If you dare to play Squid Game: The Challenge on Netflix, be prepared to be let down and, worse, bored. The reality show is a completely stretched-out, fake disaster that misappropriates every lesson from the 2021 South Korean blockbuster that served as its inspiration. “Hey, let’s make this scary shit real” or “What if we got people to sign up for a non-fatal version of a show that depicted the fear of dystopian capitalism and then treat them like garbage for the sake of entertainment?” shouldn’t be the lesson learned from Squid Game.
Moreover, The Challenge lacks humor, which may have been its one redeeming quality. It appears to be meant to astound and startle, but it falls flat on both counts. The creators were mistaken if they believed that having the same glitzy, eerie environment as Squid Game—which was launched two complete years ago—would be enough thrilling. While some of the competitions are new and extended for shoddy drama production, some are taken straight from the original series. All that remains of the competitors are caricatures. Furthermore, the program lacks originality and excitement and contributes nothing to the main theme of Squid Game. The stakes are low in this case. Which brings up some obvious questions: What’s the point? Why is there something so devoid of ethics, common reason, and even enjoyment?
“Don’t a lot of reality TV shows fall under that generic umbrella?” is probably what you’re wondering. However, Squid Game: The Challenge is especially flawed. This reality show, in contrast to others with increased rivalry, is based on Squid Game, which explores how the average person must physically battle to death in order to survive. It’s not just about the brutal, violent games the gamers must play; it’s also about the person who designs them for their own amusement. A shrewd anti-capitalist television series is Squid Game. The Challenge is only a cheesy and frequently depressing scam.
Four hundred and fifty-six people willingly agree to spend time in the Squid Game set, where they must pass a variety of physical and mental challenges while sleeping on bunk beds in a cramped dorm. (One of them is juicing enough oranges in 30 minutes to give everyone a “treat”). Some candidates share their motivations for participating in this through talking heads. It makes sense that they want the substantial $4.56 million financial award, regardless of the hardship, emotional toll, or humiliation involved.
Squid Game: The Challenge is a disconnected game, even with some relatable backstories. It’s difficult to feel sorry for the competitors when they “die,” spilling garish black dye all over their outfits and falling to the ground. Alternatively, when they lick Dalgona cookies obsessively in an attempt to crack them with a needle. Alternatively, only one of them gets a burger and fries while the others rush the tray in hopes of getting a fry or two. Or when a French guy who is “a little rude” all of a sudden turns into a villain. or when two females meticulously “clean” soiled toilets.
The main advantage of Squid Game: The Challenge is that it doesn’t hesitate to remove important players who receive more attention. (It’s their equivalent of unexpectedly beheading Ned Stark.) But when you consider that 456 individuals are involved and some of them require attention for this to be successful, it really isn’t a choice. Thus, in a technical sense, even the one positive aspect is a default rather than a purposeful storytelling decision. Apart from simply imitating Squid Game, no strategy appears to have been used in any case. Replicating sets, finding out cookie recipes (which supposedly took months upon months), and calculating that unprecedented winning amount all cost a tonne of money.
Executive producer Tim Harcourt disputed criticism of the show in an interview with The Telegraph, stating, “Well, I have two teenage boys, and [those critiques] wouldn’t even enter their mind as to what that show is about.” They perceive it as a fantastical gaming environment. The Squid Game: The Challenge is not a dream. It’s the ugliest kind of reality TV.
Source: The Telegraph, AvClube
