‘Squid Game’ director axed happy ending to reflect ‘hopeless and bleak’ reality

Would you believe that there was an entirely different fate planned for Seong Gi-hun in the recently ended Netflix series “Squid Game” (2021-2025)? According to the show’s creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk, there was, at least in the beginning.

“I think I vaguely assumed that if there were a season two, it would naturally have a happy ending,” director Hwang said during an interview with press on June 30 at a cafe in Jongno District, central Seoul.

“I imagined Gi-hun going back into the game, destroying it or doing something about it, and eventually making it out alive with some people. Then, in the end, he would go see his daughter in the U.S.”

He added that he originally planned for Jun-ho (Wi Ha-jun) to find the island and save Gi-hun — a much happier ending compared to the one that was ultimately released.

However, for those who have seen the series (and if you haven’t, you may want to stop reading now), the ending was essentially the opposite of what the director first envisioned. It changed as Hwang seriously reconsidered the message he wanted to convey, especially given how the world seemed to have grown darker since season one first aired.

“I also thought that I should deliver this message through Gi-hun, an ordinary man — someone even below average — and to close his journey in a way that reflects that reality.”

The grand finale of Netflix’s global hit series “Squid Game” was released on June 27, marking the end of the three-season drama about a deadly survival competition based on Korean childhood games.

The series’ first season was released in 2021, becoming the most-watched show in Netflix history — a title it still holds today.

The latest season follows Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), the lone winner of the brutal survival game in the first season, as he faces the sinister forces behind the games, particularly the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun). The third season, a continuation of season two released in December last year, picks up after Gi-hun’s attempted rebellion fails and he witnesses his friend Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) die at the hands of the Front Man.

What was the director’s vision behind the scenes?

Hwang is known for embedding social issues and raising questions about society in the show, a tradition he continued in the latest season. He explained that the baby of player No. 222, Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri), was a central and important character from the very beginning when he started planning seasons two and three.

Regarding the Front Man putting the newborn baby into the brutal game — a move many viewers found absurd — the director argued it showed the Front Man offering one “last chance.”

“I thought of the baby as representing our future generation and as a character that would bring up the idea of future hope,” director Hwang said.

“In the end, we too inherited this world from the generation before us and I believe we have a duty to pass it on to the next generation, at the very least without making it worse,” he continued. “Through the conflicts among the people surrounding the child and through the efforts and sacrifices of those trying to protect the child, I wanted to convey that message.”

One of the main themes in the series is humanity, which is explicitly shown when the Front Man asks Gi-hun if he still has faith in people.

At the end of the show, the Front Man checks the dead body of Gi-hun — an unusual action for the character. According to the director, this scene shows that the Front Man feels defeated by Gi-hun’s sacrifice. In other words, Gi-hun wins, demonstrating that humanity still holds hope for itself.

Many viewers were also shocked when Player No. 149, Geum-ja (Kang Ae-sim), kills her own son, No. 007 Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun). Hwang explained that he didn’t want to use the typical narrative of a mother sacrificing herself for her child.

“I don’t think it was that she wanted to kill her son — I think she just wanted to stop him,” he said. “I thought that she stabbed him to instinctively stop him from committing a horrific murder against a defenseless mother and child in front of her eyes.”

In the dormitory where the players live, the Latin phrase “HODIE MIHI, CRAS TIBI” is written on the wall, meaning, “Today it is my turn, tomorrow it is yours.” The director shared that he intended this message to appear in the empty dormitory space before the last game as an Easter egg.

“I put it as I understood it as ‘Today, I may die first, but tomorrow, it could be your turn,’” director Hwang said.

How were the games designed?

When the production of season two and three for “Squid Game” was confirmed, many fans brought up different Korean childhood games that might appear in the show, such as “Why did you come to my House?”— a team game where players sing and try to win over opponents through rock-paper-scissors — and “London Bridge is falling down.”

The director shared that he did consider incorporating these games, but ultimately decided against it because they didn’t allow enough “room for the character narratives to unfold.” He even thought of adding a conveyor belt to visualize “London Bridge is falling down,” but felt that doing so would strip the players’ agency.

As for the fourth game, hide and seek, where players must kill one another, Hwang admitted that he was aware of the brutality involved, but felt it was the best way to heighten the drama and tension in the series

For the last game, Sky Squid Game, the director wanted to reflect the cruelty of the real world.

“I believe the world we live in today is built in a way that constantly pushes the vulnerable to the edges. Whenever disaster strikes or things suddenly take a turn, it’s always the weakest who are the first to fall, the first to suffer.”

What’s left for the director?

It’s true that much has changed for Hwang after the massive success of “Squid Game.” He now gets recognized in public, even though he is never actually in front of the camera.

As he wraps up this chapter of his life, a full six years since production first began, Hwang has mixed feelings. He also revealed that after creating the series, he tries to become a better person for a better world — aligning with the series’ message.

While rumors are swirling about a possible U.S. version in the pipeline, fueled by Cate Blanchett’s appearance at the end of season three, Hwang strongly denied any involvement for him or Blanchett in an American production.

Though he did confirm that he’s open to working on a spinoff, not a new season, with one condition: The story must have a lighter tone than “Squid Game.”

Referencing photos shown in the series of Captain Park (Oh Dal-soo) with the Front Man and the Recruiter (Gong Yoo), Hwang said, “I once said I wanted to create side stories that don’t deal so heavily with sensitive social criticism, such as the personal lives of the people behind the mask.”