What Is ‘Squid Game’ Season 3 Really About?

LifestyleArtsWhat Is ‘Squid Game’ Season 3 Really

The third and final season of Squid Game is a cynical look at humanity, with a surprisingly hopeful ending—here’s the season 3 finale, explained

ByDani Di Placido, Senior Contributor

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights

Dani Di Placido covers film, television, and internet culture

What Happens At The End Of ‘Squid Game’ Season 3

Netflix’s Squid Game holds up a dark mirror to the wealth inequality, greed and desperation of the current moment—in the third and final season, series creator Hwang Dong-Hyuk gave us a cynical, yet hopeful conclusion

Notably, some of the contestants have been drawn to the games due to gambling and crypto schemes

One of the most important episodes of the first season sees the contestants voting to leave, then choosing to come back after experiencing the horrors of living with debt

In season 3, the choice of the contestants to stay is emphasized by the repeating votes held between each game—this time, the money is split between surviving members

Yet, we see the contestants continually choose to stay for a bigger take of the winnings, willing to sacrifice each another for the chance of a bigger number

The ‘Squid Game’ Season 3 Finale, Explained In the finale of season 3, the deep greed of the contestants reveals itself in a horrifically calm, “logical” conversation between the surviving group of men, who all happily agree to murder a baby in order to win the game

Humanity’s greed reaches its height in the final instance of a father willing to kill his own baby girl

Thankfully, this is contrasted by Gi-hun’s desperation to the child, no matter what

Squid Game seems to imply that there is no end to the greed of humanity, no rock bottom to hit—only an bottomless pit

In this story, money is framed as a poisonous substance, a mind virus

Still, Squid Game suggests that the allure of money can be resisted

In the end, Gi-hun manages to triumph, and chooses to give up his own life for the baby, as the rules only allowed for a single survivor

His sacrifice inspires others, shifting the final outcome of the deadly game

Series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk wanted the moment to highlight the necessity of sacrificing for the younger generation

Hwang said, “The message I wanted to communicate was that if we solely pursue our immediate self-interest, and refuse to self-restrain, sacrifice, or bear any costs — and if we don’t put our heads together — we have no future. ” Hence, the baby survives to inherit the fortune—the meaning of money is flipped, and now represents the baby’s salvation

An interesting blend of triumph and cynicism pervades the finale, as the rebel guard No Eul (Park Gyu-young) manages to overpower the others, and free Gyeong-seok (Lee Jin-wook), who returns to his daughter

Families that were torn apart are reunited, as No Eul is given hope that her own daughter might be waiting for her in China

The Frontman (Lee Byung-hun) and his brother (Wi Ha-joon) reach the end of their personal game, with the Frontman having had a change of heart, inspired by Gi-hun’s empathy

Hence, the island facility is destroyed, the baby is d, and Squid Game has in Korea—but the games are not over

The very last scene is set in Los Angeles, where the Front Man witnesses an American recruiter playing Ddakji, luring another victim into the games, confirming that Squid Game is international

Gi-hun’s Christ- sacrifice can only do so much—the rot is worldwide

Of course, there could be another layer to this ending, as Netflix is surely seeking to monetize Squid Game and expand the franchise (ironic, given the anti-capitalist themes of the series)

However, Hwang never int that to be the message. "I wanted to convey that in this late capitalist society, the system remains strong, deeply entrenched, and powerful—and that these kinds of games are still continuing in the US," Hwang Dong-Hyuk told Vanity Fair

Is There Going To Be An American ‘Squid Game’ Spin-Off

An American Squid Game spin-off could be on the horizon, but without the involvement of Hwang, or Blanchett

In 2024, Deadline reported that an English-language Squid Game series from Fight director David Fincher was in the works, but the spin-off hasn’t been officially confirmed by Netflix or Fincher

Hwang denies any knowledge of an American Squid Game spin-off, but has spoken positively of the idea: "I've always been a huge fan of David Fincher's work — from Se7en — and I've loved his films

So if he were to create an American Squid Game, I think that would be very interesting to watch

I would definitely click on it immediately after it's released, if it were to happen. " MORE FROM FORBESForbesHBO’s ‘The Last Of Us’ Season 2 Finale, ExplainedBy Dani Di PlacidoForbesHow Labubu Dolls Took Over The InternetBy Dani Di PlacidoForbesTikTok’s ‘4th Of July Antipasto’ Controversy, ExplainedBy Dani Di PlacidoForbesWhat Is ‘Umamusume: Pretty Derby’

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