The third season of the squid game divides the spectators when the gloomy themes hit at home

WARNING: This article contains spoilers.

Millions of fans are saying goodbye to Squid Game, the Emmy prize -winning television series that has overcome Netflix lists and has become a symbol of the South Korean ancestry in Hollywood.

The fictional show follows players with liquidity problems while fighting in a series of traditional games of Korean children, with a bloody turn, since the losers are killed in each round.

Squid Game has strung the spectators since 2021 with their sweet sets and bleak messages about capitalism and humanity. And with their third and last season released last Friday, fans worldwide are returning to reality.

However, some South Koreans have found themselves reflecting on the society that inspired the dystopian series.

“I feel that Squid 3 game 3 revealed the true feelings and raw internal thoughts of Korean people,” says a YouTube comment under a clip of the third season.

“It reflected reality as good as in real life, at work, it is full of ruthless people ready to crush you. This show nailed it.”

Squid Game was born in the context of the cutting competition and broad inequality in South Korean society – Where people are Too stressed to have children and a college placement exam is seen as The decisive moment of a person’s life.

The various program characters, which include a Salaryman, a migrant factory worker and a cryptocurrency scammer, are extracted from figures that many South Koreans would find relatives.

The background story of the protagonist Seong Gi-Hun, a car factory worker who was fired and then smells on strike, was also inspired by a real-life event: a 2009 strike in the SSANGYong motor factory, where workers collided with the police anti-distribution for extended dismissals. It is remembered today as one of the largest labor confrontations in the country.

“The drama can be fictional, but it feels more realistic than reality itself,” wrote Jeong Cheol, an enthusiast of the film, in his review of the last season of Squid Game.

“Precarious work, youth unemployment, broken families: these are not only plot devices, but the struggles we face every day.”

Those darkest messages seemed to be brushed aside on Saturday night, since a massive parade celebrated the launch of the last season of the box office. A giant murderous doll and dozens of face -free guards in track costumes, among other mortal games, marched through the center of Seoul to a lot of fanfare.

For the leaders of South Korea, Squid Game has become a symbol of K-Drama’s success on the global stage. It is also part of a series of successes, together with the K-Pop BTS law and the parasite of an Oscar-winning films, in which the newly elected president Lee Jae Myung wants to capitalize while fixing in the export of K-Culture everywhere.

There are signs that the squid game bomb could go further: the final scene of the program, where Cate Blanchett plays a Korean game with a man in a Los Angeles alley, has fed the rumors of an American spin -Off.

The series ended in an “open,” said Lee Jung-Jae, the series of the series, to the BBC. “So ask many questions to the audience. I hope people speak about those questions, reflect on the questions and try to find an answer.”

In the subsequent seasons of the program, the spectators continue the search for Gi-Hun to tear down the homonymous games, which are packaged as entertainment for a group of rich VIPs.

But his rebellion fails, and in the end Gi -Hun is forced to sacrifice to save the baby from another player, an end that has polarized the spectators.

Some argued that Gi’s actions -they did not square with the dark portrait of reality that the showrunners had developed, one that had captured the ruthless elements of human nature so well.

“The excessive altruism of the characters was disturbing, almost to the point of appearing,” says a comment on the popular discussion site of South Korea, Nate Pann. “He felt like a false and performative kind of goodness, prioritizing strangers over their own families without any real reason.”

But others said that Gi-Hun’s death was in line with the commitment of the program with the awkward truths.

“This perfectly describes humanity and program message,” said another on YouTube.

“As much as we would like to see Gi-Hun win, kill the leader and the VIP, and stop the games once and for all before going to sunset, that is not the world in which we live and it is certainly not in which Gi-Hun lived.”

Hwang Dong-Hyuk, the creator of the program, told journalists on Monday that he understood the “mixed reaction” to the final season.

“In the first season there were no expectations, so the shock and freshness worked. But in seasons two and three, the expectations were high, and that makes the difference,” said Hwang on Monday.

“The game fans wanted more games, others wanted deeper messages, and some were more inverted in the characters. They all expected something different.”

For some, at least, Gi-Hun’s final choice offered a hopeful reflection of reality: that even in times of adversity, kindness can prevail.

“That paradox, of cruelty and warmth that coexist, is what made the end so moving,” said Mr. Jeong, The blogger of the film. “Seeing the squid game made me reflect on myself. As someone who has worked in education and advice, I asked if goodness can really change something.”

“That’s why I stayed with this story. That’s why I call this beautiful end.”