Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for Squid Game Season 3.Squid Game is over, or at least this iteration of the show appears to be. Season 3 dropped, ending one of the most highly anticipated shows of the summer. Calling this the third season is something of a misnomer, since it functioned structurally as the second half of a story that Season 2 was in the middle of telling. The second season had ended on a pretty abrupt cliffhanger, and the third season came out only about six months afterward. Since they were both filmed at the same time, it’s clear that one long season was simply chopped in half. That makes the material feel a little cheaper, but no big deal; fans didn’t have to wait very long, whereas a year in-between seasons might have tested their patience.
Since Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) ended the previous season in such a compromised position (and in such a heap of trouble), it’s no surprise that he was pretty dejected throughout the show’s final stretch. Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun) secretly switched sides and stomped out the returning winner’s little revolution. Now Gi-hun’s only chance of ending the games would be his partners setting sail in search of the elusive island, which isn’t moving at the most promising pace. Instead of killing Player 456, the Front Man decides to let him live and forces him to play the rest of the games with everybody else. In the end, it feels like season one was the strongest of the three. However, the third season is surely good enough to take a closer look at. Ranked by their dramatic weight, plausibility, complexity, action, and how much screen time they allot to those consistently annoying VIPs, every episode of the last season keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat.
6
“It’s Not Your Fault”
Episode 3
“It’s Not Your Fault” begins with more English-speaking employees than expected. All sadistic, all poorly written, and all poorly acted. If that sounds familiar, that’s because they’re the VIPs—who were allowed to take part in the game with the masked employee uniforms on. They were distractingly unconvincing in Season 1, and they’re no better now. Meanwhile, the voting process features an interesting change of heart: without Thanos’ (T.O.P.) drugs, Nam-gyu (Roh Jae-won) actually votes to leave. Not like that’s going to matter in the end.
…The voting process features an interesting change of heart: without Thanos’ drugs, Nam-gyu actually votes to leave.
Meanwhile, Woo-seok (Jeon Seok-ho) does a background check on the captain of the boat. Sadly, Jan Geum-ja (Kang Ae-shim) hangs herself in the middle of the night after begging Gi-hun to help Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri) and her baby get through the rest of the games. The next event is jump-rope, leading to Nam-gyu’s amusing demise and Gi-hun’s heroic rescue of Jun-hee’s baby. Furthermore, the unexpected (and alarming) plot twist at the end puts a compelling spin on the game.
5
“Keys and Knives”
Episode 1
The first episode of Season 3 resumes where the last season left off. Gi-hun is spared by the masked employees, despite the fact that he begs them to kill him. When the vote ends in a landslide that favors playing the game, it’s clear the rest of the votes will end similarly. Gi-hun places the blame on Kang Dae-ho (Wi Ha-joon), who was too much of a coward to return with those needed magazines during their rebellion.
…Kang No-eul kills some organ traffickers who had no business trusting her in the first place.
The strongest part of “Keys and Knives” is when the people who want to continue mockingly applaud Gi-hun for helping them. It’s devastating to watch. After that, Player 456 seems to be going through a transformation. Meanwhile, there’s some mistrust brewing on the boat, and Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young) kills some organ traffickers who had no business trusting her in the first place. These subplots are only vaguely interesting in what’s otherwise one of the best original Netflix thrillers.
4
“Circle Triangle Square”
Episode 5
The penultimate episode begins with Gi-hun trying to slit the other contestants’ throats, as the Front Man of the games instructed. Intriguingly, this is interspersed with a flashback of the Front Man doing the same in a very similar situation. It would have been nice to see more of his backstory, especially since his own brother is so plagued by the question of what happened to him, but oh well. Meanwhile, the girl in disguise predictably kills her superior—even though it’s very silly that only she remembers the gun in the elevator.
The six-person team who vowed to stick together winds up arguing over whom to push off first.
The final game involves pushing each other off of tall structures, a “Sky Squid Game.” The six-person team who vowed to stick together winds up arguing over whom to push off first. Since the baby and Gi-hun will be too difficult to separate, the team wants to ensure all six survive. After some decent twists and betrayals, we have a very interesting final round to come. Along with that foggy boat fight, this episode is taut with suspense pretty much the whole way through.
3
“222”
Episode 4
Crossing the half-way point in the season, the Squid Game contestants struggle to get past the half-way point in their jump-rope challenge. In fact, every point is dangerous, as a few people are strategically pushing others off at both ends of the structure. As the game finishes, we have to say goodbye to Jun-hee, one of the saddest deaths for one of the best characters in the show. Unfortunately, this is another episode with the dreaded VIPs, whose lines (and deliveries) are no better than before.
…Jun-hee’s baby is decreed the new Player 222, replacing her mother.
Another great twist: Jun-hee’s baby is decreed the new Player 222, replacing her mother. Meanwhile, the captain kills the mercenaries just when Woo-seok is able to tell his companion what he found. Since there is only one game left, the nine remaining players are treated to a feast. Despite the grave circumstances, it’s still funny to see the baby formula prepared in such a fancy way. Along with a curious clue about the final game and Gi-hun’s tense conversation with In-ho, this episode keeps the momentum going.
2
“Humans Are…”
Episode 6
The series finale begins with a stroke of luck. The men searching for the island have found a player who had just escaped from it. In the meantime, Myung-gi (Im Si-wan) tries to make Gi-hun give up the baby by preventing him from crossing. The game ends in tragic yet touching fashion, as Gi-hun manages to kill Myung-gi but forgets to press the button beforehand. Our protagonist dies thinking his plan to end the games failed, but at least he can sacrifice himself for the baby. Every life is worth saving, and the baby represents a purity of heart and hope for the next generation that fans no doubt found moving.
The takeaway is that Gi-hun and his gang essentially failed…
It’s not very satisfying for the Front Man’s brother to still not get any answers as he screams from a distance, but at least the Front Man has the decency to save the infant victor from his game. After everything self-destructs in the wake of the coast guard, we jump to six months in the future. It’s nice to see Gyeong-seok (Lee Jin-wook) and his daughter chatting with the woman who saved them. It’s also satisfying to see Hwang, Jun-ho, and Gi-hun’s daughter. The way the money gets distributed is affecting as well, though it’s dismaying to see that the games are apparently still going on in Los Angeles. Whether it’s In-ho or someone else in charge of it isn’t quite clear, nor is it particularly important. The takeaway is that Gi-hun and his gang essentially failed, and the random appearance by Cate Blanchett is more weird than anything else.
1
“The Starry Night”
Episode 2
The series finale was fitting enough, but the real standout of Season 3 is Episode 2, “The Starry Night.” It begins with the murder of the organ doctor, which is no surprise. What is surprising is when Gi-hun finds Dae-ho during the hide-and-seek game almost immediately and can’t bring himself to kill him. Of course, he eventually will, but it’s a good sign that Gi-hun struggles with murder even now. Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon) kicks more than one person’s butt to protect an injured Jun-hee (who’s also in labor). Meanwhile, Nam-gyu is so high that he’s acting just like Thanos. His idea is evil but clever: kill as many Blues as possible, since that would leave fewer for the Reds to kill and thus eliminate two players with one.
…Jan Geum-ja stabs her own son to save Jun-hee.
This strategy inevitably leads to a tragic moment, when Myung-gi kills Hyun-ju right when they were about to lead Jun-hee to safety. The irony is poignant, and it looks like the new mother has yet another reason to hate the father of her child. Just as impactful and shocking is when Jan Geum-ja stabs her own son to save Jun-hee. The amount of compelling twists, the sustained tension, the emotional intensity (as well as complexity), and the action combine in a way that rivals the best entries of Season 1. Without any awful VIP dialogue to undermine that, “The Starry Night” demonstrates better than the rest of Season 3 why Squid Game was a truly unique K-drama whose success will be hard to replicate.