I think I just realized what bothered me thematically about Squid Game. Early on (first two episodes), it seemed like the thesis was that the games were better than capitalism because they are more fair. They were more like the ideal that capitalism is sold as, as opposed to the hopeless reality of most of the characters' lives. But as the show went on and the games got more random and arbitrary, that really breaks down and it seems like the games are supposed to be more of a direct metaphor for capitalist society, which is just the author saying "Look! Capitalist society is cruel and unfair just like the contrived metaphor I've come up with! " It's also just a boring take that's been done over and over.