Squid Game season 3 review: a heart-wrenching journey — and a final twist
Every game comes to an end, the Squid Game series three trailer tells us. And so does every TV show. But not always a good one — there are still Lost fans arguing about what it all meant on Reddit and let's not dare poke the Game of Thrones bear again. Indeed, sometimes 'the end' of a show isn't even the end. If enough people watch it, the network just finds a way to keep going.
And while I can't guarantee Netflix won't one day twist the arm of Hwang Dong-hyuk, the genius creator and director of the biggest show in the history of the streamer, to make more, I am happy to report this: after three seasons and more shootings, stabbings and more falls from a great height than you can shake a squid at, this series was worth watching to the very end.
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Wales Online
16 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Welsh Hollyoaks and Netflix star's lifesaving operation after migraine issue
Welsh Hollyoaks and Netflix star's lifesaving operation after migraine issue Craig Russell had started forgetting things and began suffering from terrible migraines before scans revealed he had a benign tumour in his brain which was the size of a lime and had been there for over a decade Craig Russell and his wife Kate who encouraged him to see a medical professional when he began forgetting things A Welsh actor said he nearly died after a large tumour grew undetected for more than a decade inside his brain. Craig Russell, known for his roles in TV shows such as Hollyoaks and Netflix's Queen Cleopatra, has shared his near-death experience which resulted in him having a deformed skull. Craig, 48, from Cwmtwrch in the Swansea Valleys and now living in Falmouth in Cornwall with his wife Kate, 40, and their two sons Teddy, 10 and Henry, seven, said he first noticed there might be a problem when he began forgetting things and then had migraines in September 2022. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter . He then described a harrowing incident where a "whooshing" came from the back of his head when he gave a scream during filming for 2024 film Edge of Summer which he said "nearly caused me to collapse". By January 2023, grappling with deteriorating health, Craig admitted he was "all over the place" until Kate urged him to book an appointment with his GP. During the consultation he recalled how the doctor realised Craig was losing vision in his left eye and swiftly arranged a CT scan. Craig's head after surgery which removed the tumour which was the size of a compressed lime Article continues below Hours after the scan Craig's GP telephoned with unsettling news that they had "found something" within the imagery, prompting an urgent referral for additional MRI examinations towards the end of February 2023. The scans revealed he had a substantial benign tumour within his cranium comparable in dimensions to a compressed lime. Craig said: "It stopped me in my tracks. I never thought it would happen to me." Medics believed, given the size of the tumour, it had probably been developing inside his brain without him knowing for around 15 years. "The tumour got so big it pushed my skull up and out. It deformed the back of my head," he explained. Benign brain tumours can be dangerous even though they are not cancerous because they can still cause serious problems by pressing on and damaging the brain. So Craig underwent a risky operation in March 2023 to remove the mass which could have resulted in blindness or death. Part of his damaged skull was removed and rebuilt using a plastic-concrete mix held in place by bolts and staples in his scalp. Craig underwent a critical seven-hour surgery at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth where surgeons removed a section of his skull affected by the tumour. Craig thanked his family for supporting him through a very difficult period in his life Craig recalled: "My surgeon explained my tumour had been growing there for about 15 years and it appeared to have enveloped all the important stuff I needed to survive. There was a very real chance I wouldn't survive the operation because one little mistake and that's it – or at best I could come out blind or have a stroke." Craig, who praised his family and particularly his wife for her "unwavering support", recovered successfully and has since become an ambassador for Brain Tumour Research and a patron for children's charity Joseph's Smile. His most recent film, Protein, which premiered on June 13 this year featuring him in the role of a serial killer with a penchant for cannibalism, was a decade-long project. At one point the actor said it seemed uncertain whether he would survive to witness its release. "Someone asked me if I thought I'd ever see the film finished, which was a sobering idea as I nearly died before it came out," he said. "I'm so glad I was there to see it – I don't know if you can watch movies from the afterlife so I just have a lot of pride for everyone involved. I feel lucky to have had a brain tumour in a way because I've learnt so much about life, people, and resilience." Despite facing post-operative challenges with swelling and fluid build-up around his brain Craig revealed he has fully recovered, attributing his improvement to weight-lifting which encouraged the drainage of fluid. "My head still hurts occasionally but I'm now back to full health," he said. Craig is now an ambassador for the Brain Tumour Charity and called for more funding for research when he appeared in parliament last year He has advocated for increased government funding towards brain tumour research and he has taken on the role of an ambassador for Brain Tumour Research. Advancements in treating meningiomas, the kind of brain tumour Craig endured, may be coming as researchers from the University of Plymouth have pinpointed a significant protein influencing their growth, reports Brain Tumour Research. By targeting the protein scientists managed to decelerate or stop the proliferation of tumour cells in lab environments – a development that Craig described as "a big step forward". Craig's recent film, Protein, which is showing in select cinemas, was particularly poignant for him given the uncertainty over whether he would live to see its premiere. "The fact all that work we did is now being recognised favourably, especially by Mark Kermode, makes me so proud, so happy, and so relieved," he added. "If I had truly listened to my body this would have all been done and dusted years ago – so if you think you've got something wrong please just go and see your doctor." Article continues below Protein is currently screening in select cinemas and is set for digital release on July 14.
The Guardian
29 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Squid Game final season review – an ending so WTF it entirely beggars belief
The two main talking points of the third and final season of Squid Game are both massive spoilers. This means that I won't be able to mention the final minute of the whole thing, which contains a moment so WTF and genuinely surprising that I bet my editor a serious amount of money she wouldn't be able to guess what happens. She couldn't, thankfully, but such reckless gambling is the sort of behaviour that would land me in Squid Game in the first place, so it just shows that nobody here has learned any lessons from it whatsoever. Nor should I talk about another key development, though in this case, it becomes so central that it needs to be mentioned somehow. So, vaguely speaking, a new player is forced to enter the games, without being capable of giving their consent, and becomes the focus of later episodes. It is odd to criticise Squid Game for not being credible, given that it is a hit show about an underground tournament in which children's games are played until many or most of the participants die, but introducing this new player is completely out there, even by the standards of 'hide-and-seek … but with knives?' Squid Game is a bona fide phenomenon and a noticeable dip in quality after season one has done little to dent viewers' enthusiasm. The second season ended in a bloodbath – or a bigger bloodbath than usual – but for the most part it felt like a slow and messy buildup to the big finale. The third season, which wraps up the story, suggests that splitting it up was unnecessary, at least in terms of momentum. The two halves could have made a tight single season, but in this drawn-out state it remains loose around the edges. Season three picks up exactly where we left off. The revolution has been neutralised and 60 players have been left alive to continue competing for the big plastic piggy full of blood money. Player 456, Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), is rendered all but mute by the horrors of the quashed uprising, which means the main character doesn't say much for a lot of the early episodes. The brutality has grown, the violence is a relentless grind, and the satire has ebbed away. More and more of the remaining contestants are just bloodthirsty, terrible people who kill without conscience. It is a spectacle, sure, but it's nowhere near as pointed as it was. Take the voting. The competition's commitment to the democratic process means that before every game, the surviving players must take a vote on whether to continue to fight for their lives and a bigger prize pot, or whether to walk away and split the spoils. The VIPs, those mega-wealthy spectators who pay to watch the games while wearing bejewelled animal masks and who make it feel like a considerably inferior show whenever they appear, frequently chip in with meta-level commentary about what is unfolding. One of them declares that watching the players vote on whether to go on is more interesting than the games. Reader, it is not. Some people want to go home. Most people want to carry on playing. This debate has happened before and it happens again. It leaves insufficient room for the games themselves. I find myself desperate for them to get back to the business of ultra-violent child's play, urging them to find a way to make conkers, let's say, into some fatal showdown. (They do not play conkers.) There are three games left to play out, but none of them feel as well thought through as the first season's challenges. I suspect that is why it struggles to reach the heights of that first season. The games now feel like an add-on to a baggier story that sprawls towards its ending. So there is a lot of time dedicated to the North Korean defector turned undercover guard Kang No-eul (Park Gyuyoung), and to Jun-ho's (Wi Ha-joon) island-hopping search for his brother In-ho (Lee Byung-hun). As the Front Man, In-ho is as much the star of this final run as Gi-hun, and he offers rare and much-needed moments of subtlety. There is no excuse for the time given to the VIPs, who appear to be in a different show to everyone else. If you can get on board with the new contestant twist – and that is a big if – then the final two episodes have a nicely grand and operatic feel to them, and ultimately, Squid Game does its job. But it leaves the impression, too, that it has become a more traditional action-thriller than it once was. As to where it will go next, all bets are off. Squid Game is on Netflix now.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE From Netflix star to homeless in the Hamptons: Heartbreaking final days of realtor killed in brutal hit and run
A Netflix star run over and killed in a Hamptons hit-and-run was homeless and living out of a suitcase despite her glitzy past as an A-List realtor. Sara Burack, 40, was regularly seen dragging her pink luggage in the weeks before her June 19 death in Southampton.
