Squid Game 3: A Satisfying Finale Or Another Sell Out? (spoiler free!)

I LOVED the original season of Netflix's Squid Game. I even learned how to make dalgona for a party and ruined half my kitchen utensils! I thought it was horrifying, gripping, emotional, so well acted, unpredictable, deeply uncomfortable, and a brilliantly executed commentary on wealth, status, power, debt, and class. It should’ve stopped after one season.

We are living in a world full of remakes, reboots, sequels no one has asked for, and multiple seasons of a dragged out idea solely for the purpose of money, and this series was no exception. The series creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, never intended for the series to continue past a singular season, and I think it’s very evident in the writing, execution, and lack of cohesion in both Seasons 2 and 3, but especially 3. When a show or film series is dragged out this way, I think it really extinguishes the fires of originality, creativity, and artistic excellence.

There are moments in the series finale that are very invigorating, remind us as to why Korean cinema is some of the most profound, emotional, and impactful art being created, and harken back to the series original roots and tone. But for me, they are not enough to salvage how disjointed, poorly edited, and strange the last season landed for me.

The three major elements I felt suffered immensely this season are the following: 

1. The disjointed writing and straying from good storytelling.

2. Changing of character behavior that doesn’t match their values and core

3. Dragging out a three season ending only for it to lead to another spin off/more money

Season 1 of Squid Game was so well written- every line of dialogue was clearly thought out, and while it wasn’t perfect, it was incredibly gripping from start to finish, and was clearly thought through conceptually immensely before being brought to life on screen. The writing has beautiful and touching moments in the next two seasons, but there is a very apparent dip in quality, as the creator of the series never intended for the series to surpass one season. Thus, the writing issues and plot holes, are sadly very obvious. The presence and motivation of a baby in season 3 also felt really distracting and a little annoying to me-it was a huge motivator to the last few episodes that didn’t make a lot of sense and felt like shock factor. I give Dong-hyuk credit though - there are some story lines and characters that are just as compelling as season 1, despite the writing issues (the mom and son!) and the games themselves are just as brilliant and diabolical as season 1 (Hide and Seek made me nauseas and panicked. So horrifying and well executed). 

While this inherently pairs with the writing issues, many of the character choices and twists in the plot don’t really fit the history of the show, the story, and I think this is especially true for our protagonist. Without spoiling, the ending of his story in this season is so deeply tragic, surprising, and feels like a slap in the face after following his journey for many years now. While I also really appreciate the inclusion of a trans character, and more diversity within the cast as a whole in the recent seasons, it felt a bit too on the nose/solely to fit a DEI quota, that I found it at times it didn’t fit the tone, nor did it always aid the story. The pacing of both season 2-3 was immensely slow, edited in a disjointed way, and felt like they could’ve cut the material in half. In Squid Game, we know that most people won’t make it out alive. But the way this shakes out in it’s final season feels disappointing, rushed, sudden, and honestly, kind of hopeless. Perhaps the fact that this show is mirroring what we are living in real life right now with the massive disparity between rich and poor, is part of the reason this last season didn’t work for me-it feels a little too close to real life, and thus, this isn’t entertainment. It’s just depressing.

I’m not very subtle about my disdain for sequels, reboots, and re-makes. It’s one of my biggest cinema/television pet peeves. But this show truly did not need two more seasons. To drag out this story over three seasons, only to end with an American spin off was the ultimate capitalistic, predictable, and disappointing ending (love a Cate Blanchett cameo though!). The irony is not lost on me and I’m sure others here-a show all about social issues, class, debt, money, and the economic system became a money oriented and motivated project.

I encourage fans of the show to see this series all the way through, but warn folks to lower your expectations- while there are magnificent performances, moments of such gutting emotion, and elements present of what makes Korean cinema so exciting, I hope you will not finish the series feeling as disappointed, depressed, and confused as I felt.