Undoubtedly the biggest event of the 2020s, <Squid Game> concluded a chapter with the release of Season 3 on June 27. While it has gained worldwide popularity, it cannot be said to be truly over, but at least the grand journey of contestant 456, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), has certainly reached a full stop. After the 'rebellion' failed in the last season, what kind of ending did Seong Gi-hun and the remaining people face? Cineplay reporters watched the process with bated breath. In this season, which oscillated between shock and predictability, which scenes left the most impression? The reporters of Cineplay selected the best and worst moments based on their personal tastes. In this article, we have gathered the worst moments that made the reporters sigh without realising it. We hope you will share which scenes you found lacking in the comments.
※ The content below contains spoilers for <Squid Game> Season 3.
Seong Chan-eol_The Moment Describing 'Lunchbox'
In fact, what contestant 100 (Song Young-chang) says is entirely correct. And that strategy is indeed the most novel and shocking in this drama. However, selecting the moment in the final 'High-altitude Squid Game' where contestant 100's group beats contestant 039 (Woo Jeong-guk) and refers to him as 'lunchbox' as the worst is because it completely flips the tone and manner of the drama. <Squid Game> depicts a very violent situation where everyone dies and only the survivors are the winners, but conversely, direct depictions of violence are relatively limited. This is likely because most of the violence is carried out through the environment, guns, knives, etc. For such a drama to suddenly depict a group lynching, and even with a black comedy sensibility, the perpetrators are incredibly cheerful. It would have been better if it had stopped there, but they grab and break the legs, leaving no chance to escape. Contestant 039 screams and seems to tremble in shock. This series of depictions is unpleasant. I understand that it was intended to be unpleasant. However, it is far from the unique unpleasantness of <Squid Game> that we have seen so far. The manner of depiction is excessively blunt. I would like to select this scene along with the threatening scene of the soldiers towards Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young) from the last season as part of the excessive scene set from Season 2 to 3.
Kim Ji-yeon_The Moment Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young) Infiltrates the Headquarters and Burns Documents
Kang No-eul was undoubtedly a character that could have been more interesting. In the early part of Season 2, when Kang No-eul received the business card to participate in the Squid Game, and when it was revealed that he was participating as a soldier rather than a contestant, it was probably the peak of viewers' expectations for the character of Kang No-eul. However, the peak was just a peak, and interest in the character of Kang No-eul gradually declined thereafter. Then, in Episode 6 of Season 3, the moment when Kang No-eul infiltrates the game headquarters and burns documents hit rock bottom. Kang No-eul burns all the documents, including the information of contestant 246, Kyung-seok (Lee Jin-wook), to whom he had inexplicably grown attached, and sits in the Front Man's chair, seemingly resigned, aiming a gun at himself. Does that mean that Kang No-eul's only life goal was to erase Kyung-seok's history? Viewers, including myself, could not help but feel disappointed watching a character that seemed unique end up killing their own uniqueness.
Joo Seong-cheol_All Moments Featuring VIPs
VIPs are the sponsors of Squid Game, wealthy foreigners who wear extravagant golden animal masks and watch the games from luxurious rooms. Along with the masks, they refer to each other by nicknames, and their identities are a secret. They mock the human appeals of the game participants and even make the baby of contestant 222, Joon-hee (Jo Yu-ri), born in Season 3, a subject of betting; they are simply psychopaths. From an acting or directing perspective, the VIPs have been the most controversial setting since Season 1, being criticized for being 'surprising', but in Season 3, their presence has increased dramatically to the point of being bewildering. If only their reaction scenes were absent, the tension of Season 3 would have been heightened even more. Originally, they watched from the outside in a relay manner, but at some point, they were invited by the host to take a helicopter to the deserted island for a direct view, yet the limitation of watching on a monitor has not changed, leading to the question, 'Are they really enjoying the game properly?' It seems they cannot digest close-ups or detailed conversations. Furthermore, at the end of Season 3, Kate Blanchett made a special appearance as 'Ddakji Girl', which became a hot topic, but if the setting is that Squid Game is also happening overseas at the same time, why are all the VIPs foreigners? In any case, if one starts pointing out the trivialities about the VIPs, there is no end to it. It would have been better if they had not been there, as it would not have distracted from the focus on the game.
Chu Ah-young_The Moment Seong Gi-hun Kills Dae-ho
In <Squid Game> Season 2, Seong Gi-hun, who rushed in with the determination to break the system, returned empty-handed, leaving only the sacrifices of friends like Jeong-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) and many others. Feeling guilty about this, Seong Gi-hun projects his frustration over the failed revolution onto Dae-ho and reflects his guilt and sense of responsibility onto him. Gi-hun ultimately kills Dae-ho in the 'Key and Knife' game, which is designed to allow hatred and violence to be wielded against others, plunging into a swamp of despair.
The scene where Seong Gi-hun kills Dae-ho can also be read as a metaphor for the self-contradictions and limitations of some of the older generations in Korea or the 586 movement generation. This reflects the reality of those who were once the main actors of social change but now turn a blind eye to the limits of a society that does not easily change, projecting their failures and divisions onto future generations or others. However, the direction in which Gi-hun seeks to place blame is extremely despairing, as it falls on Dae-ho, who should be allied with him to break the system. Dae-ho is a victim of the manbox (the oppression imposed on men under patriarchy, the entire concept and norms that force 'men to be manly'). He disguises his true self in a family that imposes 'manliness' and grows into a distorted adult who creates a new persona accepted by society. It is not justifiable to hold him accountable for making a decision to conform again after feeling fear repeatedly. Furthermore, when viewing Dae-ho as the current powerless young generation, who is too busy surviving to focus on social change and revolution, Seong Gi-hun's killing of Dae-ho also reveals the generational conflict in Korean society. Gi-hun's choice betrays the great cause of 'solidarity against the system and power' and vividly illustrates the irony of a change agent who once sought to change society giving rise to a new structure of sacrifice.
