowledge that they knew about Squid Game returning with its second season, while 23.66% confessed not knowing about it.

Return of Underdogs and Dark Horses

During the announcement, the makers revealed new cast additions for Squid Game’s second season, including some characters returning from the first, so this survey asked the respondents which characters they would like to see a comeback in the upcoming season.

Oddly, despite having less than hardly 20 minutes of screen time throughout the entire series and not being one of the main characters, the salesman (played by Gong Yoo) who recruits participants for the Squid Game by playing “Ddakji” with them emerged as the character that most people (39.15%) wished to see return in the second season.

The protagonist and winner of Season 1, Seong Gi-hun (player 456), was also in demand for a comeback as a Squid Game Season 2 cast, with 20.37% voting for him. Interestingly, 15.68% expressed a desire to see Oh Il-nam, the old man (player 001), make a comeback in the second season, probably due to the twist he brought in the last episode of the first season. The two brothers, Hwang Jun-ho, the police officer, and Hwang In-ho, “the frontman,” also received some votes, 12.41% and 12.39%, respectively, to make a comeback in the series.

Read Also: ‘Blackwashing’ Backlash Will Surge Queen Cleopatra’s Popularity, Say 32%

From Money to Mayhem

An interesting finding came up when the survey asked the respondents about their speculations on the second season’s storyline. The sample size was divided into multiple fragments, with each set offering different perspectives on what the upcoming season’s narrative could entail. 17.8% thought that this season would be a sequel about Seong Gi-hun and the police trying to take down the game. Meanwhile, 15.56% reckoned that the second season of Squid Game would feature a new batch of participants challenging each other for the prize money.

Squid Game Season 2 will be a sequel to Seong Gi-hun’s life after winning the Squid Game, predicted 14.87%. This was followed by 13.27% who speculated that it would be a prequel about what pushed Oh Il-Nam to create the game. Another 12.84% guessed that the storyline would be a prequel about the very first squid game ever played. Lastly, 12.08% argued that this season would focus on the backstory of the frontman and the investors. However, 13.06% of the respondents chose not to make any predictions for the Squid Game Season 2 storyline.

What’s Next in the Game?

Based on various fan theories circulating online, this survey asked respondents to choose the theory they believed would come true in the upcoming season. Among the respondents, 36.88% expressed their belief in the theory that anticipates Seong Gi-hun getting drawn into another Squid Game. Another theory, receiving 28.21% of the votes, suggests that Seong Gi-hun will lose all of his money in this season.

Meanwhile, 18.1% were convinced by a theory that concludes this season will reveal the deadly game as a government-controlled experiment. A smaller portion, 10.15%, felt the theory exploring the bittersweet relationship between the two brothers (the police officer and the frontman) was likely. Lastly, 6.66% voted for the theory predicting that Squid Game will go international in this season.

Also Read: 69% Often Stream Content for Longer Than They Originally Intended

As the first season of the series delved into themes of capitalism, poverty, and the relentless human instinct for survival, respondents were asked whether these themes would be further explored in the upcoming season. A majority of 43.75% found it somewhat likely, while 38.93% were confident that the series would likely continue exploring these themes. On the other hand, 13.1% stated it’s somewhat unlikely, along with 4.22% who think it’s highly unlikely that the series will further explore these themes.

The Show Must Go On

When the survey asked respondents if they planned to watch the second season of this Netflix original series, a staggering 73.74% expressed their intention to do so, while 26.26% showed no interest.

In light of the previous question, respondents who planned to watch the series provided reasons for why they were most likely to watch the second season of this series. Among them, 43.07% cited the challenges faced by the characters as their primary reason for wanting to watch the new season of the series.

The simplicity yet brutality of the games will draw 25.51% of respondents to watch it, according to the findings. Followed by 15.76% who expressed interest in exploring the suspense and unpredictability in the upcoming season’s storyline, building on the expectations set by the successful first season.

The social commentary and explored themes were mentioned by 6.62% as reasons to watch the second season of Netflix’s most-watched series of all time, while 6.28% stated they would watch the new season for their sheer love of the show’s production value (cinematography, set design, costume, and screenplay) that was witnessed in the first season. The remaining 2.76% stated various other reasons.

The Hype is Real

As the concluding question, the survey urged participants to share their thoughts on whether the second season would meet the high expectations and live up to the hype generated by the success of the first season.  Quite surprisingly, a whopping 58.52% opined that it will absolutely surpass the popularity of the first season, followed by 32.37% who predict that the second season will possibly be equally successful as the first one.

However, there were also pessimistic opinions, albeit in the minority. 7.11% argued that even if Squid Game Season 2 becomes a hit, it may not receive as much fame as the first season did. Lastly, 2% speculated that the second season could never surpass the popularity of the first one.