Squid Game is a Korean Netflix series, set in Korea, that ponders upon the morality that we (as humans) say we abide by. By putting 456 players in each game, we feel a dramatic claustrophobia (much like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet) which hooks us in; in fact, the layers of complexity builds in each season as we become attached to the players because we see glimpses of their past via flashbacks, and we see how different characters change throughout the season they're in.

The protagonist, Seong Gi-Hun, is a turbulent character as we see him play in all 3 seasons of the show. We will explore more now!

Spoiler alert: this discusses season 3 of Squid Game, so watch all of it on Netflix now!

Image Credit: Dick Thomas Johnson from Wikimedia Commons

My take on Season 3

I love Squid Game, since season 1 we have had lovable characters like Ali Abdul and detestable ones like Cho Sang-woo; however, the genius in Squid Game lies in our own opinions on the characters, as we see our perceptions are questioned, twisted, and crushed in every episode. Which is why I found season 2 rather dry, as we kept a lot of beloved characters alive like Kim Jun-hee and Jang Geum-ja, which somehow subverted our expectations but conformed to that unpredictability of the show. So, when I finally binged the show, after avoiding it over season 2, I was pleasantly surprised by how all of the events in season 2 set the groundworks for the far more gruesome deaths and rapid changes in pace the show set.

Season 3 did more. To kill a mother and her son in the same series is something unbelievable, perhaps even Shakespearean, due to how it was written.

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Squid Game is genius!

A human chandelier, the use of knives in an "innocent" game of hide-and-seek, and a recurring exploration of taboos like drug addictions all culminated in the Squid Game, which we all know and love.

I found season 3 had a lot more layers of complexity, which may have created confusion for people who just wanted to watch the show. This is something I must warn you of. You will feel lost in every episode if you do not watch it as a strong binge, or you have notes, because of how many perspectives are being given to you in each episode.

Overall, it makes watching shows in foreign languages much harder as you are trying to track both the subtitles and the plot, which should be loved and hated. Hate could be sprinkled on season 3 for the nature of the killings as they seem far more senseless; for example, player 333 kills lots of people in the hide-and-seek game as if he always had it in him. It truly is important to question if these characters were written well enough to have given us even some evidence that they could have changed for the better or the worse.

“Hate”

Image Credit: Sun Jin Cho from Unsplash

You are played with in every episode: each moment of catharsis is a brief episode of false hope (which is far more noticeable in season 3). You are left to hang there like the rope in the tug of war. Therefore, the number of suicides in this season seemed to emphasize the dehumanisation of the participants of each game.

We learn about how even those who run the games have developed a numbness to the gore and blood as if it is simply a children's game; furthermore, Oh Il-nam's immortalisation as a statue shows how they honour this passing down of the role as the Front Man. Gi-Hun's sacrifice to save Jun-Hee's baby signified his selflessness; although, it can be construed as selfish as Gi-Hun knows that he is trying to be recruited as the next Front man. A death that should be remembered. Gi-Hun's death may suggest that his main storyline has been followed since the first episode ended.

Season 3 is the end of the thread for us.

What’s next?

We now ask, will there be more? Cate Blanchett appears as the American version of Gong Yoo's character in the Salesman. I loved how both Cate Blanchett and Gong Yoo are extremely well-known, even notorious, for being incredible at acting.

Perhaps the fame from Squid Game Korea has called for a change in leadership from Hollywood to pass the baton from Asia to North America. In my opinion, I find that this constant continuation of already popular franchises like Mission: Impossible seems to be more of an attempt to turn a profit than an attempt to entertain, which is extremely jarring. Interestingly, this was a fun sneak peek that was given to us on the last episode.

Image Credit: Harald Kritchel from Wikimedia Commons

Ultimately, the title of this article, truly, cannot encapsulate my praises for the show; however, I hope you now appreciate that this show is practically Shakespearean yet so novel in the way it does not hide behind rose-tinted glasses. By enlightening our world of the horrors our hands can produce, we teach ourselves a valuable lesson about how we should be constantly assessing our morals. If there is a season 4 or an "American Squid Game", then we should start cancelling our plans ahead of time so we can binge-watch it!