Squid Game & Alice in Borderland

Toni decided it was time for Squid Game once we finished Gotham. Everyone has been talking about Squid Game for a while now and as usual we're probably the last ones to the party. 

Squid Game seemed like an adult version of Hunger Games or Battle Royale, which makes sense in how it got so popular, seeing as all the fans who loved Hunger Games and Battle Royale are now adults and throwing themselves at the next similar thing that's also more mature than what they liked as teenagers. 

To me Squid Game was fun and exciting but also very predictable. Nothing really happened that I didn't see coming, less than halfway through the season the writers had pretty much established their formula and after that there were no more surprises. Sure, there were instances of "this would be logical/predictable to follow what happened here - will they do it that way or this way?" but whatever happened would always fit into one of two expected scenarios. 

Gi-hun has the strongest plot armour in the universe. Sae-byeok was my favourite character. Ali was exasperatingly trusting. Sang-woo was a calculating ass but I ended up wanting him to win. Deok-su and Mi-nyeo were so annoying we both actually cheered when they met their end. 

Squid Game was good. So good. But it would've been even better without some of the predictability. Maybe it's better this way? If Squid Game got even more popular it would've broken the Internet.

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After Squid Game I decided on Alice in Borderland. We had discovered this show way before Squid Game, but it was recommended as something to watch to fill the void of Squid Game for fans of that show. I didn't really have a void from Squid Game, but I figured now was the best time to watch Alice in Borderland. Fresh out of one slaughter show and in to another :P

Less than two episodes in and Alice in Borderland already appealed to me more than Squid Game. It was less predictable for one, and even if Arisu has some plot armour he actually does get hurt sometimes. 

The story of Alice in Borderland is a lot more open to possibility and it revolves around the characters' will to survive and to find out what happened. It creates a lot of mystery and the games are very intricate and fun. Fun in the sense that it's fun to try and solve them and figure them out before the characters. Especially that last game had both of us going off in completely separate directions only to discover that we were both wrong. 

Arisu is adorable and I can't not like him. Usagi is the strong, solitary type and I like how grounded she is in the midst of all the crazy. Chishiya is probably my favourite character, but Kuina gives him a run for his money. Niragi was unhinged, but I enjoyed watching him being unhinged. 

Nothing about Alice in Borderland is straight-forward and that makes it absolutely amazing in my book. Squid Game's popularity is making people discover Alice in Borderland and it's so well-deserved. This show is awesome.