Latest news with #LeeJungjae
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Squid Game' Season 3 Ending Explained
'Squid Game' Season 3 Ending Explained originally appeared on Parade. WARNING! This article spoils the events of Season 3, now available for streaming on Netflix. Please do not read further if you do not intend to know what happens in Season 3 After last year's excruciating cliffhanger, Squid Game returned for its third and final season on June 27. And with it, it brought three more life-or-death games and another winner to take home an astounding amount of money, as well as plenty of blood, gore and violence that made the Korean series a massive hit for Netflix when it first debuted. Season 3 was not afraid to roll out the body count, with many players losing their lives over the course of the final six episodes. And it all came to one massive close, with a possible opening for more of the show to everything to know about the ending of Squid Game Season 3. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 Squid Game Final Season Ending Explained The final game The final episode, "Humans Are...," opened with the three remaining players left in the game: Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), Myung-gi (Im Si-wan) and, stunningly, the latter's baby. That's because Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri) had given birth to their child while in the games, before losing her life the next day. But, heeding her final words to stay away from her and her baby, Myung-gi revealed in the finale that he wanted to leave Gi-hun stranded, then kill the baby to make sure he walked away with the money. Luckily, Gi-hun went full Tom Cruise and jumped over to the last tower, fighting him. In the tussle, both men went over the edge, hanging on by a thread. And karma ultimately came for Myung-gi, as his lifeline tore, sending him plummeting to his death. Gi-hun pulled himself back up, but the carnage was not done. The button had not been pressed yet, meaning at least one of the two remaining players had to die for the game to end. All of the VIPs watching believed Gi-hun would simply kill the child, making him the first-ever two-time winner of the games. But they didn't know the real reason he had thrown himself back in the fray. Turning his back on the oligarchs, he placed the baby down before speaking out loud (most likely to his nemesis, the Front Man). 'We are not horses," he said. "We are humans. Humans are…" And with that, he threw himself off the tower. At long last, Player 456 was no more. And Player 222, a baby who was less than three days old and had inherited her mother's number, had won the game. Destroying the island While lots of drama was happening in the last game, plenty was also happening elsewhere on the island. No-eul (Park Gyu-young) had literally clawed her way back into headquarters, looking to take down her boss, as well as wipe the record of Gyeong-seok (Lee Jin-wook), whom she helped escape the games. In the process, she discovered the file room, containing the records of every player and employee in the games' history. There, she tearfully discovered that, according to her file, her daughter had passed away in North Korea. As No-eul sits down, preparing to end her life, she hears a baby cry. Upon seeing the new child in the games, she relents, deciding to leave the island. And she has an easy out to do so, considering how things come to an end. After a two-year search filled with loan sharks and treachery, Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) at long last succeeded in his mission. He found the island that he visited back in Season 1, and was looking to reunite with his brother, In-ho (Lee Byung-hun). However, upon infiltrating HQ, he found he was too late. After finding out Jun-ho had alerted the Coast Guard to their location, In-ho set the island to self-destruct and took off with the baby in tow. All Jun-ho could do was see his brother from afar, lamenting, "Why did you do it?" The entire setting for these depraved games is destroyed, though everyone is able to get out just in time. Related: Six months later We then pick things up half a year later across multiple continents. Here are the major beats from stopping in with all of the characters who survived: –Gyeong-seok indeed made it off the island, and is back to painting caricatures in the theme park. Not only that, his sick daughter, for whom he entered the games in the first place, has happily survived. –No-eul received a call that, despite what she found in the file, there is a chance that her daughter is still alive. She ended the series by going to the airport, flying off to China to go and find her. –Woo-seok (Jeon Seok-ho), after getting arrested and imprisoned for breaking into Captain Park's (Oh Dal-su) house, got out of jail. Feeling "lost," the moneylender was looking to take up the hotel that Gi-hun bought in Season 2 to help surveil (and practice shooting) the masked men. –After picking up Woo-seok from prison, Jun-ho came home to find quite a present from his brother. On his kitchen table was the baby, still wrapped up in his mother's tracksuit. And, as the technical winner of the games, that means she also came with a debit card to an account with 45.6 billion won. It is assumed that Jun-ho would raise this child as his own, with a life-changing amount of money in tow. –In-ho himself, meanwhile, was over in Los Angeles. He visited Gi-hun's estranged daughter, informing her that her father had died. He then gives her his belongings: His 456 track suit, as well as her own card to his winnings. While Jun-ho and Woo-seok speculated as to who took Gi-hun's money from the hotel, it's now clear that In-ho did so to carry on his legacy. Let the games continue For all intents and purposes, it seems that the version of Squid Game we know is done. Conceived with only three seasons in mind, blowing up the island seemed to be a firm punctuation mark at the end of a four-year sentence, destroying the games forevermore. Or should we Korean version of the games. That's because, in the show's final scene, as In-ho is stopped in traffic, he hears a familiar sound: The *smack* of a ddakji envelope. As he looks out, he sees another recruiter (Cate Blanchett) is yet again engaging in a game with a down-on-his-luck man in an alley. She looks back on him and smiles, and he does the same before pulling away. Talks of an English-langugage version of Squid Game have certainly been out there, with David Fincher at one point attached to the project. And it's unknown if this ending officially confirms if one is on the way. However, even on the surface, it shows there are multiple versions of the games, whether simultaneously running or with an American version having taken up the mantle after the Korean version was destroyed. Despite the happy endings for many characters, it's a sign that, try as you might, the games will still be on.'Squid Game' Season 3 Ending Explained first appeared on Parade on Jun 27, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword
CTV News
17-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Final ‘Squid Game' season lifts Netflix above earnings forecasts
Lee Jung-jae, center, Park Hae-soo, right, and Oh Young-soo in a scene from the Korean series "Squid Game." (Netflix via AP) The final season of global phenomenon 'Squid Game' helped Netflix top Wall Street earnings targets for the second quarter, the streaming service said on Thursday as it raised revenue guidance for the year. Shares of the company, which had risen nearly 44 per cent this year ahead of the earnings report, dropped nearly two per cent to US$1,252.94 in after-hours trading. The company said its higher revenue forecast 'primarily reflects the weakening of the U.S. dollar.' For April through June, Netflix posted diluted earnings per share of US$7.19. That topped the US$7.08 consensus estimate of analysts polled by LSEG. The company raised revenue guidance for 2025 to US$44.8 billion to US$45.2 billion, citing the weakening of the U.S. dollar plus 'healthy member growth and ad sales.' Its previous guidance was up to US$44.5 billion. For the just-ended quarter, net income came in at US$3.1 billion, edging forecasts of US$3.06 billion. Revenue totalled US$11.08 billion, above the US$11.07 billion analyst projection. Netflix released the third and final season of dystopian Korean drama 'Squid Game' a few days before the second quarter ended in June. The show is the most popular non-English Netflix show in the streaming service's history. Season three racked up 122 million views, Netflix said. Other releases during the quarter included 'Sirens,' 'The Four Seasons' and a third season of 'Ginny & Georgia.' The streaming video pioneer stopped disclosing quarterly subscriber numbers this year, instead urging investors to focus on profit as a measure of its success. It said member growth was ahead of its forecast but occurred late in the quarter, which limited the impact on second-quarter revenue. Netflix has been building an ad-supported service to increase revenue and reel in price-sensitive viewers. It also has added live events such as WWE wrestling to draw advertisers and viewers. Looking ahead, Netflix forecast revenue of US$11.5 billion and net income of nearly US$3 billion. Analysts had projected US$11.3 billion and US$2.9 billion. The company also has new seasons of two of its biggest shows coming later this year. 'Wednesday' returns in August, and the final episodes of 'Stranger Things' will be released in November and December. Netflix previously said it does not expect advertising to be a primary driver of revenue growth in 2025. --- Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles. Additional reporting by Akash Sriram and Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru. Editing by Matthew Lewis
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Squid Game' and Diego Luna are the year's biggest Emmy snubs: Poll
Hell hath no fury like a TV fan scorned. Following the announcement of the 2025 Emmy nominations, Gold Derby users were outraged that several top contenders failed to hear their names called. Nearly half of the people we polled said that Squid Game was the biggest snub, having received zero bids for Season 2 after winning six trophies for Season 1 in 2022. More from Gold Derby Snubbed by Oscars, redeemed by Emmys: How eligibility rules revived 'Super/Man,' 'I Am: Celine Dion,' and 'Will & Harper' Instant Emmy prediction data shows 'The Studio' and 'Severance' out to early leads, with 'Hacks' and 'The Pitt' lurking Among the list of snubbed Squid Game actors: Lee Jung-jae, who won the last time he was eligible for playing Seong Gi-hun (Player 456); Choi Seung-hyun as the villainous Thanos (Player 230); Lee Byung-hun as the Front Man; Park Sung-hoon as trans contestant Cho Hyun-ju (Player 120); Kang Ae-shim as protective mother Jang Geum-ja (Player 149); Park Gyu-young as Kang No-eul, the North Korean defector who's now a pink-clad soldier; and Gong Yoo as the Recruiter on the outside. Showrunner Hwang Dong-hyuk was overlooked for producing, writing, and directing Season 2 — he received all three noms for Season 1 and won the directing prize. And none of the below-the-line crafts from Squid Game earned any love, either. (Note: the third and final season dropped in June, so it will be eligible at the 2026 Emmys.) Other contenders who received support in our snap poll were Diego Luna for Andor, Patrick Schwarzenegger for The White Lotus, Elisabeth Moss for The Handmaid's Tale, and Selena Gomez for Only Murders in the Building. Finally, there's Yellowjackets, which received a combined 10 nominations for its first two seasons, but came away empty-handed for Season 3. 'The campaign for the show was basically posters and a late fyc virtua, event, it seems hulu was low on the budget for only two fields drama and limited. They just left the sag ensemble win carry the campaign, like that helped OINTB in the past ' MGMKELLY in the topic: Emmys 2025 Nominee ReactionsJuly 15, 2025 at 6:18 pm Poll results: What's the biggest Emmy snub? 49 percent: Squid Game 17 percent: Diego Luna 12 percent: Patrick Schwarzenegger 11 percent: Elisabeth Moss 8 percent: Selena Gomez 3 percent: Yellowjackets The good news for Luna and Gomez is that they are still nominated as producers this year, since Andor and Only Murders in the Building received bids for Best Drama Series and Best Comedy Series, respectively. Andor's second season earned 14 total nominations overall, up from eight in Season 1. Meanwhile, Only Murders' fourth season garnered a series-low seven nominations, down from 21 for Season 3, 11 for Season 2, and 17 for Season 1. Even without Schwarzenegger, Leslie Bibb, and Michelle Monaghan failing to make the final ballot,The White Lotus pulled in 23 nominations for Season 3, the same as in Season 2, and up from 20 in Season 1. Eight of their costars — Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Sam Rockwell, Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell, Aimee Lou Wood, and Scott Glenn — did make the cut with Emmy voters, and will be scheduling their next vacation for Los Angeles on Sept. 14. 'Not Sam Rockwell over Patrick Schwarzenegger ' AmnistY21 in the topic: Emmys 2025 Nominee ReactionsJuly 15, 2025 at 10:18 am The Handmaid's Tale and Yellowjackets both disappointed with their respective sixth and third seasons. The former show sailed off into the sunset with just a sole bid for guest actress Cherry Jones, who won in 2019 for playing Holly, the mother of Moss' June. Moss may have been robbed for the final season, but she still has two Emmys keeping her company for producing and starring in the debut season of The Handmaid's Tale in 2017. Best of Gold Derby Everything to know about 'The Pitt' Season 2, including the departure of Tracy Ifeachor's Dr. Collins Everything to know about 'Too Much,' Lena Dunham's Netflix TV show starring Megan Stalter that's kinda, sorta 'based on a true story' Cristin Milioti, Amanda Seyfried, Michelle Williams, and the best of our Emmy Limited Series/Movie Actress interviews Click here to read the full article. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Squid Game' skunked at the Emmys: Here are all the nominations it missed for Season 2 — including Lee Jung-jae and Choi Seung-hyun
Sorry, Squid Game fans — it's game over at the Emmys. According to Gold Derby's odds, Netflix's most popular show was never expected to match the 14 Emmy nominations it earned in 2022, but nobody predicted Season 2 would get completely shut out. Just three years ago, Squid Game was nominated for Best Drama Series and brought home six awards: Best Actor for Lee Jung-jae, Best Directing ('Red Light, Green Light'), Best Drama Guest Actress for Lee Yoo-mi, Best Production Design ('Kkanbu'), Best Stunt Performance ('Stick to the Team'), and Best Visual Effects ('VIPs'). Three years later, Squid Game's second season continued to captivate audiences, logging over 192 million views on Netflix — but totally flopped with Emmy voters. More from Gold Derby 2025 Emmy nominations by network: HBO Max leads with 142, followed by Netflix with 120 'Adolescence' scores with 13 Emmy nominations: Here's what they all are Here are the categories the second missed. With eight slots available for Best Drama, Squid Game was barely holding onto the eighth position. While the second season wasn't as critically acclaimed as the first — scoring 83 percent on Rotten Tomatoes compared to 95 percent for Season 1 — it remains undeniably one of the most-watched and talked-about shows of this television season. Still, it failed to make the final list, which comprises Andor, The Diplomat, The Last of Us, Paradise, The Pitt, Severance, Slow Horses, and The White Lotus. Three years ago, Lee Jung-jae made history as the first Asian man to win Best Drama Actor and the first to win for a non-English show. Now he's not even on the ballot. The last actor to go from winning to completely snubbed was 2016 champ Rami Malek for Mr. Robot. This year's nominees are Sterling K. Brown (Paradise), Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us), Adam Scott (Severance), and Noah Wyle (The Pitt). This was never the category our odds predicted Squid Game would make its mark. Snubs for Kang Ae-shim, for her role as protective mother Jang Geum-ja (Player 149), and Park Gyu-young as Kang No-eul, the determined North Korean defector fighting to save her daughter, were not surprising. The nominees are Patricia Arquette (Severance), Carrie Coon (The White Lotus), Katherine LaNasa (The Pitt), Julianne Nicholson (Paradise), Parker Posey (The White Lotus), Natasha Rothwell (The White Lotus), and Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus). There's sure to be massive fan outrage over the omission of Choi Seung-hyun (aka T.O.P.) for his portrayal of Thanos (Player 230), a rapper who joined Squid Game after incurring debts due to a failed cryptocurrency investment. "While he is a villain, he's not like a very villainous villain, but I think he's more of a loser guy," the actor told Gold Derby. "He's got a few screws loose, and he's a little bit clumsy. I think that's what makes him a little bit adorable to people." Also cast aside were Season 1 survivor Lee Byung-hun as the Front Man and Park Sung-hoon as heroic trans ex-soldier Hyun-ju (Player 120). The nominees this year are Zach Cherry (Severance), Walton Goggins (The White Lotus), Jason Isaacs (The White Lotus), James Marsden (Paradise), Sam Rockwell (The White Lotus), Tramell Tillman (Severance), and John Turturro (Severance). The Guest Drama Actor category looked like an open race, with six nominees making the final ballot and no clear front-runner dominating the conversation. Sitting in eighth place was Gong Yoo, who reprised his role as the Recruiter in a showcase episode this season. Although his snub may not be a shock, it's still a disappointment for Squid Game fans. This year's nominees are Giancarlo Esposito (The Boys), Scott Glenn (The White Lotus), Shawn Hatosy (The Pitt), Joe Pantoliano (The Last of Us), Forest Whitaker (Andor), and Jeffrey Wright (The Last of Us). Squid Game played it smart by submitting just one episode, "Bread and Lottery," for writing, penned by creator and showrunner Hwang Dong-hyuk. In "Bread and Water," a vengeful Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jai) makes a U-turn at the airport. Later, in his hideout, he intensifies his search for the elusive Recruiter (Gong Yoo), who is seeking new players. Hwang earned an Emmy nomination in 2022 for writing "One Lucky Day," but there was no luck this year. Nominees are Andor, The Pitt, Severance, Slow Horses, and The White Lotus. As with writing, Squid Game submitted a single episode for Best Drama Directing in Season 2. Since Hwang wrote and directed every episode, the Netflix series benefitted from being able to select its strongest submission without risking internal competition among contenders. This year, Hwang opted for "O X" as his directing submission, an episode in which Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) and his team prepare to infiltrate a suspicious island. Hwang previously won this category in 2022 for directing the iconic "Red Light, Green Light" episode, but was totally snubbed in 2025. This year's nominees are from Andor, The Pitt, Severance, Slow Horses, and The White Lotus. There were plenty more categories in play for Squid Game, even if it was considered a dark horse in most of the above-the-line races this year. The crafts-heavy series previously won Emmys for production design, stunts, and visual effects three years ago — making it a strong contender in each of those categories once again. Additionally, Squid Game was a prior nominee for both editing and cinematography, areas where it continued to showcase strength this year. Still, no dice. Best of Gold Derby Everything to know about 'The Pitt' Season 2, including the departure of Tracy Ifeachor's Dr. Collins Everything to know about 'Too Much,' Lena Dunham's Netflix TV show starring Megan Stalter that's kinda, sorta 'based on a true story' Cristin Milioti, Amanda Seyfried, Michelle Williams, and the best of our Emmy Limited Series/Movie Actress interviews Click here to read the full article.
Geek Vibes Nation
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
'Squid Game' Season 3 Review: A Short, Bitter Farewell To A Pop Culture Giant
When Squid Game first premiered in 2021, it took over the internet. While the idea of the show wasn't anything unique – movies like Battle Royale and the Hunger Games franchise have similar concepts – it succeeded in its delivery in a way other stories hadn't. You couldn't go to a single convention or Halloween party that year without seeing green tracksuits and masked guards. Even Mr. Beast got on the trend! Squid Game' Season 3 is a brief, emotional finale that closes the chapter on one of the biggest pop culture sensations of the decade. At just six episodes, Season 3 is noticeably shorter than its predecessors—Season 1 ran nine episodes, and Season 2 spanned seven. Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk previously stated that these episodes were supposed to be one season, but were split into a 2nd and 3rd season due to the episode count (source). This is why season 3 really doesn't feel like season 3 – it takes place literally right after season 2. And because there's only 6 episodes, it feels like there was a lot that wasn't fleshed out, or moments that weren't given room to breathe. Despite its narrative shortcomings, the cast once again delivers outstanding work. Lee Jung-jae returns as Gi-hun, bringing a raw, haunted intensity that makes his tragic arc land even when the writing stumbles. Newer players like Park Sung-hoon and Jo Yu-ri shine in morally gray roles, illustrating how quickly compassion erodes in the face of survival. Well, you should have ended it at season 1. Just like Netflix's Queen's Gambit, season one of Squid Game was perfect and could have lived as a singular season. It told the story it needed to and it ended wonderfully – adding Gi-hun at the airport at the end was certainly not necessary, but even if that scene remained, you could have left the rest to the viewer's imagination. Season one forced viewers to reconsider the cost of economic disparity and the twisted games the system plays on ordinary people. Season 3 simply felt like the very greed and capitalism that season 1 criticized. It shouldn't be understand how season three does dilute this brilliant masterpiece. Granted, season 2 was enjoyable and at that point, you needed more to really tie things up. In my season two review, I praised the second season for complimenting the intensity of season 1. It's something I stand by today. However, after looking at season 3 and how it ends, especially with what it promises; I'm left wishing it ended with season 1. Gi-hun's arc concludes in a moment of grim self-sacrifice, destroying the game from within rather than surviving it one more time. It's a harrowing end that speaks to the show's inherent cynicism—a worldview that insists some systems are too corrupt to fix from the inside. But Netflix is not quite done. As mentioned earlier, it looks like the show is going for the MCU effect in building up their world – something that it feels like their show is criticizing. It's been teased in the past that we're getting an American version, but I also didn't believe it until Cate Blanchett showed up. Do we really need this? Oh, Hollywood, how you never fail to absolutely squeeze every last drop you can out of a previously perfectly devised story. This review has felt more negative than originally intended. In the end, Squid Game is a great show. Personally, I love this show, and we cannot deny the cultural significance that season one had. Gi-hun is the standout in season three and it should be applauded that the show really leans into darker themes this season, and in the end, is bold in where they took Gi-hun's story. And while we don't know if the American version will hit the same way as the South Korean version (guarantee it won't), we'll still look upon the work the writers and actors did in bringing us Squid Game, and I don't think anyone will look at any of these beloved childhood games the same way again.
