The third and final season of Squid Game drops on Netflix this Friday, and if you can believe it, the series about billionaires making poor people fight to the death for their amusement will end in a way that is, in the words of creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, "dark and bleak."
That's according to an interview he gave to The Guardian: “The world, as I observe it, has less hope. I wanted to explore questions like, ‘What is the very last resort of humankind? And do we have the will to give future generations something better?’ After watching all three seasons, I hope we can each ask ourselves, ‘What kind of humanity do I have left in me?’”
"People like a happy ending. I’m like that too. But some stories, by nature, can’t have one. If you try to force one, the essence is compromised. If a story is holding up a mirror to something, then it’s not always a happy ending. Squid Game is no exception."
Squid Game is a show that regularly introduces good-natured, earnest people and then kills them in brutal ways, in addition to introducing a number of heartless bastards who also meet their end, all while the billionaires watch and laugh. With that kind of history, I doubt many people were holding out for a proper happy ending, but just in case you were, let this be the nail in that coffin.
To me, Squid Game is two shows. On the one hand, it's a hugely entertaining and creative series that delivers spectacular set piece after spectacular set piece, all with very high stakes; the show can and will kill its characters, even fan favorites. And the Squid Games themselves are fabulously inventive; you always want to see how the contestants' lives will be put at risk next.
On the other hand, the show is openly critical of modernity and capitalism. Squid Game's immense popularity proves that this message resonates with people, although I don't think it would as strongly if the show weren't also very well-made. It's a rare beast. “The messages of Squid Game are very important,” said Lee Jung-jae, who plays lead character Seong Gi-hun. "And of course it’s a TV show – you have to provide entertainment. In season three, we have new games, new characters, twists and turns. It’s going to be very entertaining – but with a message.”
Fans will not see the finale coming
A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down; in this case, the medicine is the message and the spoonful of sugar is a series of games where poor people brutally die. And people eat it up, me included. According to AllKPop, the audience stood up and cheered after an advance screening of the season 3 premiere, with audience members praising the increased intensity. "I promise it won’t disappoint,” Hwang Dong-hyuk told the audience. I believe him.
We don't have to wait much longer to see how the show ends, but those few days are going to be unbearable for fans. “The finale was something even I didn’t expect, so I’m sure a lot of fans will not see it coming," said Lee Jung-jae. "I think a lot of people will have different reactions. It’s definitely going to spur a lot of conversation. I’m looking forward to listening.”
As for whether this is really the end forever, Hwang Dong-hyuk is open to coming back sooner or later. “There’s no saying we’ll never do something again,” he said. “I don’t want to close the door – there are some threads left untied. If I were to come back to the Squid Game universe, I think I would come back with a spin-off. Narratively, there’s a three-year gap between seasons one and two. While Gi-hun was on the search for the Front Man and the Recruiter, what were those villains up to? What do the pink guards do outside Squid Game? Those would be fun ideas to explore.”
In addition, there's long been talk of Mindhunter creator David Fincher creating an English-language version of Squid Game; that show is pretty early in development, but what we've heard is that it would be a new show with a new set of characters in a new location, rather than a remake of the original series. So apparently they hold Squid Game-style contests all over the world! Maybe that's something we'll find out in season 3. “I am a big fan – I watched a lot of his works when I was studying film," Hwang Dong-hyuk said. "So if it’s true, I welcome it with all my heart.”
But that'll all be then. For now, the third and final season of Squid Game (which consists of six episodes) drops on Netflix this Friday, June 27.
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