In defense of ‘Squid Game’ Season 2

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who thought “Squid Game’s” second season deserved as much attention as its first.

Well, maybe not as much — epoch-defining blockbusters don’t come around all that often. But as audience editor David Viramontes writes in Screen Gab No. 165, the sophomore outing of Netflix’s South Korean hit had its own merits that risk being lost in the comparison.

Also this week, we pay tribute to David Lynch, launch on Season 2 of “Severance” and visit with Humberly González of “Star Trek: Section 31.”

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Sherilyn Fenn and Kyle MacLachlan in David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks.”

(ABC Photo Archives / Disney)

“Twin Peaks” and “Twin Peaks: The Return” (Pluto, Paramount+)

David Lynch’s death last week set off a flurry of appreciations for his surreal, twisted films like “Blue Velvet,” “Wild at Heart” and “Mulholland Drive.” For me, though, Lynch’s most indelible contribution to pop culture will always be “Twin Peaks,” the hypnotically strange, darkly funny small-town murder mystery he created with “Hill Street Blues” writer Mark Frost. The series follows FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, played by Kyle MacLachlan, as he travels to the fictional Twin Peaks, Wash. to investigate the death of homecoming queen Laura Palmer. A straightforward description like that hardly captures the mind-bending magic of a show that featured a character known as the Log Lady and infused a crime drama with dream logic. Premiering on ABC in the spring of 1990, “Twin Peaks” became a short-lived cultural phenomenon, with millions of fans obsessed with one question: Who killed Laura Palmer? But once that storyline was resolved, viewers moved on. “Twin Peaks” was canceled after two seasons, ending with a devastating cliffhanger that left Agent Cooper’s fate hanging in the balance for a quarter-century.

For years after its cancellation, “Twin Peaks” languished in pop-culture purgatory. It was difficult to catch up on the show, unless you had access to a cool independent video store or hundreds of dollars to spend on laserdiscs. Despite — or perhaps because of — its elusiveness, the show lived on as a cult favorite, analyzed in chat rooms and celebrated on Geocities fan sites. It ultimately became one of the most influential shows in TV history, paving the way for countless puzzle-box shows and tangled murder mysteries to follow, including “Twin Peaks: The Return,” the 2017 Showtime revival that brought the story of Agent Cooper to a conclusion — of sorts — but arguably left viewers with even more questions than the original. If you’ve fixated over a TV show and found yourself dissecting its hidden meaning with strangers on the internet at any point in the past decade, you have “Twin Peaks,” and David Lynch, to thank. — Meredith Blake

READ MORE: Laura Dern’s letter to David Lynch: You wove L.A. into our dreams

Adam Scott in Season 2 of “Severance.”

(Apple)

“Severance” (Apple TV+)

When the new season of “Severance” opened with a roughly two-minute-long sequence of Adam Scott’s character, Mark S., sprinting frantically through the halls of his workplace, Lumon Industries, trying to figure out what the hell is going on after the intense Season 1 finale, it was hard not to feel pumped to be back after a three-year gap of theorizing. The sci-fi thriller crafted by creator Dan Erickson and executive producer Ben Stiller, who directs half of the second season, follows a team of employees — played by Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro and Zach Cherry — in Lumon’s Macrodata Refinement division who have undergone a procedure, known as “severance,” to separate their consciousness at work from their consciousness at home — basically, their professional self (innie) knows nothing about their personal self (outie). (The cast also includes Patricia Arquette, Tramell Tillman and Christopher Walken.) The first season ended with quite the cliffhanger as the show’s protagonists attempted to expose their employer through an override mechanism where their innies awakened and experienced life as their outies. Some questions get resolved, and there are new characters and new detours to add to the theorizing this season as the show’s world expands. As someone who mostly works from home and struggles with distinguishing her innie and her outie on a regular basis — especially without the perks of finger traps, melon and egg bars or waffle parties — it’s fun to be back in the mind twist. — Yvonne Villarreal

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Everything you need to know about the film or TV series everyone’s talking about

Lee Jung-jae in “Squid Game” Season 2.

(No Ju-han / Netflix)

What does it mean to vote against your own interests? That’s the question at the heart of creator Hwang Dong-hyuk’s bloodier and more focused second season of “Squid Game” (Netflix). The latest run of episodes don’t quite reach the heartbreaking heights of “Gganbu,” Season 1’s marble-game episode, but they strive for something different, and perhaps more interesting.

We find Lee Jung-jae’s Seong Gi-hun right where we left him, seeking revenge on the people behind the games. And he’s backing up the Brink’s trucks to make it happen after winning the 45.6-billion won jackpot in Season 1. Before reaching the island, however, the show has fun with the wacky hijinks that ensue when Gi-hun enlists Mr. Kim, a loan shark he has finally paid off, to catch the recruiter who gave him the invite to the games.

This time around, the game designers create a mechanism that allows players to leave. The setup is simple: After each game — the jackpot rising with every death — the players vote on whether or not they want to stay or go home. If the majority votes to leave, they all walk away, splitting the money evenly. The game designers aren’t holding anyone hostage, and the players are free. (Yay!) All they need to do is convince each other how to vote. (Oh no.)

On paper, another season filled with schoolyard games turned into life-or-death sports sounds like more of the same. But in Season 2, the time we spend with players outside the arena proves more compelling than the games themselves. All the characters’ interactions are colored by the fact that some voted to leave while others voted to stay — or at least waited to leave until the cash (and bodies) piled up. The vote acts as a gigantic magnifying glass, forcing viewers to focus on the series’ critique of capitalism. In no uncertain terms, Hwang is telling us that the grunts, the everyday people who suffer under capitalist institutions, will be forced to become the architects of their own liberation. It’s time to stop fighting over scraps at the dinner table and start asking questions about who’s doing the feeding. Or in “Squid Game’s” case, pick up a gun and start fighting. — David Viramontes

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

Humberly González in “Star Trek: Section 31.”

(Jan Thijs / Paramount+)

Humberly González isn’t a diplomat, at least not in an official capacity. But she’s had some experience with statesmanship, thanks to starring in not one but two beloved sci-fi franchises.

“I get this question a lot actually, and I feel they’re trying to ruffle some feathers,” the “Star Wars Outlaws” and “Star Trek: Section 31” actor laughs of the “impossible choice.”

And though she’s keeping any preference close to the vest, it makes sense that González would be hard-pressed to decide: In the video game “Outlaws,” she became the first Latina lead in any “Star Wars” project, while in TV movie “Section 31,” now streaming on Paramount+, she stars opposite Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, Omari Hardwick and Sam Richardson.

González stopped by Screen Gab recently to discuss the differences between video game and screen acting, what she’s watching and more. — Matt Brennan

What have you watched recently that you’re recommending to everyone you know?

Oh, I got an excellent one! I recently watched a Netflix show from Spain called “La ultima noche en Tremor” (“Last night in Tremor Beach”). I am a sucker for good thriller, and this series has it all: impeccable performances, great cinematography and a story that keeps you at the edge of your seat. I dream of one day acting more in Spanish, so this series really inspired me.

What’s your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again?

It’s got to be “The Office” [Peacock]. I have watched it so many times, it penetrates my every day. I’m pretty sure I reference it daily. And to quote a brilliant line from Michael Scott: “Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”

Between “Star Trek: Section 31” and “Star Wars Outlaws,” you are part of not one but two defining sci-fi franchises. What’s your answer when someone asks you which you prefer, as a fan?

I usually respond with, “Well… they told me to reach for the stars, so I just became one.”

But in all seriousness, I am so immensely grateful to be a part of two franchises that have helped shape storytelling for decades. The fandoms have been welcoming and supportive, so that’s all that matters to me! I love being both Kay Vess and Melle, and I get giddy about the fact that I get to say, “May the force be with you” and “Live long and prosper.”

To the uninitiated, what would you say is most different about the process for video game acting versus film or television acting?

I would say the immersion, or lack thereof. When creating a video game there are several layers to the process, from motion capture to voiceover acting to imagining the world in your mind’s eye. Video games require more suspension of disbelief and creativity because you cannot rely on a set, costume or props to infuse the performance. You truly envision everything in your head, and it requires a level of conviction that will challenge your skills. When I do TV and film, I get to really see the world around me; I put on the character’s wardrobe and interact with the set. That pulls you in as an artist. You can attach meaning to the world that surrounds you. Both are very fun and contain the heart of acting, but the execution is different.