'Squid Game' Season 3 Is a Greedy, Soulless Mess – And Yes, It Deserves That 51% on RT
Season 3 of Squid Game was supposed to be a triumphant finale to one of Netflix's most outstanding projects. Instead, it became its biggest disappointment. Here's why everything went wrong, even before Season 2 was released.
Squid Game, the most-watched series in Netflix history, had a dark ending that left many fans disappointed. The third season's final episode has a score of 6.8/10 on IMDb, the show's lowest to date. So, what went wrong?
'Squid Game' Creator Initially Didn't Want to Make Seasons 2 and 3
Director and screenwriter Hwang Dong-hyuk resisted the idea of another season for a long time. While the first season's script took ten years to write, the second and third seasons were created in just a year.
After the first season, Hwang Dong-hyuk received only a flat fee from Netflix, earning much less than viewers might have expected. The return with a second season was therefore partly commercial – the director wanted to be compensated for his project's worldwide popularity.
For Hwang Dong-hyuk, the third season was a compromise between art and commerce. It retained the signature aesthetics and social subtext but added more action for an international audience.
The following text contains spoilers for Season 3 of Squid Game!
Season 3 Seems Like a Parody of 'Squid Game' With Predictable Twists & Less Inventive Games
However, this did not save the third season from criticism. The main complaint is that the finale of Squid Game is totally predictable. While the first seasons shocked viewers with unexpected deaths and tricky plot twists, the third season follows the same old formula.
Many viewers predicted what would happen in the finale when Jun-hee's child became a participant in the games. Reddit user AAARRrg commented:
“As soon as it was revealed the baby was being made a participant in the games, I knew Gi-Hun would sacrifice himself to make the baby the winner.”
The games have become less inventive, with much more violence and bloodshed. Redditor peebum147 wrote:
“Jump Rope. This is just a bad version of Glass Bridge. Atleast in Glass Bridge, you KNEW people would die. Here, everybody could win.”
New characters, such as the pink guards with personal dramas, don't evoke the same empathy as previous ones. The VIPs, who seemed like mysterious manipulators in the first seasons, now look like caricatures – their dialogue and acting resemble a parody.
Season 3 Proves 'Squid Game' Is Just Another Cash Cow for Netflix
The third season of Squid Game became a shining example of how commercial success can prevail over artistic integrity. Hwang Dong-hyuk succumbed to Netflix's pressure and made a sequel. Although it retained the visual aesthetics and social subtext, it lost its originality and depth.
Hopefully, the creators may learn from their mistakes in future projects, such as the American spinoff teased in Season 3. However, once a project becomes a cash cow, it becomes nearly impossible to return to its previous level.
