To make a long story short, believe the hype for Squid Game.

While not without a few lulls in pacing here or there - and the extraneous addition of some unintentionally comical characters in the final third of the season - this is a sensational suspenseful and starkly scathing indictment on capitalism and our current social class structure, anchored by arresting acting across-the-board, winning writing, and a superb sense of setting (with instantly iconic production design). You can draw obvious parallels to stuff like The Hunger Games or Parasite, but Squid Game truly comes into its own by the end with some thrillingly unexpected twists and turns and a rousing resolution to the show’s captivating central mystery (to say nothing of how masterfully it relate its main moral musings). And, despite the flack it’s been receiving, I found the finale to be a fantastic wrap-up for this tragic tale, and were a second season come to , I’d welcome it with open arms.

A win for original art in any medium, and a stunning success for international fare trying to find acclaim and attention in America - one that I hope sends shockwaves through the industry.