You just turned off the screen and stared blankly as you finished watching. This is not the ending you had expected for the Season 3 of THE “Squid Game” — not even close — so you might be desperately asking yourself (and maybe even the director), what the heck is the meaning behind all this?
Well, maybe you’ve already read the interviews. Maybe you’ve scrolled through Reddit or TheQoo threads trying to make sense of it. But here, we’re going to invite you into a more grounded, human discussion about the meaning behind “Squid Game” Season 3 ending. Because—deep breath—it was never meant to satisfy you.
Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for the show. If you haven’t watched it yet, proceed with caution!
Scathing Responses on “Squid Game” Season 3 Ending – What’s the Meaning?
The last week of June 2025 was a dramatic time for Netflix. “KPop Demon Hunters”—an underdog non-Korean animated project with K-pop influences—was extremely spectacular that it beats even the best Disney animation of the year.
But at the same time, Netflix’s crown jewel—”Squid Game”—hit an emotional wall and became a laughingstock for global viewers after the ending of Season 3.
Even after all the efforts of hyping the series, very few responses appeared in social media. And even if it did, most of them expressed their disappointment at the ending of “Squid Game” Season 3 and the meaning behind it.
The release of “Squid Game” Season 3 was expected to bring closure to what began as one of the most iconic series of the decade. But instead of a standing ovation, it triggered confusion, anger, and memes of frustration. Words like “sh*tty,” “soulless,” and “franchise cash grab” echoed across X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, and TheQoo. Critics from The Guardian to CINEPLAY called it everything from “relentless brutality” to “emotionally hollow.”
But is that all there is to it? Are you sure you have understood the true meaning behind “Squid Game” Season 3 ending?
Because actually, under all the disappointment lies a truth that many missed: the “Squid Game” Season 3 ending was not bad storytelling. It was a rejection of the kind of storytelling most of us have been trained to crave.
It’s not here to make you feel better. It’s here to make you feel uncomfortable—on purpose.
Director Hwang Dong Hyuk’s Message: This Is Where Hope Ends
What if the ending you hated wasn’t a mistake but a mirror?
In interviews with The Korea Times and JoongAng Daily, director Hwang Dong Hyuk explained that his original vision for Season 3 included a more hopeful ending.
Seong Gi Hun would survive and he’d reunite with his daughter. Meanwhile, Detective Junho would come back and expose the whole system. And we would have had a classic hero ending.
But then, he scrapped it. Everything.
Why? Because, according to “Squid Game” director Hwang Dong Hyuk, in his exact words
“If things continue as they are, we’re heading toward an even more hopeless and bleak future.”
Director Hwang Dong Hyuk.
That is why instead of a hero triumphing over a corrupt system, we watched a man consumed by guilt. Seong Gi Hun doesn’t resist the game anymore. He doesn’t rebel. He follows along, lets himself be broken, and in the end, he dies not as a victor—but as a man clinging to the only thing left he could protect: a child that wasn’t even his.
Yes, you weren’t supposed to cheer. Because after everything happened in “Squid Game” Season 3, the meaning behind the ending demanded you to ache.
Why The Meaning Behind “Squid Game” Season 3 Ending Supposed to Feel Wrong
As viewers, we’ve been taught to crave the perfect resolution: a satisfying final arc, good defeating evil, and heroes facing impossible odds but still managing to change and save the world.
After all, in the world where real life feels horrible and desperate, we seek solace and perfection in the universe of fiction for the one thing reality often denies us: justice.
Because in stories, the truth is supposed to be fair. The right people win. The cruel get punished. And hope—no matter how fragile—finds a way to survive. That belief isn’t just comfort. It’s how we stay afloat.
“Squid Game” Season 1 gave you just enough of that to feel hopeful. But then, Season 3 strips all of that away. That’s why you felt hollow and even resentful.
But then again, that’s exactly what the director had in mind. That kind of expectation has now become a dangerous illusion. And that is what director Hwang Dong Hyuk tried to confront.
Because, really, in a world where billionaires play with human lives, and where wars continue and inequality deepens, is it still truly believable to think one broken man can “save the system”?
Seong Gi Hun’s failure isn’t a flaw in the script. And it’s not that the director didn’t wrap this series cleanly.
Because behind the meaning of “Squid Game” Season 3 ending lies the brutal honesty of someone who no longer believes the system can be fixed from the inside—let alone by one single mediocre human.
The Baby Was Never Hope—It Was a Burden We All Inherited
One of the most debated elements in the season’s ending was the baby—Player 222’s child—forced into the game by the Front Man. Many viewers were baffled. Some were disgusted. What was that sick joke? Was this just a gimmick to provoke some kind of emotions from the viewers? To make this series more dramatic than it already was?
Well, not really. Maybe that’s the end result, but the original intention was far away from these speculations.
According to Director Hwang Dong Hyuk, unlike what the public assumes, the baby was NOT just a symbol of innocence.
On the contrary, the baby was a representation of what the future costs. It demanded you to answer the very core and challenging question behind the meaning of “Squid Game” Season 3 ending: If everything is already broken, what kind of world are we passing on to the next generation?
Seong Gi Hun’s final act as he carried the child and sacrificed himself, wasn’t redemption. It was resignation. A last-ditch attempt to offer something—not joy, not justice—but survival.
And that’s a haunting reflection of what many viewers feel today: that we’re no longer trying to win, we’re just trying to protect something from collapse.
So, that baby doesn’t offer hope. It demands accountability.
Why Satisfaction Was Never the Goal for “Squid Game” Season 3 Ending
We’ve become so used to endings that give us what we think we want. A kiss to seal the pain. A reunion to make the loss worth it. A twist that somehow justifies chaos. We want stories to fix what life can’t.
But “Squid Game” Season 3 doesn’t offer that relief. It doesn’t give you comfort, resolution, or even revenge. And in withholding all of that, it forces you to confront what you never wanted to admit:
- No one was ever coming to save Gi-hun.
- The system didn’t fall—it kept going, untouched.
- The players were never meant to matter, and still don’t.
- The game was never fantasy. It was life, just stripped of its illusions.
If you walked away feeling hollow, that was the point.
Because real despair doesn’t end with catharsis. It sits quietly with you. It follows you long after the credits roll.
And sometimes, the most honest kind of storytelling is the kind that refuses to heal you.
So, What Now?
Finally, if you felt angry after watching and even after you understand the meaning behind “Squid Game” Season 3 ending, well, that means it worked. If you’re still thinking about it, then “Squid Game” has successfully done what most shows can’t: it stayed with you, and maybe even unsettled you, long after the credits rolled.
And that’s exactly what director Hwang intended. Not a fantasy. Not justice. But a scar—and a deep one.
Because sometimes the only “message” is nothing. And the sooner you stop looking for a satisfying conclusion, the more clearly you’ll see the truth buried in the silence that “Squid Game” left behind.
Don’t you think so too? Now that you’ve gotten another perspective on the meaning behind “Squid Game” Season 3 ending, what are your thoughts? Please share them with us in the comments.
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