Despite Positive Critic Reviews, ‘Squid Game’ Season 3’s Audience Score Tanks as Fans Share Their Thoughts

It’s perhaps all for the best that Netflix and creator Hwang Dong-hyuk remained resolute in their decision to end Squid Game after its third season. The franchise is a cash cow for the streamer, and it remains perhaps the single most successful example of a show finding its audience organically. Squid Game debuted to massive viewership numbers back in 2021, and quickly became Netflix’s most-watched original series. The second and third seasons were filmed back-to-back, as Netflix focused on how to expand the IP further. But the third season, which debuted last week, has struggled to connect with the show’s legions of fans across the world. Although it continues to hold a positive critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences aren’t holding back in voicing their disapproval.

In a turn of events that mirrors the plot of the dystopian show, which is set in a future South Korea where debt-ridden citizens fight to the death in carefully constructed games, the audience rating for the third season has now fallen to a terrible 50%. The critics’ score, on the other hand, is currently sitting at a respectable 82%. The site’s consensus for the third season reads, “The games reach a grim crescendo in this climactic third season, repeating familiar beats but with a ruthlessness that drives creator Hwang Dong-hyuk’s themes home.”

In her review, Collider’s Therese Lacson wrote, “Season 3 takes what worked from the previous two and cranks it up to 100 — and then goes past that.” By comparison, the first season holds a 95% critics’ score and an 84% audience score on RT, while the second season holds an 83% critics’ score and a 63% audience score. A critique of capitalism and corporate greed, the show’s declining hold over the audiences’ imagination might be a concern for Netflix, as it plots further moves. “Squid Game 3 feels like a shadow of its former self. Unlike the gripping pace of Seasons 1 and 2, this one drags, with slow storytelling and little payoff,” one fan wrote on RT, and another concurred: “Squid Game Season 3 is a mess. It doesn’t explain anything that was left hanging in Season 2, and the main character’s decisions are confusing and inconsistent.”

‘Squid Game’s Success Wasn’t Manufactured Based on An Algorithm

Squid Game debuted in 2021, when the world was still struggling to find its footing after the pandemic and, in parallel, being swept under the “Korean Wave.” It struck a chord with audiences across the globe, and emerged as Netflix’s most-watched original series, beating out the likes of Stranger Things and Money Heist. While fans waited for a follow-up season, the streamer released a reality series spin-off, titled Squid Game: The Challenge. There was also chatter about an English-language remake to be produced, of all people, by David Fincher. Director Hwang, on the other hand, admitted that he’s mulling over a spin-off. You can watch the show on Netflix, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.