Squid Game became Netflix’s most-watched series of all time and made history with major wins, including at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards. Season 1 left a global cultural mark, and Season 2 followed with a bang—rising to No. 3 on Netflix’s all-time rankings just 18 days after release. Now, five years after the first installment, director Hwang Dong Hyuk returns with Squid Game 3, pushing the story deeper into the human condition.
In Season 3, the series explores even darker psychological territory, using its characters to pose questions like: “Is humanity still alive?”, “What is the value of existence?” and “Do we have the will to protect hope?”
But the finale has divided fans, with many speculating that the story was originally meant to end on a hopeful note.
“In the early stages of brainstorming Season 2, I naturally leaned toward a happy ending out of habit,” Hwang confessed. “I vaguely imagined a storyline where Gi Hoon goes back into the game to destroy it from within, saves some of the players, and then finally reunites with his daughter in the U.S.”
That, however, changed once writing began in earnest. “I had to stop and ask myself—what is the story I truly want to tell?” Hwang said. “Eventually, I realized that Gi Hoon’s journey needed to end here.”
Hwang explained that his decision was deeply tied to how the world has changed since Season 1. “When we made the first season, the world was already in bad shape—but now it’s even worse. Economic inequality has grown, ordinary people are struggling more than ever, wars are spreading, and the climate crisis is accelerating,” he said. “But no one seems to have the power or the will to change it. Through this story, I wanted to reflect that reality.”
And so, the ending took a tragic turn. “I thought it fitting for the ‘Squid Game’ message to end with Seong Gi Hun—an ordinary, below-average character—taking on sacrifice and responsibility in such times. That’s why I changed the ending,” he explained.
Source (1)
