by Chantal Ashford, Contributing Writer
I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Squid Game — not after the half-year-long wait since Season Two, and the four-year journey since it all began in 2021. But after everything, Season Three is a lukewarm farewell. A lot of unresolved plot lines. A cliffhanger some may have wanted, but I definitely didn’t.
We pick up right where we left off: The rebellion has failed, the games continue, and the money keeps piling up. Gi-hoon (Lee Jung-jae) is running on fumes, emotionally and physically, while In-ho (Lee Byung-hun) is back behind the mask as the Front Man, keeping the machine running. On the outside, Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) and his team are back on the trail, searching for the island, hoping to expose the horror of it all finally. But even that thread is rushed.
This season’s biggest issue? It tries to do too much in just six episodes. The games aren’t as brutal or emotionally shattering as before, and the writing is stretched thin. Creator and writer Hwang Dong-hyuk is juggling a lot, and it shows — this season needed more room to breathe.
Let’s talk about the VIPs. Their scenes are cringy at best, painful at worst. Even with subtitles, their voices made me feel like I was watching a bad dub. They should’ve been seen, not heard.
There are a few shocking deaths, but the emotional gut punches just don’t land the way they do in Season One. Only two — maybe three — truly hurt. One in particular I saw coming from miles away, which made it sting even less. At this point, it’s clear Squid Game was never meant for happy endings — just bittersweet ones that come at a heavy cost.
The highlight for me is Episode Four, “222.” What I thought would be a quiet flashback turns into a brutal, heartbreaking look at what people will do for money. It delivers one of the most twisted games yet — jump rope at a deadly height — and reminded me of the show’s original bite.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t rooting for many characters this time around. Besides Gi-Hun, there wasn’t anyone I felt connected to.
By the time the final episode rolled around, I wasn’t excited — I just wanted to see how it ended. And it didn’t even give me that satisfaction.
As much as I suspect this won’t be the last we see of Squid Game, maybe it’s time to pull the plug. Every game has to end eventually.
Rating: It Was Just Okay
Squid Game is currently streaming on Netflix
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