Squid Game S3 Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in Squid Game S3 Cr. No Ju-han/Netflix © 2025
After months of anticipation — and countless fan theories — the third and final season of Squid Game is here! Does it live up to expectations, or does it go down like a damp squib? And how does it end? Let’s dive right in!
Squid Game is Netflix’s most successful series of all time. The South Korean survival drama took the world by storm when it debuted in 2021. Upon its return in 2024, it continued its winning streak, seeing our protagonist Gi-Hun (Lee Jung-jae) return to the sadistic Squid Games in order to enact revenge on the perpetrators. However, after a failed rebellion, the games continue in the third and final season — with the Frontman (Lee Byung-hun) back at in the control room!
So many amazing TV shows over the years have failed to stick the landing. Whether it’s rushing towards conclusions or showing outlasting their stay, it’s a problem all writers have when developing final seasons. Squid Game season 3, however, does not fall into any of these traps. It delivers an emotional-yet-satisfying ending, hitting all the markers to keep loose ends to an absolute minimum, while also planting seeds for future spinoff projects — especially the Squid Game: America series.
Season 3 picks up pretty much exactly where season 2 ends. After Gi-Hun’s rebellion proves futile, the Frontman (previously masquerading as Player 001) returns to his position. He delivers a distraught Gi-Hun back to the group in a coffin, not dead, of course, but very unconscious. As further punishment (in case losing his best friend wasn’t enough), he’s chained to a bed, watching everyone bicker from the sidelines. As a result, his privilege to cast a vote is null and void. In season 2, Gi-Hun was front and centre of the group, ardently trying to get his point across. However, at this point in the story, he’s a broken man. He speaks very rarely. It’s testament to star Lee Jung-jae’s acting brilliance that he’s able to hold so much tension without saying much.
The games themselves continue like nothing happened. The majority of contestants vote to continue their money-hungry endeavours, proceeding with the games. The games themselves are a whole lot of fun, although now that we’re into season 3, they’ve lost a little of their shock value and edge. It’s like replaying your favourite video game — the fun is there, but the initial rush of the first time has long since blown over. It all begins with hide-and-seek, a game audiences all around the world can relate to. This game was the most morally interesting of all so far. The contestants are split into two groups: the hunting and the hiders. If the hunters don’t kill, they die; conversely, if the hiders are found, the hunters must kill them. The concept of pitting the contestants directly against each other, without interference from the pink guards, was riveting to watch. Back-stabbing is through the roof, as expected. It is quite predictable; you know exactly who’s going to survive.
My favourite pairing from season 1, mother and son duo Player 149 (Kang Ae‑shim) and Player 007 (Yang Dong‑geun) are an instant stand-out again. The writers find more ways to place them in increasingly disturbing situations That said, of all the dynamics within the group of contestants, the catalyst character is pregnant girl Kim Jun‑hee (Jo Yu‑ri), who gives birth in the middle of the game. The birth of the child is the catalyst of the entire season — one that brings about the deepest, darkest sides of humanity. There are characters from season 2 that you’ll go from disliking to passionately despising — namely Players 333 and 100. However, they’re not all monsters. There’s vestiges of humanity lightly scattered over the group of contestants, such as Players 222, 149 and 120.
The English-speaking VIPs are back, too. This time there’s a new set of them, and they’re as heartless and downright despicable as you’d expect. For a bit of dark and savage comic relief, they’re very entertaining. It’s their twisted idea to have Player 222’s baby take her place when she ultimately dies in the games.
As the games go on, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk increasingly revels in his signature style. Nobody is safe, and there’s innumerable twists and turns throughout. His writing will draw you in, make you care for characters, and then pull the rug from beneath you. He plays on all the same tropes that have been working from season 1, and we keep falling for it. This season, he returns to the fear as heights as a key aspect to the games. Both the ‘Jump Rope’ game and the finale ‘Sky Squid Game’ are played at enormous heights.
Outside of the games, the hunt for the elusive Squid Game island continues. Detective Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) is still on the hunt for his brother, whom he does not know is the Frontman. This storyline is largely hit and miss. Sometimes it stops tension dead, when all you really want to see is the chaos going on inside the island. And the payoff of an entire series of build-up leaves a little to be desired. It has moments, but they’re few and far between.
The other side-story follows North Korean defector Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young), who enters the games through utter desperation. She saves a contestant, Player 246, from certain death after the rebellion. No-eul and her newfound partner venture deep into the system surrounding the games. It’s interesting to see the inside of the island, the mysteries and conflicts that occur inside its walls. But it slows the plot down to a snail’s pace at times. Extra exposition is good and all, but it comes at the immense sacrifice of the suspense and tension built by the games.
Verdict
We gave season 2 a 4-star review. It was a great middle chapter, with stand-out moments of its own. And while season 3 takes things to another level — from the inclusion of a newborn baby, to games that elevate stakes and test relationships more than any we’ve seen so far — it falters under the waning interest of its novelty. The games are unique, but the shock value of season 1 has largely worn off. The writers add plenty of plot devices to sustain tension and excitement, but after a while it all feels like lazy remixes of what we’ve all seen before. Is this a consequence of the show having one big gimmick, outstaying its welcome?
All of that said, on the whole, Squid Game season 3 does not disappoint. It even sets up the American spinoff project, without relying on the cameo ending to be the main talking point. Season 3 fills you with adrenaline throughout, breaking your heart constantly in a way only Squid Game can. It’d feel unjust not to give Squid Game — Netflix’s most successful series — a high score for landing its ending. Sure, there are a couple of hiccups, but the writers delivered a satisfying finale, and the stars produced some phenomenal performances.
Ending Explained
Wondering how Squid Game wraps up? We’ve laid out all the key points and takeaways for you below:
- Gi-Hun re-entered the games to get revenge on its perpetrators and attempt to put an end to the event altogether. While his season 2 rebellion ultimately failed, he died saving a life. The most innocent life of all; a newborn baby. Throughout the series, especially as shown in season 1, Gi-Hun has made plenty of mistakes. He’s not a perfect father. So to end his story by sacrificing himself to save a newborn child, is incredibly fitting.
- The 34th Squid Games is ‘won’ by the newborn baby, who inherited the place of her deceased mother, Player 222. The baby is delivered to Jun-ho’s house with a note declaring her the winner, and a bank card containing billions of won
- After a brief (and quite underwhelming) face-off from a distance with his brother, the Frontman, after admitting defeat, decides to set the island to self-destruct. He leaves, carrying the child of Player 222.
- No-eul (Park Gyu-young) climbs back into the island to find and murder her boss. At the same time, she wipes the record of Gyeong-seok (Lee Jin-wook), whom she had saved. She also discovers that her daughter had passed away in North Korea — something she later found out may be incorrect, and she heads to China to find her.
- In the final moments, No-eul has her portrait painted at the theme park by Player 246. We learn that his sick daughter, his very motivation for entering the games, is alive and well.
- Finally, In-Ho (aka the Frontman) travels to Los Angeles, where he meets with Gi-Hun’s daughter. He informs her that her father is dead, and passes over a gift containing his blood-stained Squid Game tracksuit and a bank card containing his prize money.
Cate Blanchett makes a cameo, teasing future spinoff project!
At the very end of the episode, a character played by none other than Cate Blanchett is seen by In-Ho playing ddakji with someone on the street — the same kind of role that Gong Yoo had as “The Recruiter.” This implies that there’s a similar sort of game happening in the United States. No doubt, it sets up the American-language spinoff that’s in the works at Netflix. Whether Blanchett will be involved in that series remains to be seen, but this is a pretty big tease nonetheless.
Squid Game season 3 is now streaming on Netflix. There’s no doubt that there’s a spinoff sometime in the franchise’s future. We’ll keep you updated.
Rating: TV-MA
