Tomorrow, Netflix will launch the third and final season of «Squid Game» — the hit Korean series that topped all possible charts at the time of its release in 2021.
The situation with the second season, which launched on the streaming service in December last year, was a bit more complicated: Rotten Tomatoes gave it a83% from critics and only 63% from the audience, mainly from dissatisfied comments about the open final. In addition, it actually looked like half of a full season and had only 7 episodes, not 9, like the first one. With all this in mind, there are suspicions that the third one will repeat its «success», and here the show’s creator only adds to the confidence by saying that one should not count on a happy ending in the finale «Squid Game».
«People like happy endings»,” says Hwang Dong-hyuk in interview with The Guardian. «I’m like that too. But some stories, by their very nature, cannot have it. If you try to impose it, the essence is compromised. If a story holds up a mirror to something, it’s not always a happy ending. “The Squid Game is no exception».
He added that even for him, the ending was unpredictable. It should be noted here that «The Squid Game» was originally conceived as a miniseries, but due to its extreme popularity, Hwang had to come up with ways to continue.
«Even I did not expect such an ending. So I’m sure that many fans will not see it coming. I think people will react differently. It will definitely spark a lot of conversations. I’m looking forward to your news».
In its first season, «Squid Game» told the story of 456 people with financial problems who join a deadly competition to win a large cash prize. The winner was ultimately Song Gi-hoon (Lee Jong-che), who in the second season decides to use the prize to track down the organizers of the competition and stop it for good. He returns to the survival tournament with new participants and even attempts a rebellion, which in the final episode ends in failure and the death of Gi-hoon’s childhood friend Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) at the hands of the Frontman (Lee Byung-hong), who pretended to be one of the players.
The trailers for the third season hinted that Gi-hoon would make it to the finale again, and the Frontman will eventually take off her mask in front of him. Before that, we will see several more deadly games that will obviously end with the deaths of the remaining key characters. We still have YouTuber Lee Myung Gi, transgender contestant Cho Hyun Joo, a mother and son couple, and others.
«The tone will be more gloomy», — says Hwang Dong-hyuk. «The world as I see it has less hope. I wanted to explore questions such as: “What is the last resort of humanity? And do we have the will to give future generations something better?” After watching all three seasons, I hope that each of us can ask ourselves: “How much humanity is left in me?”».
Obviously, it will be hard for Netflix to say goodbye to a show that has brought it record-breaking views, so Hwang is already thinking about a potential spinoff, which should take place directly between seasons 1 and 2. Earlier, the streaming service also launched reality show based on «Squid Game» and is working on an American version of the series directed by David Fincher.
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