Squid Game Season 3

A Hollow, Heartless Threequel That Never Should've Happened

***DISCLAIMER: This is just my opinion. We don’t have to agree and I’m not here to argue with anyone.***

I don’t even know where to start with this disaster of a season, but let’s begin with the fact that Gi-hun literally died for a baby that wasn’t even his. Let that sink in… The only reason he kept going was because he made a promise to the mother, Player 222. And here’s the kicker… she didn’t want Player 333, the baby’s actual father, anywhere near her kid. So the fact that she trusted Gi-hun instead spoke volumes about who really deserved that trust. By the end, I got it perfectly.

333 was the epitome of greed. I genuinely believe he would’ve sacrificed both Gi-hun and the baby for the prize money. Or worse, he’d have taken the money and run off with the baby, being a terrible father either way. His character had zero depth, no remorse, no humanity. The dude voted to continue the games and murdered people in cold blood just to survive. Meanwhile, Gi-hun tried his hardest not to kill anyone, even when given the golden opportunity to wipe the slate clean and take the money. That’s what made Gi-hun different and worth rooting for.

And that’s not even the worst part…

I’m beyond disappointed in Jun-ho, the cop. Bro, you could’ve stopped all of this if you’d just told Gi-hun that the Front Man was your brother??? Keeping that secret did absolutely nothing but get everyone killed. Zero plot value, zero payoff, zero logic… Just wasted potential and utterly horrible vibes all around.

Props to Netflix for squeezing every last drop out of Squid Game… then turning the leftovers into some tasteless, half-baked disaster nobody wanted. If Season 1 was a masterpiece, Season 3 feels like that last-minute essay you threw together at 3 AM while half-asleep and questioning all your life choices.

Honestly, I’ve never felt this robbed by a show before. Season 3 didn’t just miss the mark, it crashed the entire ship into an iceberg and then set it on fire for no reason.

And can we talk about that ending? Gi-hun dies. Like, actually dies. After everything… after the trauma, the rebellion, all the growth, the vow to burn it all down, he just gets killed off like some extra nobody? Wtaf?! So what was the point of the last two seasons? Watching a man suffer, lose everything, then die while his daughter gets handed some crusty, blood-stained jacket like it’s a cursed souvenir from hell?

And then the Front Man shows up in L.A. like some shady, broke Santa Claus, handing Gi-hun’s daughter a bank card and calling himself “a friend.” Bro, that’s not closure. That’s emotional theft. She didn’t need a jacket soaked in trauma… she needed her father. And we, the fans, needed a real payoff. Instead, we got a bleak, empty “twist” wrapped in fake sympathy.

This entire season was chaos for the sake of NOTHING. If I could give it a 0/10, I would. The only reason it’s getting a bit more is because I was entertained here and there. I laughed at some parts and was on the edge of my seat sometimes… but when the credits rolled, all I felt was anger. This story should have just ended with Season 1. I was better off with my delusional theories of Jun-ho surviving then teaming up with Gi Hun to end his brother and get some REAL JUSTICE. We didn’t need Season 2 and definitely didn’t need this hot mess of a Season 3.

Going back into the games brought nothing but pure, senseless carnage with no purpose beyond pain. No message, no growth, no progress… just mindless brutality fueled by nothing but cruelty. The Front Man could’ve changed the rules like in the Hunger Games and allowed two winners, but he didn’t. Because this show is obsessed with suffering.

And seriously, why was there a literal baby in the games? What the actual fuck. Yes, I get it… symbolism. “You can’t escape your fate.” “Society chews you up the moment you’re born.” Sure, sure. But it was forced and unnecessary. This season was a complete letdown… a total waste of time, talent, and emotional investment.

If anyone wants to come at me for this, whatever. I watched the show, processed it, and formed my own opinion. You’re free to do the same. But I’m not pretending 333 or the cop were good people because they weren’t. Period.

Keep thirsting after 333 and the cop or making them out to be way more heroic than they are… Meanwhile, I’m over here wondering why I even bothered sitting through it.

The deaths also rubbed me the wrong way. The only ones that felt gratuitous were Player 388, Player 100, and Player 044… all annoying characters who mostly served as cheap comic relief. I didn’t care when they died, especially 388, who turned out to be a lying coward. I blamed him for the ambush, even though it was obviously a suicide mission from the start because Player 1 controls everything. People told me I was being dramatic for hating him, but I wasn’t even close. I’m glad he died… and I’m glad Gi-hun was the one to end him. It felt earned.

Everyone died. Everyone we cared about, cried for, and held our breath for… just wiped out. No mercy, no satisfying moments, no deaths that actually meant anything. Just nonstop destruction drenched in hopelessness. By the finale, the only things left standing were the writers’ broken promises and all the emotional wreckage they left us with. -10000 aura points.

Jun-ho’s entire storyline? A total joke. If Hwang Dong Hyuk said this season would have “funny” moments, maybe this is what he was referring to??? Because after ten whole episodes of detective work, running, hiding, eavesdropping, and dodging death, Jun-ho literally achieves nothing. No confrontation. No closure. No progression. Just the same tired cycle of vague stares and dramatic pauses.

It honestly felt like Hwang Dong Hyuk had no idea how to write a real face-off between Jun-ho and In-ho, so he stalled profusely dragging it out with filler and hoping no one would notice the plot was spinning in circles.

And when Jun-ho finally yells out “In-ho… why?” at the end? It was genuinely pathetic. We circled right back to the exact same moment from Season 1… same question, same supposed “impact” (if you could even call it that) except this time, Jun-ho didn’t get shot and left for dead. He just stood there like a sad NPC while absolutely nothing changed.

The only characters I actually liked were Player 246, his daughter, Player 120 and Guard 11 (Kang No Eul). I was seriously impressed by Park Gyu Young. I’ve never been a fan of hers before… her characters usually annoy me… but here, she showed real range. Guard 11 was easily one of the best things this season had going for it.

Player 120 stayed with me because she was determined, resilient, a true fighter in every sense. But what made her unforgettable wasn’t just her strength, it was her heart. She refused to leave anyone behind. That loyalty, that humanity, was what ultimately got her killed. She went back to save Geum Ja and Jun Hee, and paid the price for it. Her death felt so unfair, one of those cruel, inevitable moments that shouldn’t have happened but did, just to remind you how ruthless this world is. And yes, I’m still upset that Player 333 was the one who killed her. Of all people. She deserved more... more time, more justice, more recognition. It’s always the ones with the most heart who go first, and honestly, it’s just really sad.

The games themselves still managed to be entertaining and kept me on edge. I’ll give them that. But even there, the mystery or "magic" of it all felt so much weaker.

Lee Jung Jae’s acting? Honestly, it was mid compared to previous seasons. He looked worn out, hollow, like the games had sucked the life out of him. Maybe that was the point, but it didn’t help. The jump rope game was his standout moment… his one scene of real emotional clarity.

Everything else? Flat, lifeless, and uninspired.

In the end, this season was a colossal waste of potential.

It could’ve been easily salvaged if player 001 came back to sacrifice himself for Gi-hun and the baby. That would’ve shown Jun-ho still had some shred of humanity left, that despite everything, he wasn’t completely lost. If anyone was going to die or be the sacrificial lamb, it should have been him. Imagine his brother finding his body and screaming “Why?” That moment would’ve spoken volumes and been more impactful.

It would’ve shown that beneath all the darkness, he still had a flicker of morality fighting against the twisted game that stole everything from him in the first place. That sacrifice could’ve given Gi-hun a chance at a fresh start, a new life… raising the baby as his own, finally making amends with his daughter, and maybe even building something to protect others from this brutal, senseless blood lottery. The Squid Game is literally a death trap where everyone loses, and that moment could’ve been a beacon of hope, a real act of rebellion against the cruelty that consumes them all.

But NO, instead, we got… whatever the hell this was.

It should have ended after Season 1. I’m not rewatching this mess. If I could, If I was a new watcher I'd skip it altogether because if you’re looking for closure... you’re NOT gonna find it here. With all that said, I give this whole shit show a 3/10. Save your time, trust me.

Also, can we please stop pretending we need Squid Game: L.A.? Nobody asked for that. Nobody wants it.

The thrill is gone… the soul is gone. Squid Game should’ve ended when it still meant something.

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Squid Game definitely should’ve stayed with only one season.

I won’t say I hated everything in this season. I liked the new games and the acting was very good. Although, not that surprising as I already knew most actors and actress and they always act well in dramas/movies.

I know most people will hate the deaths of certain characters in this season but I won’t lie and say that their deaths were the worse thing in the drama for me because it wasn’t. Of course, I was very sad by it as my favorite characters died, but I was already expecting these deaths and in general I wasn’t expecting a happy ending here. I knew only 1 person would stay alive in the game, maybe two, so I can’t say that I was disappointed by that. I have to say that I was expecting a redemption for Myeong Gi (n.333) tho but wow, he stayed a selfish character to the end, he even became worse.

So yeah in general the deaths, although unfortunate and unwanted, wasn’t that worse thing here for me. What TRULY made me dislike this season was the VIPS addition (SO CRINGE) and the ending. I mean, what made this season different from S1? We had a winner (that basically wins because someone sacrificed himself), the police didn’t catch In Ho neither the VIPS, and the game still is going to happen, now in other country. The only difference from S1 is ML’s ending but like, why make 3 seasons for that ending? They made ML return to the game to get revenge, the police spent two more seasons looking for the island just to be fooled for the thousandth time and when they finally get there, they don't catch anyone? We simply have no conclusion about the games, the VIPS and not even In Ho meets and talks to his brother. Then later, we practically get a promotion for maybe a possible american season of the drama like??? It was soooooo disappointing.

I just don’t get why they made 3 seasons for the main plot basically not to be resolved. It feels like we got cheated and wasted our time. I wasn’t expecting happy ending for all characters, not even for ML tbh but I was, at least, expecting a more conclusive ending about the game and people around it. Not even In Ho got killed I mean HELLO??? Some may say that the ending was expected as “Life is like that”….then season 1 was sufficient to show us that message.

In a way it feels like we are the VIPS, but less rich and evil. We paid to watch this drama, consequently we watched the games and saw the story of the characters, for literally nothing to happen later. S1 was good, visionary and definitely didn’t need a sequence. If Netflix and the director wanted a sequence, should’ve be different from what we got here.

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Some shows should end on season 1

To be honest, I expected way more from this season — all of the hype for nothing. The actors and their performances are, as always, on an extremely high level, but the plot was just messy. I understand that the main character's death is meant to show how cruel real life can be, and the idea of Junhee's baby winning might hold some symbolism, but I still didn’t like that part at all - it's all random.

Also, I have to mention how poorly some characters were treated this season and how much potential got wasted. Daeho turning out to be a fake marine?? Getting killed by Gihun?? No backstory for Daeho, even though he’s one of the main characters? Why didn’t we get a scene where the two of them actually tried to talk things out? I wouldn’t have been upset if he died in a different way, but this just felt unnecessary. And then there were those flashbacks with Saebyeok telling Gihun not to kill player 100 because he’s “not that kind of person,” even though he literally killed player 388 with his bare hands and blamed him for something that wasn’t even his fault. Pure hypocrisy from Gihun.

And why were there so many random players in the final?? It doesn’t make sense to me either. Player 120 was perfect for that role, but I guess she became one of the biggest victims of rushed and careless writing. Her death was so sudden that I didn’t even have time to feel sad or cry — I was just frozen in shock and only realized what had happened after the episode ended.

Also, Junho ending up with Junhee’s baby?? That was seriously one of the most random plot choices of the whole season. The only positive things were player 246 reuniting with his daughter, 011 realizing her child is alive, and Saebyeok’s mother coming from North Korea to her son.

It’s really disappointing to say, but I won’t be coming back to rewatch this season — or maybe even the entire show. And these words are coming from someone who’s been a fan of Squid Game since the beginning. I’m definitely skipping the next season, I don’t want to watch any more of it.

Big respect to the director for trying to make season 2 and 3 as good as possible but Squid Game teaches us something important - some shows should end on season 1.

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You call that an ending ?

Firstly, I never did write a bad review cause I've rarely been that disappointed by a kdrama ending. I stand by my opinion which is: They should have just made a season 1, it's rare to see a kdrama with more than 1 season and it shows. To me, the only thing saving this drama is the acting, through the seasons.
I thought the game would end at the end of the season, that the system would be destroyed thanks to Hwang JunHo's investigation, and not that the Squid Game would be relocated to the U.S. (What for anyway? A Squid Game USA version with weird scenes and heavy junkie things?)
In the end, it's the franchise and the profits at the expense of the experience for viewers who wanted a real ending.
As a viewer, I really didn't expect this ending and it's a personal point of view, you can agree or not..nothing is perfect in this world and injustice prevails but I expected more.
Rushed and empty ending. It's so sad because the season 1 was a masterpiece. What an unfortunate way to waste an ending.
PS: This is only my point of view, if you disagree it's fine because we all have different opinions, act like an adult and don't insult on the comments section ! 🫡 🍉

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I would say the first season in the series is the strongest.. Simply because it told a relatively complete story and offered a somewhat satisfying ending.. The sequels have felt more scattered and disconnected.. I admire the ambition but it just didn't work out.. This season is certainly the bleakest of the series.. Honestly it shouldn’t have existed at all.. The story could have wrapped up with Season 2 if they had just extended it to 10 or 12 episodes..

I wasn’t hoping for a happy ending, it was obvious there wouldn’t be one.. But I did wish for a good ending for a couple of characters.. That didn’t happen either.. If not for how good the first season was, I don’t think many would have even cared about this season at all.. It turned into yet another empty sequel made just for the sake of profit..

The games were good this time, especially Jump The Rope.. But I was really disappointed with the final game.. The first season’s finale was way better.. They should have tried to match that energy somehow.. Even the finalists were just meh..

They wasted a lot of characters, Jun Ho was literally in a boat the entire season doing nothing.. Hyeon Ju was killed off just like that.. Dae Ho didn't have any impact as well.. Park Gyu Young as Kang No Eul was the only character that brought any life to this rather dull story..

Another major disappointment for me was Im Si Wan's character.. I was hoping he would step up and show some growth.. But forget about character development, he just went from pathetic to despicable.. I mean forget killing his own child, how could he even think about killing a baby?? But I still have to give credit to Im Si Wan himself.. As an actor, he was incredible.. What a performance..

I don’t even want to talk about the climax.. It was easily the worst thing they could have come up with.. Squid Game went from awesome to dumb to ludicrous in just three seasons..

P.s.. They really thought they did something with that Cate Blanchett's cameo at the end.. Honestly couldn't care any less..

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Do not waist your time! Total disaster.

What a disaster! The worst drama of the year. I cannot believe that it went from a masterpiece to a shit show. It only has six episodes, but I was checking how much time is left of the episode, and it seemed so long. I got bored, so I even started skipping scenes at the last episode. Even if you have a huge budget, it doesn't mean it will be a great show, and this drama is an example.
The storyline was all over the place. I hated the scenes with VIPs as it was boring, and it did not fit the show. I don't know why, but I started to dislike no. 456 and did not feel any emotion at the end.
The best thing in the drama were the new games that were insane. Also, the great acting kept the boat afloat as the writing was very bad.
At least they could have kept Thanos alive until the end so he could keep the show interesting, as he did in the previous season.

Spoiler:


Looking for your brother for the whole two seasons, and in the end, you just say "Why?" Also, killing almost all main characters at the beginning, so at the end, there is a bunch of unknown characters except for a few.
The ending wasn't satisfying at all. I was expecting such a crazy plot twist that did not happen. Instead... let's have an American Squid Game to make more money!

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Missed opportunities

This review contains spoilers!

I do not share the view that the story should have "ended" in Season 1. I would argue it would have left too many questions unanswered as (i) Gi-hun's red hair and unrelenting ambition to pursue the game creators further (at the cost of not being with his daughter) and (ii) the unknown fate of the Front Man's brother prompted too much intrigue.

Season 1 had a winning formula, from the way the characters' deaths were written (i.e. many key characters suffering the same fate as the sins they once committed/threatened), to the emotional attachment generated after learning their backstories, and so much more. This created a massive rewatch value to catch every detail of a near masterpiece.

Unfortunately Season 2 and 3 felt very much like the latest Star Wars trilogy. In the sense that the writers/producers went for "surprises" in attempt to do something different and throw the viewers off their scent. I don't fully blame them for this as YouTube and other social media platforms went nuts over Season 1 with all sorts of theories and future season predictions, however, it felt too big a deviation from the winning formula.

Below is what I felt were the main downfalls / missed opportunities:

1.) Betrayal of Gi-hun's character. This was the main reason why I brought up Star Wars as most die hard fans felt Luke's character was far too inconsistent compared to original trilogy. In Gi-hun's case, he represents the hope in humans vs. the Front Man's view that mankind is hopeless and unworthy of being saved. One of the defining moments of the Season 1 ending was Gi-hun winning the bet against Il-nam when they both stared across the street at the man needing help. For someone who survived the entirety of season 1, won the the final bet, plus the stand-off against Gong Yoo's roulette game (which had amazing dialogue), it just felt too easy on how the Front Man broke him. Yes his best friend died, but him putting all the blame on Dae-ho and subsequently becoming so "out of it" for the rest of the episodes, including having almost no dialogue just seems way too out of character. Gi-hun was the one who was so scared of dying that he lied to/tricked an old man in attempt to survive in Season 1, would he not have had more sympathy for Dae-ho for being scared? It was his plan after all to attack the soldiers, which was in itself ironic since if his plan was to shoot and kill so many soldiers all along, doesn't this break the moral code he stood for all along? It completely diminishes the beautiful roulette dialogue with the recruiter (Gong Yoo), as he could have just shot him when there were 2 bullets left instead. I had so much hope that it wouldn't go this direction as if I recall correctly, they never re-zoomed into Dae-ho's death. I thought it was still in the cards for a surprise reveal that Gi-hun loosened his grip and Dae-ho only passed out, redeeming Gi-hun's character.

2.) Misuse of actors. During the initial Season 2/3 teaser unveiling new characters, YDG looked so badass and Kang Ha-neul looked like such a good bad guy. It felt like a big missed opportunity in terms of how their characters were utilized in the show.

3.) Missed opportunity to revive entire series with Myung-gi's character? Yim Siwan was the star of the show. He was the only one who consistently played his role so well that his character became believable. If the story needed to end and the whole theme has been light vs. darkness, inherently good vs. inherently bad, Myung-gi's character could have personified the final "bet" in the show when him, the baby and Gi-hun were the final 3 players. The exact outcome could have stayed virtually the same, but the presentation could have been different if they simply tweaked the rule so that only 1 player can remain. In this way, Gi-hun could have still died, perhaps willingly in a final act of trust in humanity as a final middle finger equivalent to the Front Man by saying he believes Myung-gi will do the right thing before jumping off. The grand finale would zoom in on the expression/reaction of the Front Man who would then have await the verdict with a pounding heart as to what Myung-gi's character would decide on - i.e. humans are hopeless should he throw his own son down or whether Gi-hun could still strike victory in death if Myung-gi comes to his senses and jumps down himself to repent for his past crimes and for letting Jun-hee die.

Something super awesome that I felt was missed as well, is that when Myung-gi convinced all the other players to tie their suit jackets together, it would have been an absolute perfect opportunity for Myung-gi to backstab them and push 1 of the guys at the end off, which would have dragged all 4-5 guys down at the same time. This would have fit so well with his scheming character of tricking people (i.e. his crypto scheme).

4.) Poor use of side characters. In Season 1, every character (good or bad) was so meaningful, even Ji-yeong who had minimal screen time but made a huge impact. Season 2/3's characters just didn't have the same feel at all with too much time being devoted to a few. It also felt like over use of characters taking their own lives as the old mom, Jun-hee and the lunchbox guy all decided to self eliminate.

There's a ton more to discuss, but overall it just felt like the last two seasons were rushed and things ended abruptly/awkwardly, missing all the little details in Season 1 that took the creator 6 months to write and ultimately 10 years to refine.

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A FINALE AS HOLLOW AS THE VIPs’ ACTING SKILLS

**Disclaimer: This final review reflects my personal opinion after a second viewing.**


Alright, I just tore through Squid Game Season 3, twice, and holy hell, it’s a wild, messy ride that had me hooked but also pissed off at times. This season claws its way back to Season 1’s brutal magic in the first half, betrayals that made me want to throw my remote, and characters I couldn’t stop obsessing over. But many parts straight-up fumbled, and I’m not here to pretend they didn’t.

Gi-hun’s still the heart of this thing, and his relentless fight to burn the game down had me rooting for him, even when it felt like he was slamming his head against a wall. Myung-gi, though? Man, he drove me nuts. No-eul was a badass, though. Her rogue mission and that insane office showdown? I was screaming when she saved Kyung-suk, finally showing her true grit. Jun-ho’s arc got some redemption after Season 2’s aimless mess, but it still felt like he was just flailing against untouchable billionaires. And the Frontman? Dude’s a snake, but a compelling one. His mix of sincerity and backstabbing kept me glued, even if I don’t trust him for a second.

The games hit like a truck: bloody, chaotic, and packed with Season 1 vibes like the marble game and hopscotch. The betrayals stung hard, especially when allies turned on each other like it was nothing. But to be honest, some deaths, like Jun-hee’s, barely made me blink compared to Hyun-ju’s or Geum-ja’s. It made Gi-hun and Myung-gi’s survival feel too predictable, like the writers were scared to go all-in.

The big problem? This season swings for the fences with Gi-hun, Jun-ho, and Woo-seok trying to topple this shadowy corporation, but it’s a lost cause from the jump. Season 1 worked because it was raw: survive, win, get out. Done. This dystopian Hunger Games wannabe vibe is cool in theory, but it’s too big for its own good. The whole “greed always wins” message? Yeah, I get it, but it left me hollow, like the show was just shrugging at its own stakes. And don’t get me started on the VIPs’ acting... cartoonish and stiff, it yanked me out of the story every time they opened their mouths.

It’s a bloody, thrilling mess that recaptures some of the old spark, but it trips over its own ambition and leaves you wishing for a tighter punch.



WHAT I DISLIKED:

• VIPs remain the weakest part of this show. Their acting is wooden, and their presence is cartoonish in a story that otherwise demands gravity.

• Characters like Players 203, 039, and 100, who made it so far in the games, are vivid but lack depth. Their archetypes were one-dimensional.

• While the death-game format still delivers high-stakes tension, I did feel the interpersonal dynamics falter this time. With fewer players remaining, that complex web of social and strategic interplay, the thing that gave previous seasons their gripping unpredictability, is significantly reduced.

• Jun-ho and Woo-seok’s investigation felt like an afterthought. Key moments, like Jun-ho harpooning Captain Park or Woo-seok’s jail stint, were rushed and poorly integrated with the island’s narrative, diluting their impact and making the outside world feel like a side note.

• The season continues the voting mechanic from last time and still aims to reflect modern ideological divides, but honestly, the metaphor feels dulled now. The outcomes were predictable, and the tension that once surrounded each vote has faded.

• The middle of the season sagged under the weight of repetitive character conflicts. Moments of quiet character development, like Geum-ja’s confession to Gi-hun, were often overshadowed by drawn-out brutality, disrupting the narrative flow.

• Unlike Season 1’s rich player dynamics, Season 3’s survivors rarely formed meaningful connections. The “Bathroom Team” (Hyun-ju, Geum-ja, Jun-hee) was a brief exception, but most interactions were transactional or hostile, making it harder to care about the group’s fate.

• The final scene introducing a new recruiter in LA came off as a blatant setup for a spin-off or sequel season. It felt tacked-on and cheap, undermining the emotional closure of the island’s destruction and Gi-hun’s sacrifice.


WHAT I LIKED:

• Gi-hun’s arc is the beating heart of the season. Watching him evolve from a broken, mute shell to a man who finds purpose in protecting Jun-hee’s baby is profoundly moving. His refusal to take the Front Man’s deal made me emotional. It’s a testament to his unshakable humanity, even when the world around him collapses into chaos.

• Jang Geum-ja completely wrecked me in a midseason scene that was both haunting and transcendent. Her dynamic with her son, Yong-sik, became one of the emotional cores of the season. I also appreciated how characters like Jun-hee and Hyun-ju gained complexity and rose to the top, offering some of the best scenes of the season and stepping up when Gi-hun has lost all hope.

• No-eul’s rogue mission is a standout. Her transformation from a conflicted pink soldier to a vigilante fighting for redemption is thrilling and emotionally complex. The office showdown had me cheering. Her choice to live, inspired by Gi-hun’s sacrifice, gave me hope that even the most broken can find purpose.

• Jung Jae-il’s score continues to haunt me, and the surreal, almost nightmarish production design makes even familiar game settings feel disorienting.

• Sae-byeok’s family reunion, No-eul’s flight to her child, and Jun-ho’s custody of the baby in the epilogue felt hopeful.

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Not Good Enough

Korean Drama 'Squid Game Season Three' is the final season of the popular and viral series.

The story takes off right from where the second season ended, as they were part one and part two. However, this time, the series was a repetition of the first one with no real surprise. The ending, though shocking, was the only thing that made sense for the plot.

The characters, moreover, were not impactful, and everyone died too quickly for the viewer to have any emotional connection with them. Also, a lot of them were just stereotypes that were already seen in the first season, as were the villains. The side stories, moreover, were boring and, in the end, didn't really add anything to the plot but were only there to fill the gaps and to make the episodes longer.

Finally, the performances were all enjoyable.

So, overall, three out of ten.

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Squid Game 3 – Capitalism’s Knife is Now a Plastic Spoon

Once upon a red light, green light, Squid Game burst onto the global stage like a Molotov cocktail tossed into the living room of late-stage capitalism. It was brutal, brilliant, and blisteringly clear: the system isn’t broken—it’s functioning exactly as intended, and it grinds the desperate beneath its boot. Season 1 wasn't just a show; it was a cultural autopsy. Equal parts thriller and thinkpiece, it painted desperation in high-contrast red and green and let us watch as humanity's worst systems played out as children's games with blood-slicked stakes.

Season 3? Oh honey, this isn’t even the same game. What was once a scalpel slicing deep into the flesh of inequality has been dulled into a wet noodle flailing in slow motion. There’s no precision left—only noise. And not even good noise. More like someone cranked up a toddler’s karaoke mic and handed them a script scribbled on a napkin at a Netflix focus group meeting.

Let’s not mince words: Squid Game Season 3 is a narrative wreck, emotionally bankrupt and thematically lobotomized. It is a stunning masterclass in how to completely fumble a legacy.

The original Squid Game was a thesis statement disguised as entertainment, a Trojan horse of social critique smuggled into our binge queues with the charm of a high-concept thriller. Every marble dropped, every betrayal made, every soul-crushing death—these weren’t just dramatic beats; they were scalpel-precise incisions exposing the rot at the heart of a system that thrives on desperation. The show trusted us. It gave us the brutal poetry of survival and let us connect the dots ourselves. The violence wasn’t just spectacle—it was structural, symbolic, suffocating. You didn’t just watch Squid Game, you felt the breathless chokehold of capitalism tightening around each character’s neck.

Season 3? It feels like the show got handed a whiteboard in a Netflix meeting room that just says “RICH = BAD” in Comic Sans, underlined three times with a dry-erase marker that’s running out of ink.

Gone is the razor-sharp commentary and layered metaphor. In its place is a blunt-force, TikTok-friendly morality that reads more like a “hot take” than a thought-out script. The satire’s been sanded down to a nub, its teeth removed, its voice flattened. It no longer asks hard questions about the systems we live under—it just waves vaguely in the direction of rich people and tells you to boo.

This is not critique. This is a PowerPoint presentation wearing blood-soaked cosplay. It’s all surface, no soul. All vibes, no value. A once-thrilling dissection of inequality has been transformed into algorithm-approved content—ironically, the very thing Squid Game was once warning us about. Capitalism didn’t just survive the show’s message—it bought the rights to Season 3 and turned it into marketing.

It’s almost impressive—almost—how aggressively Season 3 undermines the very foundation it once built so meticulously. Where Season 1 crafted its games like precision-engineered nightmares, each rule tethered tightly to the show’s themes and character arcs, Season 3 tosses all that aside like a party balloon filled with confetti and budget. The games now feel like a child’s first Dungeons & Dragons campaign: arbitrarily fatal, poorly thought-out, and constantly rewritten mid-session by a flustered Dungeon Master trying to impress their crush.

The internal logic—the thing that made Season 1’s horror so effective—is shattered beyond recognition. Instead of tension rooted in consistent cause and effect, we get plot points that sprout out of nowhere like weeds in a cracked sidewalk. Characters no longer respond to circumstances in psychologically coherent ways. They lurch from one decision to the next with the grace and direction of a GPS signal inside a parking garage: lost, lagging, and perpetually “recalculating.”

It’s as if the writers assembled this story by feeding Season 1 into an AI prompt labeled “make more Squid Game” and called it a day. The result? Plot threads are introduced and dropped with zero consequence, character arcs are flattened into soulless utility tools—moved around the board not because it makes sense, but because the plot demands it. Motivations shift scene to scene like mood rings on meth.

And the world building? Once grounded in grim realism and systemic cruelty, now feels like a cosplay carnival version of itself. Squid Game once felt terrifyingly real because it mirrored the emotional logic of people trying to survive in a world rigged against them. Season 3 feels like a theme park attraction slapped together by someone who saw Season 1 through YouTube clips and didn’t take notes. It’s loud, it’s flashy, but when you scratch beneath the surface—there’s nothing there. No beating heart. No philosophical weight. Just vibes stapled to set pieces.

This isn’t evolution. It’s entropy masquerading as ambition.

Remember Gi-hun’s haunted eyes—those thousand-yard stares that told you everything you needed to know about a man on the brink, even in silence? Sae-byeok’s quiet resilience, every movement of hers a balancing act between survival and dignity? Or Ali’s pure, disarming kindness that shone through the blood-soaked chaos like a single shaft of sunlight piercing a dungeon?

Season 3 remembers none of it.

What once felt like a symphony of the human condition—grief, betrayal, desperation, fleeting hope—has been reduced to a soulless loop of cardboard stand-ins running through plot beats like it’s all just a formality. The emotional core of the show, the part that made us care about who lived, who died, and who broke along the way, has been surgically removed. In its place, we get a cast of one-note archetypes shuffled on and off the stage like NPCs in a side quest you can’t skip, with the exceptions of a few like Jo Yu-ri here.

And the violence? Once it meant something. Every death in Season 1 was a punch to the gut, not just because it was shocking, but because it hurt. You knew these people. You felt them. The betrayal in the marble game didn’t just sting—it haunted you. But in Season 3, death is just punctuation. Bang. Splat. Move on. The camera lingers just long enough to grab a screengrab for the trailer, and then it’s on to the next soulless round.

There’s no weight to any of it. No intimacy, no fear, no catharsis. The show has forgotten how to earn emotion—it just assumes spectacle is enough. But spectacle without soul is just noise. And eventually, that noise turns to static.

You’re not watching because you’re invested—you’re watching because you’re waiting. Waiting for it to matter again. Waiting for it to feel again. But that moment never comes.

Season 1 left scars. Season 3 barely leaves a smudge.

Final Verdict
Squid Game Season 3 is what happens when a scalpel of social critique gets handed to someone who thinks they’re holding a glow stick. What was once a brutal, layered, and unsettling dissection of human desperation under capitalism has been reduced to a hollow echo chamber, screaming buzzwords into the algorithm void. It’s loud, it’s dumb, and it’s emotionally vacant—like watching a TED Talk get waterboarded by a Michael Bay trailer.

This isn’t just a bad season. It’s a creative betrayal. A franchise that once held a mirror to society has now turned that mirror into a selfie camera—preloaded with filters, sponsored hashtags, and an empty caption that just says “resistance is marketable.”

The satire? Gone. The soul? Evacuated. The logic? Hiding under a table somewhere, clutching a copy of Season 1 and sobbing quietly. What’s left is a parody of its former self—stripped of complexity, gutted of emotion, and regurgitated as content designed to trend for 24 hours before sinking into cultural irrelevance.

And that’s what makes it so offensive—not just the poor writing or the shallow execution, but the sheer audacity of it. It insults the intelligence of the audience, the artistry of the original, and the very real issues it once dared to confront. It’s the storytelling equivalent of desecrating a gravestone, then monetizing the footage.

Season 3 didn’t just drop the ball—it set the whole playground on fire and sold tickets to the blaze.

A plastic imitation of a diamond blade. Don’t waste your time and let it rot in the VIP lounge of missed potential.

Read this full review and my others review on ByRei.ink

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