Squid Game Season 3 has several unexpected twists. Two of them are such major spoilers that it's difficult even to drop hints about them. One, obviously, appears in the final minute of the Netflix series — a turn of events no one could’ve guessed. The second twist involves a fresh player who is forced to play the games. Odd, even by Squid Game standards, this addition grows vital to the plot. More on that later.

The final chapter in this dystopian Korean saga takes off exactly where we left: the failed rebellion has been crushed, and 60 players remain. The games resume, but the mood is darker. The satire that once gave the series its edge takes a back seat. What we get now is more violence, more cruelty, and players who seem to have lost all sense of morality.

Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), who won the first game but lost much more than he gained, returns to the battlefield, this time a changed man. In the early episodes, he barely speaks. The weight of everything he has seen and done silences him. He’s haunted by survivor’s guilt and driven by a desire to end the games once and for all. But no one else seems to care. Most of the remaining players are hardened, selfish, and willing to kill for a shot at the prize. Gi-hun’s moral compass makes him stand out, but it also puts him at risk.

The once smart and surprising games appear less novel now. There are only three left to play, and while they are deadly, they don’t have the same level of tension or clever design as those in Season 1.

Among the few standout episodes is The Starry Night. It is set in a maze of rooms painted with stars and children’s drawings. Half the players are given knives; the others get keys. It’s a twisted version of hide-and-seek, and it makes for one of the most thrilling episodes of the series. It’s not just about who dies, but why, and what it does to the ones who survive.

Meanwhile, the series devotes considerable time to subplots. Detective Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) returns looking for his brother In-ho (Lee Byung-hun), who now heads the games as the Front Man. Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young), a North Korean defector posing undercover as a guard at the island, continues to improvise ways to escape. While these stories add emotional depth to the narrative, they sometimes distract from the main action.

Also returning are the VIPs — the masked, wealthy individuals wagering on the lives of the players. While they continue to feel cartoonish and out of place, their function in the story remains crucial. They remind us that while the players are fighting for their lives, there is a whole world watching and judging from a safe distance. And that world includes us, the viewers.

The show's creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, drives home the message that in a world where money controls everything, humanity is the first thing to go. One player remarks, “Bad people do bad things but they blame others and continue to live in peace. Good people beat themselves over everything.”

Once more, Lee Jung-jae gives a strong performance as Gi-hun. Though exhausted, enraged, and grieving, Gi-hun still strives to do the right thing. He now knows precisely how dark the world can be — he is not the wide-eyed guy from Season 1. Lee Byung-hun, as the Front Man, impresses with his calm, frigid presence.

The final two episodes are packed with emotion and action. The show doesn’t offer a happy ending, but it does give a sense of closure. Gi-hun is forced to make an impossible choice, one that tests everything he believes in. And then comes that final twist which will make you want to rewatch the show from the beginning.