Squid Game 3 review: Moral dilemmas, humanity’s dark side and surprise cameo by this Hollywood star

Dubai: What? Huh?

Those were some of my recurring thoughts while watching the final season of one of the biggest shows in the past few years -- Squid Game.

The anticipation for the final season of Squid Game grew, especially after the second season, which felt underwhelming when compared to the first season. I had brushed it off saying, “we knew what to expect (in terms of violence and the games),” when talking about season 2.

But season 3, had its highs and lows. First let’s talk about the lows, as I try to make it as spoiler-free as possible.

The VIPs in the finale were a major low point. Their dialogue delivery was poor, a recurring issue that only worsened this season.

Showing VIPs in the first season made sense eventually, as it gave us an idea of the game as a whole. But the increased screen time, particularly their participation in the games, felt unnecessary and detracted from the main narrative of the show. This could’ve easily been utilised to develop other characters – especially like Min-su.

For those who don’t remember, Min-su (player 125) played by Lee David, is the player who is constantly scared of everything and betrays a fellow player and watches her die, instead of stepping in to save her. He spent this entire season feeling extremely guilty and hallucinating about it.

While this was one of the biggest let downs in this season, it also had its highs. And let’s not forget, the heart-wrenching deaths.

Firstly, this was hands down the darkest season of the series, as it involved an unexpected new player – the baby of Jun-hee (player 222) played by Jo Yu-ri, which turned the tables and showed how cruel and dark humanity was.

This new character brought to light the true colours of many players, the VIPs and the host (frontman) – played by Lee Byung-hun. But the birth began with the death of some important characters which was shocking and heart-wrenching.

For those who do not want spoilers, skip ahead. The deaths of Hyun-ju (player 120) played by Park Sung-ho, Yong-sik (player 007) played by Yang Dong-geun, and Geum-ja (player 149) played by Kang Ae-sim, were heart-breaking and as upsetting as the death of our most favourite character, Ali from season 1.

I will not go into the details about their death, but the choices made by each character leading to their deaths were what made it even sadder.

The games, however, became bigger and gruesome, and so did the number of deaths in each game. While seasons 1 and 2 had several games, season 3 showed us just 3 games over 6 episodes – with over 10 people dying in each game.

While the players were trying to survive, our favourite cop Hwang Jun-ho played by Wi Ha-jun, was oblivious to the fact that he was in search of the island with the enemy. But one thing leads to another, and when he finally reaches the island he was looking for, for years, it’s too late – adding to this season’s grim narrative.

However, the final episode of the season did have some surprising moments.

From some people on the island surviving including Hwang Jun-ho, to cameos of characters from the first season --- it had it all.

And the most surprising part of this entire season? A cameo by Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett playing the role of a character loved by all in Squid Game.

Overall, I would give this season a 3 or 3.5 out of 5. While it wasn’t the best, it was worth the wait and a good ending to this popular series that took the world by storm.