How much bleaker can “Squid Game” get? When the sophomore season of Netflix’s sensational drama concluded, it left our hero, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), in the midst of his biggest failure. After rallying his comrades to turn the tables on the forces controlling the titular games, the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) flipped the script, leading Gi-hun to watch his best friend murdered in front of his very eyes. It was a decision from series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk that spoke volumes and reminded the viewers that, despite knowing the stakes, Gi-hun is just as trapped now as he was during his first go at the games. “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here,” indeed.
Season 3 spends a significant portion of its episode count lingering in the devastation, making the early stages of the final season — at least until we get that American version of the series from David Fincher — appropriately bleak. While Season 2 featured a lot of setup, this new installment dives right into the immediate aftermath of the failed rebellion. Gi-hun and our other players, including Lee Myung-gi (Im Si-wan), Kim Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri), Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul), Cho Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon), Jang Geum-ja (Kang Ae-shim), Park Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun) and others, are pulled right back into the thick of it. Dong-hyuk can’t resist putting the remaining faces that audiences knew throughout Season 2 through the ringer.
While frustrations over a cliffhanger ending may have annoyed the audience at the conclusion of last go-round, the partitioned approach and overall increased episode count pay off in spades here. Similar to how the start of last season subverted the audience’s expectations of what games might be played, this block of episodes once again benefits from the viewer knowing what’s to come. Every interaction between characters takes on a significantly weightier tone as “Squid Game” ticks toward its conclusion, an impact made all the more powerful by the fact that Dong-hyuk actively sidelines Gi-hun for the early hours to dig into the supporting cast. It’s a highly effective decision, one that dovetails nicely with the increasing stakes of late-round games. The effect infuses “Squid Game” with a newfound sense of hopelessness. Remember how crushing the marble game was back in Season 1? An early episode of Season 3 manages to top that, to absolutely heart-wrenching effect.
There is some light — only slight, this is “Squid Game” after all — at the end of this dark tunnel, however. As the season progresses, Dong-hyuk explores familial relationships to a surprisingly emotional effect. This element has always been present in the series, but the concept of what parents and children owe one another becomes a critical part of the proceedings, and further enriches the series because of it. Part of that elevation is due to Lee Jung-jae’s performance. The reminder of his failure as a father has always loomed large for Gi-hun, and without giving much away, the possibility for some level of personal redemption helps to elevate Lee Jung-jae’s already superlative performance to another level. The work he does, particularly in the fifth episode, is magic.
What continues to be less compelling are the plots of Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) and Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young), which don’t offer either character much to do outside of their existing plots from the first half of the season. Both parties are largely stuck in the same rut of either trying to escape in the case of No-eul or find the island in Jun-ho’s instance. The net result has these plots treading water right up until the final episode, resolving in ways that aren’t nearly as impactful as the main narrative. Furthermore, intertwining their plots often dilutes the power and propulsion of the games, stalling the tension instead of heightening it. The same goes for the inclusion of a new round of VIPs, whose Greek chorus-like nature becomes a vehicle for restating the obvious instead of offering something new or insightful to the proceedings.
When “Squid Game” digs into its intense moments, the show proves it’s still more than capable of rendering a tragically compelling story that manages to entertain and have you emotionally invested in its characters. Dong-hyuk’s series reimagined and re-energized the battle royale genre to tremendous results. Sure, the intensity of it all is a feature, not a bug, but that’s married with strong characters and haunting visuals that linger. Season 3 continues this tradition while providing an especially resonant conclusion.
“Squid Game,” in its final moments, says that while life goes on, finding a way to better the lives around you in the context of the large machine we’re all caught up in is worth the sacrifices needed to make that possible. Which is to say, “Squid Game” manages to find a ray of light in the midst of all that bleakness. In a reality this difficult, that victory is worth all the money in the world.
“Squid Game” Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.
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