Squid Game Creator Hwang Dong-Hyuk Planted Clues For Season 2 In Season 1

In this day and age, it's always good to have a backup plan in your pocket, just in case your would-be one-off project unexpectedly skyrockets in popularity and you suddenly find the entire world breathing down your neck, demanding more (or maybe it's really only Netflix that's doing that). Lucky for Hwang Dong-hyuk, that's exactly what he did when he wrote and directed "Squid Game" season 1, leaving just enough plot threads dangling so as to assure he would have somewhere to go in a second season.

"Squid Game" season 1 begins with 456 individuals looking to square away their financial debts by competing in a series of deadly kids' games to win a huge cash prize, with only Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) left standing by the final episode. It's a brutal, bloody affair that almost makes "Parasite" looks gentle in its own critique of capitalism and classism in South Korea, at least so far as the body count goes. But where Bong Joon-ho's Best Picture Oscar-winning satire ends with a bleak reminder that there's truly no way of outwitting the system, "Squid Game" leaves viewers on a somewhat more hopeful note.

Speaking with IndieWire, Hwang said he deliberately left the door open (or, if you prefer, slightly ajar) for the show to continue "for myself and also the audience. Just in case there is another season, these things could be loose knots." He added:

"I only currently have a broad storyline. I'm in the process of structuring the story and the new games, and wanting to crystallize them into more detailed ideas."

"Parasite" and "Squid Game" season 1 very much argue that capitalism is a zero-sum game, leaving revolution as the only real option for changing things. That's precisely what Seong Gi-hun sets out to do in the season 1 finale, determined to uncover who's running the Squid Game contest now that its creator, Oh Il-nam, has died and maybe, just maybe, put an end to it. Indeed, the question of how you rebel against a system you're currently profiting from is one Hwang Dong-hyuk is wrestling with himself, now that his blistering critique of capitalism is, ironically, being exploited for all it's worth by Netflix.

Beyond the meta-fiction of it all, there are other mysteries from season 1 that "Squid Game" can pick up when it resumes. Chief among them is Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun), aka the Front Man, whose story is ripe for a continuation in season 2. Hwang Dong-hyuk has talked about this in the past, suggesting the Front Man's tale could even wind up paving the way to a larger critique of the police in the show's next installment, stating, "This was an issue that I wanted to raise [in season 1]." Sadly, tragic events in the real world have only made this angle more relevant in the months since he issued those comments, too.

Far from rushing into things, however, Hwang recently cautioned that he's taking his time figuring out "Squid Game" season 2, noting, "I want to ask the question, 'Is true solidarity between humans possible?'" You'll just have to wait and see the answer he comes up with when the show returns no sooner than 2023.