A version of this story appeared in Esquire’s entertainment newsletter, T he Cliff-Hanger . Sign up here to receive weekly criticism of the movie or television show of the moment shipped directly to your in-box.

Let me tell you about my surreal morning. I’m walking up the pastel-colored stairs from Squid Game with other journalists in a single-file line, genuinely frightened of what lies before me. In the South Korean Netflix series, characters who ascend these stairs usually end up in body bags after failing some killer children’s game. Me? I arrive in a food court, where options include WWE Smashburgers, Stranger Things -inspired BLT’s, and Selling Caesar salads. I may not be forced to walk the Squid Game glass bridge or die trying, but I’m certainly being tested tod

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