There comes a sure level in watching Squid Game the place, in the event you’re fortunate, you’ve efficiently educated your self to cease caring. That’s as a result of this present’s dedication to being one of many grimmest exhibits ever produced doesn’t let up throughout its third season, which brings creator/author/director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s addictive dystopian drama to an in depth, with buckets of blood and tons of painful choices for its characters.
The third season, now streaming on Netflix, picks up proper after the failed revolution which climaxed on the finish of Season 2 — our hero Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) dropped again into the sport together with the remaining survivors, most of whom are nonetheless fiercely dedicated to persevering with to play these vicious video games and profitable the large prize pot. And so the battle finally involves an in depth, whereas additionally offering further perception into among the key gamers, just like the Entrance Man (Lee Byung-hun).
To be clear, calling this a 3rd season feels fairly flimsy, because it performs out far more like Half 2 of Season 2, with solely three new video games stretched out over these six episodes. Additionally filling time is the off-island antics of Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) and the group making an attempt to take down the Squid Sport from the surface, in addition to the (arguably extra profitable) efforts by North Korean guard Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young) to convey issues down from inside.
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Whereas the plotting could possibly be tighter, that doesn’t diminish the quantity of cruelty flung at each these characters and the viewers alike — getting emotionally invested in any of those characters turns into a lure, as a result of as talked about, caring about their fates is a surefire path to distress. Was Squid Sport not sufficient of a bummer for you in its first two seasons? Cool, properly, guess what: A child is now one of many contestants! (There’s additionally a canine homicide, only for kicks.)
It in fact feels a bit foolish to complain about this present being too darkish — subsequent, I’ll be complaining that they present too many close-ups of scrumptious meals on High Chef. And in some methods, that darkness is a characteristic, not a bug. When reviewing Season 2, I discovered that the three years that had handed since Season 1 had given the present’s core themes some further sharpness — and that was in December 2024, earlier than I developed the compulsive must lookup the definition of totalitarianism each day.
The world simply retains getting darker and darker, it appears, and Squid Sport has remarkably managed to maintain tempo with it simply by being its personal merciless self. For the purpose stays crystal clear: The individuals who signal as much as play these video games achieve this largely out of maximum desperation, trapped in conditions the place competing to the demise for an enormous money prize looks like the absolute best possibility. What created that desperation? The identical system that permits sure VIPs to look at from above, betting on the gamers’ survival whereas sitting on comfortable thrones.
Squid Sport (Netflix)
Whereas its themes would possibly nonetheless be fairly related, do Seasons 2 and three justify their existence by saying something that the primary season of Squid Sport didn’t already say? This was an actual query I used to be requested by a pal whereas I used to be working my approach by means of the ultimate episodes, one which hovered in my thoughts as I reached the ending. And in some methods, the trustworthy reply is not any: Capitalism stays the enemy, bringing out the worst in individuals much more usually than it brings out their greatest.
That stated, the elevated bleakness of those closing six episodes actually does put an exclamation level on that concept. “Do you continue to place confidence in individuals?” Gi-hun is requested late into the season. It’s a query he doesn’t reply with phrases; as an alternative, he finds a solution to reply it together with his personal actions. That’s maybe essentially the most optimistic ethical Squid Sport has to supply — that the capability for being higher lies inside us all, although it could require actual sacrifice.
What Squid Sport proves most profitable at, after three seasons, is ending. That’s not meant as a dig, however somewhat a praise to the comparatively decisive closing moments of the season. The conclusion doesn’t essentially shut the door ceaselessly on future tales on this universe, nevertheless it does cement the purpose Hwang desires to make. (There’s a cheeky wit to the ultimate moments, too, with a shock too good to spoil right here.)
A superb ending will be powerful for any present, nevertheless it positively helps if the showrunner is aware of precisely what they need to say with it, and that’s very true on this case. Squid Sport is likely to be over. However we nonetheless must dwell on the planet that created it.
Squid Sport Season 3 is streaming now on Netflix. Take a look at the trailer under.
