The Netflix original series Squid Game became a global phenomenon with its first season. Following its massive success, the release of Seasons 2 and 3 marked a significant expansion of its universe. In this post, we’ll dive into a comprehensive review of Squid Game Season 3, including the main plot, core game elements, and interpretations of character endings.
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
✔️ Season 3 Overview: Why Did They Return?
Season 3 begins with the fourth game, “Hide and Seek.” Players are divided into two teams—red as attackers and blue as defenders—with the objective of reaching a door within a time limit. While the game offers plenty of suspense and strategy, a pivotal event mid-season drastically shifts the story’s direction. Contestant Junhee unexpectedly gives birth during the game. From this moment, the narrative pivots from a traditional survival game format to an emotionally driven storyline centered around the theme “Protect the Baby.”
This shift in tone is jarring for long-time fans. Hyunju, despite her injuries, returns to the game arena to protect the baby and ultimately loses her life. Seong Gi-hun ends up taking responsibility for the child, and his internal conflicts begin to deepen, taking center stage as the plot progresses.
✔️ A Collapsing Character Arc? Questions About Seong Gi-hun
Seong Gi-hun, once a beloved character for his flawed yet morally grounded personality in Season 1, feels like a completely different person in Season 3. Blinded by vengeance over his friend Jeong-bae’s death, he makes several contradictory choices—sparing the Front Man while killing his own ally, Dae-woo.
Although he reenters the game under the pretense of saving people, many of his actions contradict that mission, eroding viewer empathy and immersion. In the final “Squid Game,” Gi-hun saves the child and sacrifices himself, seemingly fulfilling his purpose. However, in the grand scheme of things, his original goal remains largely unmet.
✔️ Standout Game Moments
While the games in Season 3 were often considered less impactful than those in previous seasons, a few moments still stood out:
- Hide and Seek: Hyunju’s intense action scenes and the suspenseful chase delivered some of the season’s most gripping sequences.
- Jump Rope Game: Gi-hun, holding the baby, exhibits superhuman strength. Although lacking realism, the scene carried strong symbolic weight.
- Final Squid Game: The duel between Gi-hun and Myeong-gi delivers the emotional climax. Gi-hun’s final line to the baby, “We are human,” reflects the series’ overarching message about the essence of humanity.
✔️ Character Endings: Interpreting the Outcomes
- Seong Gi-hun: Returned to stop the game and save lives, but most players still ended up dead. He saved only the baby and died himself. The charming underdog of Season 1 is now remembered as a tragic, broken hero.
- Hwang Jun-ho & In-ho (Front Man) Brothers: Fans hoping for resolution in the long-standing brother arc were disappointed. Jun-ho makes a brief appearance, yelling and firing a gun before disappearing. In-ho, meanwhile, repeats contradictory orders and exits without deeper development.
- Front Man: Once a past winner, the Front Man acts as a judge in Season 3 but ultimately exits the series with hints about a potential spin-off: “Squid Game America.”
- Min-su, Hyunju, Junhee: Min-su appears briefly, addicted to drugs, and exits without making a mark. Hyunju dies protecting the baby, and Junhee fades into the background after giving birth.
✔️ Final Thoughts
Squid Game Season 3 attempted bold narrative experiments and universe expansion. However, in doing so, it often lost the emotional focus and narrative cohesion that defined the original series. Overly sentimental storytelling, unclear thematic direction, and plot inconsistencies led to a loss of engagement for many fans.
Still, moments of impressive direction and symbolism hint at lingering potential. If a Season 4 is produced, there’s hope that the creators will return to the essence of the series—“brutality within simplicity”—that made Squid Game so iconic in the first place.
