Binge-worthy: South Korean game show The Devil's Plan 2 ups the ante with death matches
The second season of The Devil's Plan features 14 contestants across various fields vying to be the final player standing. PHOTO: NETFLIX
The Devil's Plan 2
Netflix
★★★★☆
When its first season premiered on Netflix in 2023, South Korean competition reality show The Devil's Plan captured audiences with its intriguing premise.
Twelve contestants – comprising celebrities like the eventual winner, actor Ha Seok-jin, as well as Seungkwan from K-pop boy band Seventeen and actress Lee Si-won – are locked in one place for a week without access to the outside world. They hope to emerge the final survivor in a series of strategy games, showing off their brain power in the process.
As circumstances change and pressure mounts, players sometimes form alliances or turn on one another, allowing viewers to get a glimpse of how far they are willing to go to win.
The second season is back with 14 contestants, mostly related to the entertainment industry, like singer-host Kyuhyun from K-pop boy band Super Junior and Korean-American actor Justin Min (The Umbrella Academy, 2019 to 2024; Beef, 2023).
Players again have to try and earn game pieces to survive. Pieces can be traded among players or used for in-game benefits.
Here are three reasons to tune in.
1. High-stakes death matches
While both seasons see players with the least number of pieces at the end of the Main Match – the primary game involving all players each day – get sent to 'prison', they now have to play a prison death match after which one player gets eliminated.
This tweak means the stakes are that much higher if a player does not manage to snag enough pieces to evade jail during the Main Match, and also helps the show trim down its number of contestants quicker.
This, too, helps keeps the alliances interesting. Half of the remaining cohort gets sent to prison every day, and in the event that multiple people have the same number of pieces, those with the most number of pieces will choose who is sent there.
The editing is snappy, without too much time spent on non-gameplay portions. With main and prison matches alternating quickly, viewers are kept hooked to find out which prisoners do not make it through the night.
The second season introduces a new element of death matches for players who are sent to prison daily when they fail to secure enough game pieces to keep themselves safe.
PHOTO: NETFLIX
2. Players getting humbled
One of the great joys of The Devil's Plan is watching exactly that.
All 14 contestants are considered brainy or intelligent in some respect, like retired professional Go player Lee Se-dol, Physics Olympiad participant Park Sang-yeon or Seoul National University student and influencer Jeong Hyun-gyu. As such, many of them join The Devil's Plan confident of their ability to outsmart others and ace the games.
Yet, their demeanours change as the game begins to test them in ways they did not foresee or when they underestimate other players. It is satisfying to see them go from cocky and smug to quietly panicking or openly desperate.
3. 'Competence porn'
K-pop singer and boy band Super Junior member Kyuhyun showed his ability to lie and form alliances in the second season of South Korean strategy game competition show The Devil's Plan.
PHOTO: NETFLIX
If you enjoy 'competence porn' – watching people be really good at what they do – then The Devil's Plan is for you.
With various games requiring different skill sets – bluffing, mathematics, logic, spatial awareness or even how to read people – different contestants get a chance to show off.
Actress Yoon So-hui, a graduate of Kaist (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), was one of the more low-key contestants, but a star player nonetheless. Put her in front of any difficult maths-adjacent puzzle, and she will find a way to solve it, often while others are talking or arguing.
Even Kyuhyun finds a way to shine when asked to act, lie and betray his teammates.
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Carlos Alcaraz flattens Tommy Paul to reach French Open semis, Lorenzo Musetti through
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his victory over Tommy Paul of the US. PHOTO: AFP PARIS - Carlos Alcaraz continued his French Open title defence with a display of breathtaking brutality for a 6-0 6-1 6-4 victory over American 12th seed Tommy Paul and a spot in the Roland Garros semi-finals on June 3. The second seed has searched in vain for his usual sublime form on Parisian clay this year, needing four sets in his last three matches to dismiss determined opponents, but he had no trouble on a balmy evening on Court Philippe Chatrier. "It was like I could close my eyes and everything went in," Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. "My feeling was unbelievable, I tried to hit my shots at 100%... today was just one of those matches where everything went in. "We were in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros and these matches aren't easy. I've lost to him twice and against Tommy, matches are very difficult. That helped me focus on my tennis and try not to go down or let him get into the match." Alcaraz motored through the opening set without dropping a game and grabbed his fourth break early in the second set after sparing Paul the ignominy of another bagel and the 22-year-old pulled further away to double his lead in only 53 minutes. He glided across the red clay while delivering punishing shots, knocking the racket out of Paul's hands at one point with a thunderous effort, before finally facing some resistance in the third set. Former junior French Open champion Paul stayed level with Alcaraz until 4-4 but soon faded away and the holder closed out the victory to book a clash with Italian eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti in the semi-finals. Musetti, 23, battled past American Frances Tiafoe, winning 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 against the 15th seed after over two hours 45 minutes. For both Musetti and Tiafoe – twice a US Open semi-finalist – it was a first last-eight appearance at Roland Garros. And both struggled to find their feet. 'It was pretty windy and not that easy to find the right feelings with the ball, but I managed to win this incredible third set, which was probably the key of the match,' said the Italian. Musetti's serve proved to be a major weapon on the day as he fired down eight aces with an 81 per cent success rate on his first serve in gusty conditions in Paris. He also saved two of the three break points engineered by Tiafoe, who had 51 unforced errors to the Italian's 32. Italy's Lorenzo Musetti speaking to the US' Frances Tiafoe after winning their quarter-final match. PHOTO: REUTERS The Italian is now 13-4 at Roland Garros, where he will contest his second Grand Slam semi-final following his run to the same stage at Wimbledon in 2024. 'A lot of junk shots today,' said Tiafoe of his own performance. 'Yeah, he was just tougher in the winning-ugly department, because it wasn't going to be clean from either of us. It was really, really windy and tough conditions.' REUTERS, AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Alcaraz inspired by rival Sinner for ruthless Roland Garros win
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 2, 2025 Italy's Jannik Sinner in action during his fourth round match against Russia's Andrey Rublev REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 3, 2025 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after winning his quarter final match against Tommy Paul of the U.S. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse PARIS - Defending French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz drew inspiration from his main rival and world number one Jannik Sinner to race past Tommy Paul in 94 minutes and reach the Roland Garros semi-finals on Tuesday. Alcaraz gave a masterclass in attacking tennis to win the opening two sets in under an hour and overwhelmed the American 12th seed for a 6-0 6-1 6-4 win and a meeting with Italian Lorenzo Musetti. The Spanish second seed's ruthless display came a day after Sinner beat Andrey Rublev in three sets to continue his devastating form at the year's second Grand Slam. "I love to watch matches on my days off, and yeah, let's say he inspires me in some way just to give my 100% in every match," Alcaraz told reporters. "He sees how important it is to play at such a great level in the whole match, just to have more time to recover after the match. So I'm just trying to do it as well. "But for me, it's great to have tennis. I love Grand Slams for that because on my days off, I have great matches to watch and get inspired by watching them." Alcaraz beat Musetti in the Monte Carlo final and the Rome semi-final en route to the title but expected a tough test when they face off again in Paris. "It's going to be a beautiful battle, a beautiful match," Alcaraz added. "I think we're both playing great tennis. Monte Carlo final, semis in Rome, so it's going to be great for the people to watch as well. I have to be ready for that match." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Alcaraz bludgeons Paul to reach French Open semis, Swiatek to face Sabalenka
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 3, 2025 Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in action during his quarter final match against Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 3, 2025 Italy's Lorenzo Musetti celebrates during his quarter final match against Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner PARIS - Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz steamrolled past American 12th-seed Tommy Paul 6-0 6-1 6-4 at the French Open on Tuesday with a jaw-dropping display of attacking tennis in one of the most one-sided men's quarter-finals in Paris in recent memory. Four-time champion Iga Swiatek, who is looking to become the first woman in the professional era to win four consecutive titles in Paris, also punched her semi-final ticket with a straight sets win over Elina Svitolina of Ukraine to set up a mouth-watering semi-final with world number one Aryna Sabalenka. But it was four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz's merciless dismantling of Paul that grabbed the fans' attention, with the 22-year-old Spaniard terrorising the former French Open junior champion who looked like a fish out of water. Alcaraz charged through the first two sets in just 53 minutes and in near flawless fashion, hitting winners at will and chasing down every ball before the shell-shocked American had any time to react. Paul pulled himself together to hold serve and go 4-3 up in the third but as the sun gradually went down over Paris so did the curtain on his inspired run, with Alcaraz winning three games in a row to put him out of his misery in just 94 minutes. "I could close my eyes and everything went in," Alcaraz said. "My feeling was unbelievable. I tried to hit the shots 100% and not think about it." "Today it was one of those matches where everything went in," he said. He will next take on in-form Italian Lorenzo Musetti who battled past American Frances Tiafoe in four sets after surviving a second-set wobble, to reach the French Open semi-finals for the first time. MUSETTI WARNING Musetti, the world number seven, who escaped with a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct when he kicked a ball at a line judge, eventually overran 15th seed Tiafoe. "Honestly it was really unlucky coincidence," said Musetti of the incident. "I was a little bit scared, because I really didn't want to harm nobody, of course. So I immediately went to the line umpire, and I of course said, 'sorry', I apologise to everyone." "It was right to have a warning, but I think the umpire saw that there was no intention about that, and that's why probably just, you know, let me continue my game." That occurred in the second set when Musetti, the only man to reach at least the semi-finals of every main claycourt event this season, was given balls to serve. He kicked one to inadvertently hit the line judge, who barely flinched even though she was hit on her upper body. Grand Slam rules state that players are issued a warning at first instance for any ball abuse. Tiafoe, however, called it 'comical' that there was no serious punishment. "I mean, obviously he did that and nothing happened," said Tiafoe, who had looked surprised and pointed out the incident to the chair umpire. "I think that's comical, but it is what it is. Nothing happened, so there's nothing really to talk about. Obviously it's not consistent, so it is what it is." Earlier, and in front of a sparse crowd around lunchtime, Swiatek braved the windy conditions to beat Svitolina 6-1 7-5. Although Swiatek failed to win a title going into the tournament this season, she looks to have rediscovered her remarkable claycourt form in Paris, stretching her winning run at the French Open to 26 consecutive matches following her title three-peat between 2022-24 to add to her 2020 crown. Three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka, hunting her first French Open crown, also needed just two sets to overcome Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen and snap her opponent's 10-match winning streak at Roland Garros with a 7-6(3) 6-3 victory. "I think we're all here for one reason," Sabalenka said. "Everyone wants that beautiful trophy. I'm glad I have another opportunity, another semi-final to do better than last time." "I really hope that by the end of the claycourt season I'm really proud of myself." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
