Squid Game Season 3 ended the series in dramatic fashion, but according to the show’s creator, that climax was nearly very different.
The finale of Squid Game has broken Netflix records, with Season 3 amassing a whopping 60.1 million views during its first three days, which is more than any other show in the streamer’s history.
You can read Squid Game ending explainer to find out which star cameos in the finale, plus how Season 3 sets up a potential spinoff.
But what viewers saw onscreen wasn’t always the plan, as creator Hwang Dong-hyuk explains. Meaning SPOILERS ahead.
Squid Game ending changed to send “message to the world”
Squid Game ends with protagonist Gi-hun sacrificing himself to save the life of an innocent baby, which is a heartbreaking way to end his story, but also a moment that’s both inspiring, and even optimistic in a show that’s relentlessly pessimistic. According to Hwang however, Gi-hun originally survived the climax.
“I don’t know if I can call it an original ending, but in the beginning I had a vague idea about how I would end the story,” Hwang tells The Hollywood Reporter. “And back then, it was having Gi-hun end the game, in one way or another, and leave alive and go see his daughter in America. So originally, I thought the person who witnesses the American recruiter woman would be Gi-hun.
“But as I began writing the story, and as I began to think more and more about, ‘What do I want to deliver with the ending of this story?’ And also, ‘What should Gi-hun’s journey and what should his destination be?’
“I was witnessing more and more what was happening around the world and I thought it was more fitting for Gi-hun to send this powerful and impactful message to the world and that should be how the story comes to a close.
“The world seems to be headed for the worst. It seems to be becoming, in so many different ways, so much worse ahead. I thought, ‘What kind of sacrifices do we need to make in the current generation for us to be able to leave the future generation with a better world?’ So I wanted Gi-hun’s sacrifice to be a symbol of that.”
Hwang Dong-hyuk on meaning of final scene
Hwang also says what follows Gi-hun’s death – the Front Man spotting his American equivalent in Los Angeles – is designed to remind the world that the issues that the inspired Squid Game aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“I didn’t have any intentions of wanting to drive all viewers into despair with the ending,” Hwang says in the same interview. “But the premise of the last scene was that the Front Man himself, he had heard of the other international games and recruiters being there, but he didn’t know for sure. And so he was actually also shocked to see for himself that there is this recruiter in America as well, and it was by chance that he saw her.
“Through the story of Gi-hun and his sacrifice, I wanted to convey the ideas of hope and also of sacrifice, and how we should never let go of it no matter how difficult things get. With the last scene, I also wanted to, however, highlight that the system is so strong and deeply rooted that it’s not something that can be easily dismantled, and therefore it requires all of our continued efforts and strong will.”
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