Squid Game star praises 'unpredictable' ending as creator reveals fears
Squid Game is coming to an end with its hotly-anticipated third season, which Lee Jung-jae has described as having the 'most unpredictable, most meaningful and the most intriguing ending possible' — but the show's creator Hwang Dong-hyuk is still in two minds about it.
Speaking at a press conference in London for the Netflix juggernaut, the showrunner admitted he had a hard time coming up with a satisfying conclusion to the story. Season 3 returns to Gi-hun (Lee) as a broken man after his rebellion against the leaders of the deadly games failed and led to his friend's death. As the players that are left decide to keep playing, Gi-hun is forced to question his mission and also his faith in humanity.
There are a lot of twists and turns in store for viewers in the final episodes, and when asked about the hardest decision he had to make director Hwang shared: "Even when I was writing the season 3 I have to make a big decision because this is the finale of the whole series, the whole show.
"So that decision was so difficult to make. I'm still thinking about whether it's good or not, but the viewers will see."
Lee and his co-stars Lee Byung-hun and Park Gyu-young, who play the Front Man and Pink Guard No-eul respectively, were effusive in their praise of how Hwang's chose to close out the series.
"I thought that director Huang's decision that he had made... he was very determined," Lee Jung-jae said. "I'm sure that he went through a lot of internal debate and struggles because, as we all know, this series has been just hugely successful. So when it's a story that big, how do you bring that to a close as director, writer and creator? And especially for a character like Gi-hun, where do you take him?
"And so I know that he listened to a lot of other people's ideas as well, we would have discussions among ourselves, among the cast. He would also discuss it with me and the crew as well, but I believe that director Hwang came up with the most adequate, the most unpredictable, the most meaningful and the most intriguing and entertaining ending possible.
"So personally, I am very happy with the finale and you all are going to be able to see where it all ends soon. But I can guarantee you it's not going to be what you think."
Lee Byung-hun, on the other hand, implied that while the finale gives the series a satisfying conclusion he feels there's room for more if the audience craves it.
"Director Hwang keeps saying it's a finale," the actor reflected. "When I first read it I felt it could be a finale but, at the same time, it could be a new start. I'm not sure [if it definitely is], that's my personal opinion, but if the audience's love and support increase you never know what might happen!"
Park added that she looked at the series as a fan, having come into it later than her co-stars, and so that gives her a different and interesting angle: "If I answer it's as a fan, as one of the audience. So if season 2 was the explanation of the expanded universe of Squid Game, in Season 3 all those questions will be answered really clearly and all the characters will make their own decisions and break through all the hardships they're going through."
Squid Game season 3 premieres on Netflix on Friday, 27 June.
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