I watched this whole season at a sleepover in a single night, and this was a few weeks ago, so these thoughts aren't the most coherent... I was getting "Catching Fire" vibes in terms of structure, but it's not better than the first season. I think the biggest failure is the perspective of the pink person- it did not feel compelling and I didn't feel like it added anything particularly new. Easily the best part is the frontman and his dynamic with Gi-Hun. It's endlessly entertaining to watch him do what he does, and his interactions with everyone else, especially because we are omniscient. I think other player characters were also really well done, I'm happy we get to follow most of them into next season. I'm not the biggest fan of feeling like the season was cut in half but whatever I guess. The recruiter guy was also so interesting, the only way he stays "sane" is by telling himself he's doing the right thing sending these people to their deaths by saying it was "their choice". He's the personification of the idea that everyone who is poor only have themselves to blame, and the whole russian roulette thing shows how much of a slave he is to the system. So I really liked the amount of time we spent outside of the games in the early episodes as well.