In Squid Sport Season 3, It's Humanity That Loses: Evaluate

There comes a sure level in watching Squid Sport the place, for those who’re fortunate, you’ve efficiently educated your self to cease caring. That’s as a result of this present’s dedication to being one of many grimmest reveals ever produced doesn’t let up throughout its third season, which brings creator/author/director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s addictive dystopian drama to a detailed, with buckets of blood and tons of painful selections for its characters.

The third season, now streaming on Netflix, picks up proper after the failed revolution which climaxed on the finish of Season 2 — our hero Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) dropped again into the sport together with the remaining survivors, most of whom are nonetheless fiercely dedicated to persevering with to play these vicious video games and successful the large prize pot. And so the battle finally involves a detailed, whereas additionally offering extra perception into a few of the key gamers, just like the Entrance Man (Lee Byung-hun).

To be clear, calling this a 3rd season feels fairly flimsy, because it performs out way more like Half 2 of Season 2, with solely three new video games stretched out over these six episodes. Additionally filling time is the off-island antics of Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) and the group making an attempt to take down the Squid Sport from the surface, in addition to the (arguably extra profitable) efforts by North Korean guard Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young) to convey issues down from inside.

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Whereas the plotting may very well be tighter, that doesn’t diminish the quantity of cruelty flung at each these characters and the viewers alike — getting emotionally invested in any of those characters turns into a lure, as a result of as talked about, caring about their fates is a surefire path to distress. Was Squid Sport not sufficient of a bummer for you in its first two seasons? Cool, effectively, guess what: A child is now one of many contestants! (There may be additionally a canine homicide, only for kicks.)

It after all feels a bit foolish to complain about this present being too darkish — subsequent, I’ll be complaining that they present too many close-ups of scrumptious meals on High Chef. And in some methods, that darkness is a function, not a bug. When reviewing Season 2, I discovered that the three years that had handed since Season 1 had given the present’s core themes some extra sharpness — and that was in December 2024, earlier than I developed the compulsive must lookup the definition of totalitarianism every day.

The world simply retains getting darker and darker, it appears, and Squid Sport has remarkably managed to maintain tempo with it simply by being its personal merciless self. For the purpose stays crystal clear: The individuals who signal as much as play these video games accomplish that largely out of utmost desperation, trapped in conditions the place competing to the loss of life for a large money prize looks like the absolute best choice. What created that desperation? The identical system that enables sure VIPs to observe from above, betting on the gamers’ survival whereas sitting on comfortable thrones.

Squid Sport (Netflix)

Whereas its themes may nonetheless be fairly related, do Seasons 2 and three justify their existence by saying something that the primary season of Squid Sport didn’t already say? This was an actual query I used to be requested by a buddy whereas I used to be working my manner via the ultimate episodes, one which hovered in my thoughts as I reached the ending. And in some methods, the sincere reply is not any: Capitalism stays the enemy, bringing out the worst in individuals much more usually than it brings out their greatest.

That stated, the elevated bleakness of those ultimate six episodes actually does put an exclamation level on that concept. “Do you continue to place confidence in individuals?” Gi-hun is requested late into the season. It’s a query he doesn’t reply with phrases; as an alternative, he finds a option to reply it along with his personal actions. That’s maybe essentially the most constructive ethical Squid Sport has to supply — that the capability for being higher lies inside us all, although it might require actual sacrifice.

What Squid Sport proves most profitable at, after three seasons, is ending. That’s not meant as a dig, however somewhat a praise to the comparatively decisive ultimate moments of the season. The conclusion doesn’t essentially shut the door perpetually on future tales on this universe, nevertheless it does cement the purpose Hwang needs to make. (There’s a cheeky wit to the ultimate moments, too, with a shock too good to spoil right here.)

A superb ending may be powerful for any present, nevertheless it undoubtedly helps if the showrunner is aware of precisely what they wish to say with it, and that’s very true on this case. Squid Sport is likely to be over. However we nonetheless must dwell on the earth that created it.

Squid Sport Season 3 is streaming now on Netflix. Take a look at the trailer beneath.