Season 2 of Beast Games is here, and just like in its inaugural season, one lucky contestant will seize a hefty sum of life-altering cash. Fans are already speculating on the odds of winning, perhaps even placing bets on platforms like Polymarket. The year is 2026, and America is in a peculiar state of rapid financial fluctuations, where fortunes can be made or shattered overnight. Some find themselves propelled to wealth, while others face abrupt cancellations. Opportunities seem to abound, but mostly for a select few, as many navigate frayed financial and social safety nets. It feels reminiscent of those satirical commercials from the early RoboCop films, where life is a relentless zero-sum game. Thus, it’s easy to sympathize with the contestants embarking on YouTuber Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson’s competitive reality show. In Beast Games, the $5 million prize is not just an abstract goal—it’s a tangible incentive that dictates the gameplay and lifestyle on his custom-built sets. In a society where traditional norms and courtesies seem to have vanished, pursuing personal gain might be the only thing left to strive for.

There it is—piles of cash, with Donaldson himself perched atop it. For the contestants, the task is straightforward: navigate through the show’s games, bribes, and challenges. The stakes are high, and the potential for spectacular failures is ever-present, as the show’s grandeur lies in its massive prizes and the sheer number of participants. Whatever drives them, these contestants have committed, and as the games begin, it’s time to “Open the trapdoors!”

The format has shifted this season. Instead of starting with a thousand participants and trimming them down, Beast Games now pits two teams against each other. Enter the arena, where 100 members of Team Strong flex their muscles in sleeveless, numbered blue jerseys. They’re followed by 100 members of Team Smart, who chant “Smart! Smart! Smart!” while tapping their heads—a rather unimaginative display. This season, Smarts will clash with Strongs, culminating in a single victor. MrBeast claims this assembly of intellect and brawn is unprecedented in human history, though the veracity of that statement remains up for debate.

THIS GAME? SO ON

In the first challenge for Team Strong, participants must descend ropes to retrieve weighted, color-coded boxes equal to one-third of their weight and return them to the top. This test seems tailor-made for them. Among them are Monika, a former gymnast; Sonya, a bareknuckle boxer; Vance, a two-time American Ninja Warrior champion; and Paralympian Noelle, who removes her prosthetic leg to be seven pounds lighter, exclaiming, “Let’s do this!” Yet, three minutes later, she faces elimination.

The competition is fierce, with eliminations happening almost instantaneously. Eventually, it will narrow down to the “Beast City 50” from both the Strongs and the Smarts. The latter must tackle a game involving memorizing patterns of colored blocks. Intelligence doesn’t always align with muscle power, as cybersecurity expert Omid confidently states, “I know I can memorize way better than at least half the people in here.” Despite its flashy, social media-forward presentation, Beast Games manages to echo the essence of classic game shows like Classic Concentration, blending the new with the nostalgic.

BEAST CITY: POPULATION 100

MrBeast leads the 100 contestants who ultimately triumph from both groups through the swirling darkness. Beast City is splayed out before them, and when the host cuts the ribbon, the players run into the brightly-lit, custom-fabricated space like the winners of a megamall shopping spree. There is a basketball court, lodging kiosks, a gym for the strongs and a library for the smarts. (Jokes are made about these things called books.) It seems like the only food available is either the Donaldson-created snacks known as Feastables, or lite bites from a 24-hour Starbucks, but everybody is still mad excited. They made it to Beast City, baby! Only one season in and Beast Games has established a precedent beyond its eye-boggling cash prize, but it’s still notable that the money stack follows MrBeast around to every setup he does. If this show could go to a cutaway interview with the actual money, it would. 

There is also a portal around these parts, guarded by masked, silent, Squid Game-aping guards. While the Smarts and the Strongs feel each other out – typically allying within their teams, but also wondering about what will happen when they must collaborate across the aisle – they also anticipate traveling through that lens cap-like circular door. What will be their fate on the other side of the portal?

ENTER THE OG’S      

It’s a white-walled and floored, large diameter space. It can transform into all kinds of gaming scenarios. And once everyone is lined up around the perimeter, MrBeast drops the first big shocker of Season 2. In this part of the game, anyone who departs will be replaced by another player. And these aren’t just ringers – they’re the best contestants from Season 1.

Donaldson offers any Smart or Strong the opportunity to collect $100,000 instantly…if they self-deport from Beast Games. And if they do, they must pick their successor from the bank of masked cash case holders, who are all Beast vets. Like Twana Barnett, #830, who came in second to Jeff Allen, #831. But wait, as all the masks come off, Jeff’s here, too! And also Karim, #406, who MrBeast calls the villain of Season 1! And the OG hits keep coming, until ten former contestants are ready to be re-inserted into Beast Games. 

“Will! You! Step! Forward?!” Almost nothing in Beast Games is not hysterically yelled. But the contestants are matching their host’s excitement. Just like their love for Beast City, they all seem intimately familiar with each OG’s gameplay style. Which also means that if anybody takes the 100K and walks, they might harm any alliances already made. It’s the Smarts facing the Strongs across the circle, with the OG’s waiting to disrupt the setup. Cue the cliffhanger ending. 

100 players remain.

Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is a Chicago-based writer. A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.