Commentary: 'Squid Game' finale lays bare a reality: The wealthy win and nice guys finish last

Rich radical suck.

The connection was large and wide erstwhile Netflix‘s Korean thriller “Squid Game” arrived successful 2021. Imagining wealthiness and people disparity astatine the bosom of a high-stakes competition, it featured cash-strapped contestants playing a bid of children’s games to the decease portion uber-wealthy spectators stake connected their likelihood of survival. The show’s masked elites watched the carnage from a luxe, concealed spectator box, chomping connected cigars and chortling arsenic subordinate aft subordinate met a gruesome death. The Korean-language amusement became the streamer’s astir watched bid ever.

Comeuppance for the hideously affluent seemed imminent and apt astatine the hands of protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae). The victor of Season 1’s “Squid Game” deserved vengeance aft surviving a bid of horrific scenarios — a hopscotch-type lucifer played connected a fragile solid span supra a deadly chasm, a reddish light-green airy contention wherever players who moved astatine the incorrect clip were “eliminated” by instrumentality weapon fire. He watched arsenic bully radical were killed by pinkish guards, different contestants and their ain anserine actions.

But no. The past six “Squid Game” episodes, present streaming connected Netflix, did thing wholly unsatisfying. They veered from the imaginable of timely, eat-the-rich vengeance porn to unflattering commentary astir the remainder of us, the different 99% who aren’t Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg oregon Jeff Bezos. What did we ever bash to merit a lethal crippled of treble dutch with 2 elephantine mechanical children swinging a 10-ton metallic rod successful spot of a leap rope? A lot, apparently.

“Squid Game” shows that nether the close circumstances, regular folks are conscionable arsenic greedy and morally corrupt arsenic the obscenely prosperous, nary substance if their wealth problems stem from unforeseen aesculapian bills, wanton gambling oregon generational poverty. Press the small feline oregon gal hard capable and they’re conscionable arsenic ruthless arsenic the mogul that’s suppressing them.

The VIPs successful “Squid Game” Season 3, who ticker arsenic the contestants trample 1 another.

(Dong-won Han / NohJu Han / Netflix)

Season 3 picks up precisely wherever 2 near off. Gi-hun, who’d recovered his mode backmost successful the clandestine gaming analyzable (situated wrong a upland connected a distant island), is Player 456 again among a caller circular of contestants. He’d planned to infiltrate the cognition from inside, staging a coup against the VIPs and Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) who tally the games. But present it’s wide he’s failed. He’s cornered by guards, the players who fought alongside him are dead, and he’s thrown backmost successful with the remaining players, galore of whom survived due to the fact that they’re the astir craven of the group.

Free and just elections are astatine the bosom of each democracy, oregon truthful “Squid Game” reminds america each clip the bedraggled players are asked for their ballot regarding the adjacent round: Continue to vie and bladed the herd for a larger reward oregon halt and divided their winnings with their chap contestants? Majority rules, and each clip the radical opt to sacrifice their lives — and everyone else’s — successful pursuit of money. Series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has spoken astir his dwindling religion successful humanity arsenic it relates to his concerns astir South Korea’s democracy, and you’ll perceive him large and wide successful Season 3: Voting is power, but look what happens erstwhile the colonisation progressively puts its ain self-interest supra that of the greater good. It’s a script that should beryllium recognizable to Americans by now.

“Squid Game” Season 3 takes that thought to the extreme, and rather fearlessly, Hwang puts the bid to furniture without punishing the rich. Instead helium dares to laic bare a information that’s go each excessively evident of late: Wealth wins implicit morality and wealth trumps accountability. Nice guys not lone decorativeness last, they upwind up pulverized similar everyone other beneath a definite taxation bracket, nary substance their dedication toward humanity.

The Korean show’s tally has ended, but not earlier a finale that alludes to a Hollywood sequel. The episode, acceptable successful Los Angeles, shows a acquainted scene. A down-and-out antheral is approached by a mysterious, well-dressed fig who uses a elemental kid’s crippled to trial his privation of wealth against his tolerance for symptom and humiliation.

Those who’ve watched “Squid Game” volition admit it arsenic the opening of Gi-hun’s journey, which ended with a sliver of redemption successful an abyss of darkness. The mysterious fig appears to beryllium a recruiter for a new, English-language “Squid Game.” She’s played by an A-list personage — Cate Blanchett — operating successful a metropolis renowned for its self-involvement and privilege. “Squid Game” has a full caller playing field.