Netflix
‘Squid Game’ was to have a happy ending, but its creator replaced it with a much harsher message
The final episode of ‘Squid Game’ originally had a happy and more “traditional” ending, but its creator changed his mind at the last moment.
‘Squid Game’ has been one of the biggest hits in the history of Netflix, and after the premiere of its third and final season, the plot has come to a definitive conclusion. Apart from unexpected cameos during the final sequences, it has also had a shocking ending for its protagonist: Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae). According to series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, the player 456’s outcome would have been very different, but it had to be changed at the last minute to make him a martyr instead of a “happy” winner of the macabre games for the second time.
Author’s note: for obvious reasons, there are spoilers for the third season of ‘Squid Game’ in this news item - be warned!
Seong Gi-hun, the 456th player of ‘Squid Game’, survived in the original ending of the series, but its creator preferred to make him a martyr
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hwang Dong-hyuk, creator of ‘Squid Game’, revealed that in the initial version of the script for the series’ third season, Seong Gi-hun would have survived the final game. However, the director and screenwriter changed his mind because he did not feel that a happy ending was appropriate for the tone of the series, as well as considering the socio-political context on a global scale.
In the series, Gi-hun and the baby (player 222), are the last survivors in the final round of the last game. However, since there has been no sacrifice in this final round, Gi-hun decides to commit suicide by throwing himself into the void to save the baby’s life, while openly challenging the wealthy VIPs witnessing the game, and the leader, Hwang In-ho. “We are not horses. We are people,” he says before taking his own life. In this way, Gi-hun becomes a martyr, and his sacrifice leaves In-ho in shock, who, in turn, decides to save the baby’s life and take it with him before the explosives of the island’s self-destruct mechanism level the place.
The destruction of the island implies, unequivocally, that there will be no more games... at least in South Korea. Gi-hun’s immolation seems to partially redeem In-ho, who leaves the baby in the care of his brother Jun-ho, along with the baby’s prize money for “winning.” After this, he travels to Los Angeles to visit Gi-hun’s daughter and reveal to her that her father did not abandon her, but rather passed away, giving her all the money Gi-hun had hidden in the motel he used as a base of operations. As In-ho prepares to return to South Korea, he sees a female recruiter - played by Cate Blanchett - which hints that a version of the macabre games exists in the United States.
However, according to Hwang Dong-hyuk, Gi-hun was originally the final winner of this second time he participated in the games. He also revealed that he would have taken In-ho’s place in the final scenes in Los Angeles, visiting his daughter, and finding, to his dismay, that the games still existed in the United States. This, according to the creator, was a critique of late capitalism, where even if you manage to dismantle one branch of it, there will still be other strands, making it impossible to completely dismantle the entire system.
“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 [with his death] and that should be how the story comes to a close,” revealed Dong-hyuk. “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,“ he concluded.
Gi-hun’s immolation was quite shocking not only because of the message sent to both the arrogant VIPs and the viewers, but also because it made it clear that ‘Squid Game’ is one of those works where any character can die, including its protagonist. This outcome, although sad, has been generally well received, so it seems that Dong-hyuk was right to give the story a sad conclusion that was more consistent with the context of the constructed universe.
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