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Squid Game arrived on Netflix in 2021, and the South Korean dystopian survival thriller horror series took the streamer by storm. It catapulted up the viewership charts, becoming the most-watched series at the time, and remains the streaming service’s most-watched series in its first 28 days. Following its tremendous success, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk devised a second and third season to be released in late 2024 and mid-2025.

This was presumably to be the end of the story. But it seems as though the series is primed to become a franchise. And that might not necessarily be a good thing.

There Might Be a ‘Squid Game’ Spinoff We Don’t Need

In a recent interview with People, Dong-hyuk discussed the potential for a spinoff of Squid Game, which is set to premiere its third and presumably final season (of the original, at least) on June 27, 2025. “I cannot just tell right now when and how it’s going to happen,” he said. But he did confirm that “there is a chance.”

The story serves as a social commentary on class disparity and the desperation of people in dire circumstances. Put to the test, people proved they would sacrifice everything for the chance to win the almighty buck (rather, millions of them) by willingly entering literal life-or-death situations. Play devastating versions of seemingly innocent childhood playground games, and the last person to survive wins. At any point, the group can vote to end the games. However, in most cases, they continue as people see how the dollar amount rises with each elimination. In their eyes, they have nothing to lose, since they’ve already lost everything.

The first season played out until Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) was the sole winner. He got his money, but wasn’t happy; he was desperate to end the games and the suffering for more people. He believes deeply that people are, or can be, inherently good. So, he willingly returns to the games, at first to try to bring in a team to stop them. But when that doesn’t pan out, he’s forced to play again. While there, he attempts to start a revolt.

This, however, backfires when the player whom he befriended, Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun), is actually the Front Man who runs the games. Infiltrating his own games, he is curious to get close to Gi-hun and prove to the man that he’s wrong. People are, and always will be, greedy, selfish, and money hungry.

The understanding among fans is that Season 3 will wrap up the story, and Gi-hun will eventually discover who the Front Man is, as slyly confirmed in the trailer. He would likely also end up as the last man standing once again, winning the games a second time around. The cost of getting there and what happens next are the big questions for the series. However, fans are ready for finality.

Why ‘Squid Game’ Needs To End

Squid Game runs the risk of becoming a parody of itself should it continue. The concept has already been cheapened by a reality series on Netflix called Squid Game: The Challenge. It replicates the show’s concept without actual death, but with a record number of players and the second-largest cash prize ever for a reality competition series at $4.56 million. Ironically, it was beaten in cash prize amount only by Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson’s copycat competition series Beast Games, which was inspired by the series.

There’s also a supposed upcoming American adaptation, set to be directed by David Fincher, that has fans unsure about how to feel. These plans aren’t officially confirmed yet, but the rumor mill is abuzz, according to Deadline.

There are only so many times Gi-hun can play the games, and only so far he can fall before he descends into complete madness. Fans want a resolution with the Front Man, perhaps an eye-opening moment when he realizes that people can be kind, honest, and moral. Even a less satisfying end that suggests the games continue and Gi-hun is never able to stop them, similar in style to how The Handmaid’s Tale ended with June (Elisabeth Moss) enjoying a small victory versus total annihilation, could be enough to satisfy viewers.

A spinoff would have limited characters to pull from, since it’s almost certain that everyone in the games now, except Gi-hun, will be dead by the end. Could it be a show about the Front Man, perhaps exploring his backstory? Even this might ruin the concept because what makes him so interesting is his elusiveness. The despicable character is an enigma, and we sort of want to keep him that way.

Combining more stories from South Korea with the addition of an American version will create a franchise that is working to rival ones like The Walking Dead. So far, it has worked for that show, which has six major spinoffs, the majority of which have been hugely successful. However, the concept will eventually become tired, no matter how many different, colorful games are thrown into the mix.

‘Squid Game’ Was Supposed To Mean Something

Furthermore, Squid Game was not just supposed to be about entertainment; it was supposed to mean something. The idea behind the show is to shed light on the treatment of people who aren’t part of society’s elites, the unlucky ones living paycheck to paycheck and getting caught up in addiction or other unfortunate circumstances. They are people, not numbers. Their lives have meaning, yet they are often treated as though they, and their lives, don’t matter.

The show also serves as a commentary on capitalism and the notion that money and wealth are all that matter. Not only are people willing to claw and kill to get more and more, but the wealthy enjoy sitting back and watching this happen for sport. There is far more beneath the surface of Squid Game than meets the eye. Developing spinoff after spinoff, game show after game show, inspired by the concept, cheapens it. We start to forget what the point was in the first place and resort to enjoying the entertaining or villainous characters, the fun yet lethal games, and the engaging surface story instead of the lessons it was supposed to teach and the philosophical questions it set out to pose.

Squid Game has maintained a solid fanbase and relatively positive reception, but there’s a drop-off for Season 2. The first season received a 95% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score and an 84% audience score, while Season 2 received an 83% critics’ score and a 63% audience score. The show has lost some of its magic. Though Jung-jae continues to do a superb job portraying the lead, and there’s an interesting mix of new characters, it’s also a lot of lather, rinse, repeat. There are new games and more fearless characters, more violent in-fighting, and an actual attempt to fight back. However, the season almost seems forced, as if it were made to appease the massive fan base that wanted more, rather than to continue the powerful social commentary that was present in the first season.

Fans waited more than three years for the second season, and while viewer numbers were still high and will likely continue to be high for the third and final season, the true meaning of the show has been all but lost. That’s evident in the cast of Season 2, which focuses on more colorful characters, like the arrogant rapper Choi “Thanos” Su-bong (Choi Seong-hyun) and pregnant Kim Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri), and the outside storyline of Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young), a former soldier who enters the games as a guard. These perspectives are worth exploring. But it’s time to end the concept and let its true message marinate, rather than overcooking it.

Sometimes, shows try too hard to squeeze as much as possible out of popular characters. Byung-hun is fantastic as the Front Man, but he needs to keep a level of mystique about him, no matter how the series ends. The show itself needs to conclude on a high note, with its moral lessons and social commentary at the forefront. Stream Squid Game on Netflix.