Squid Game's final season hailed as 'harrowing and heartbreaking' by critics - with an ending 'so jaw-dropping it beggars belief'
Squid Game 's finale season has been hailed as 'harrowing and heartbreaking' by critics - with an ending 'so jaw-dropping it beggars belief'.
The hit series quickly became a global phenomenon after the very first season premiered on Netflix back in 2021.
While fans had to wait three years for the second season, the third and final hit screens on Friday, June 27.
Squid Game season three has been praised by critics and received some raving reviews for its thrilling tale, which scores a whopping 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Metro rated the show 4.5 out of five stars and gushed how the ending made their 'jaw drop' and described the season as 'darn near-perfect'.
While the Guardian rated a more average three out of five stars but raved the ending was so surprising it is 'entirely beggars belief'.
Gizmodo dubbed the season 'harrowing' and 'heartbreaking' noting Squid Game ends 'this vicious final chapter in a memorable, very terminal way'.
However, it notes that there also seems to be a 'tease for more to come' at the end.
Meanwhile Indie Wire praised director Hwang Dong-hyuk's 'unflinching vision that carries Squid Game over the finish line'.
However, not everyone was so impressed and the Hollywood Reporter dubbed the ending 'unsatisfying'.
While fans have already shared their verdicts online and one penned on Rotten Tomatoes: 'So far so good, just watched the first episode! I'm still deeply connected to all the characters and can't wait to see what happens next. Will update my review as I keep watching.'
Another added: 'The suspenseful directing, story, music, and emotional acting by the actors were all great, and the ending was also excellent. It was so fun that I regret not seeing it again.'
'Eps 2 and final eps were my favs. Had me on edge throughout. Final game was epic, couldn't guess what was gonna happen. Love! Heartbreaking but an apt ending,' someone else said.
Though it didn't escape criticism and one viewer penned: 'Rushed season, lackluster writing, horrible ending. This season was so anticipated and the tools were there for a really good season, but went completely off the rails.
Squid Game writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk has revealed the real reason why the upcoming series of the Netflix hit has been split into two parts
'The character building, suspense, and drama brought people back. All you're left with at the end of season 3 is people who you don't recognise. Do better Netflix.'
Squid Game writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk previously revealed the real reason why the season has been split into two parts.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline at the Squid Game season three premiere, Hwang Dong-hyuk, 54, said: 'I originally didn't plan for it to be split into two seasons.
'I was thinking that it'd be a single one, but in the process of writing it, it came out to about 13 episodes, which I thought was too long to put out as a single season.
'And I also thought it was too long when you look at current trends.
'So I thought that we wanted to split it, and if we were to split it, at the end of episode seven, when Seong Gi-hun hits rock bottom after his rebellion failed...
'I thought that was the just the right moment to sort of dividing into two chapters.;
All seasons of Squid Game are available to stream exclusively on Netflix.
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The Review Geek
2 hours ago
- The Review Geek
Our Unwritten Seoul – K-drama Episode 11 Recap & Review
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This quote is so powerful and works incredibly well, especially for those who know relationships are hard work at times! The break-up scene though is so eerily parallel to Mi-ji's past too and it shows how far she's come from all those years ago. Meanwhile, Mi-rae leaves work with her head held high. The moment she says 'My heart still pounds anxiously every time I come to work,' is going to relate to anybody who has been stuck in a toxic workplace, and thankfully Mi-rae has managed to bow out on a high. She's already won and no amount of badmouthing from management can change that now. Ultimately though, Our Unwritten Seoul has been a great watch and it's easily one of the best acted K-dramas of the year. Park Bo-young is absolutely killing it as the twins and if she's not up for some awards this year, I'd be shocked. Roll on tomorrow's finale! Previous Episode Next Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
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Netflix's Poop Cruise chef disgusts viewers with worst phrase ever to describe carnage on board
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'People were pooping on top of toilet paper, then pooping on top of that. It was layer after layer after layer. It was like a lasagna,' he said. At the end of the documentary, Abhi said he's 'never looked at lasagna the same way'. It's safe to say that Abhi's dreadfully vivid description has turned others off from the classic Italian dish as well. Most people were repulsed by the chef's unfortunately vivid description of the bathrooms 'Thanks for ruining lasagna for me, @netflix,' one person wrote on X. 'My friend was like 'tell me when you get to the lasagna part' and I didn't know what she meant but now I do,' another said. Others could not hold back their revulsion, with one woman writing: 'I'm finna throw up. This man said it was so much s**t and toilet paper in the damn toilets it was like a lasagna.' Others still found Abhi's description hilarious, even impressive. 'The chef has stolen the show,' one wrote, while another said, '2025 has a new Goat [Greatest of All Time].' 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Toilets onboard the ship began to fill up with feces as sewage spilled into rooms and hallways. Sheets tried to soak it up When it came to the crew's request for people to poop in bags, viewers were outraged that some passengers felt they were above doing that, which included Devin Marble (pictured) People reacted with frustration at the perceived privilege of many of the passengers interviewed for the documentary When it came to the crew's request for people to poop in bags, viewers were outraged that some passengers felt they were above doing that. This, of course, led to toilets overflowing onto the decks and creating a stench so horrific that people reported being unable to stand being in the interior of the ship. Devin Marble, who was on the ship with his newly-minted fiancé and his soon-to-be-in-laws, was one passenger who absolutely refused to use the bags provided. He instead found a lone bathroom that was able to flush when the ship tilted. 'This carnival poop cruise documentary is mostly a display of how f***ing privileged most people are. "I'm not pooping in a baaaag." I hate these people,' one person wrote. 'Watched the poop cruise doco on Netflix and they're all the most obnoxious annoying people you could possibly imagine,' another person wrote. 'Stoked they all got stuck on a s**t boat s****ing in bags and covered in s**t. Insufferable humans.' 'Omg these 'poop cruise' people y'all are the most spoiled people I have ever met acting like being stranded for 4 days was the end of the world knowing u would be saved eventually,' a third person said. Passengers made help signs, drew on robes and bedsheets to document the disaster. Food started to run out onboard and people were left eating grim-looking meals like this bread with mustard and slivers of ham Help finally arrived for them on Valentine's Day - February 14, 2013. 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BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
Bain: The K-pop star who came out to the world on stage
Bain was halfway through his band's Los Angeles concert on a crisp April night when the music stopped. In an oversized fur coat and black sunglasses, the 24-year-old K-pop star told thousands of fans: "Before I start the next song - I want to share something with you guys."A brief pause and then: "I'm [expletive] proud to be part of the LGBTQ community!"The crowd erupted in applause and screams as Bain broke into Lady Gaga's pride anthem: "Just put your paws up, 'Cause you were born this way, baby". In that moment, as he came out to the world, he was not nervous, he tells the BBC in an interview at his studio in Seoul - rather, he had been trying to "sound cool". A handful of K-pop artists have come out as gay in recent years - but none as publicly as Bain. Even in 2025, that is a bold move in South Korea's entertainment industry, where stars are held to impossible standards. Admitting to even a heterosexual relationship is scandalous. "There were some people in the industry who knew [I was thinking of coming out] and warned me against it, saying it would be a risk," Bain says. "And of course I thought about the risk - that we might lose fans."But then I thought, society is changing… I might gain more than I might lose."That's the big question: has he thrown open the door to change in an industry that has become global but remains deeply rooted in a conservative South Korea? 'I thought I could just pretend' Bain, whose real name is Song Byeonghee, says he was in secondary school, about 12 years old, when he realised he was afterwards, he decided to become a K-pop trainee but he kept his sexuality a secret - he felt like being gay was "not allowed"."It wasn't something I questioned… I just thought I had no choice," he says. "There was no-one else [around me that was gay]. I thought I could just pretend and keep going." Wealthy, modern South Korea is still traditional in many ways. Powerful yet conservative churches often see homosexuality as a disability or sin. And same-sex marriage is not legally 2021, Bain made his debut as part of a six-member boyband, Just B. They have released several albums and have taken part in reality shows, earning a dedicated audience. But through it all, the years of hiding a part of himself took a toll on Bain. "I was so overwhelmed, I thought maybe I can't be an idol at all. I felt I'd been hiding so much. I decided to talk to Mom."That was about three years ago. His mother was the first person in his family to find out: "We talked for an hour, and I finally said, 'I like men more than women.' That's when she knew."Her reaction was difficult for him. "Honestly, she didn't like it - not at first. She said she thought I could overcome it, that maybe I'd someday like women. She felt sad... that I'd now face bad reactions from others. But [she] said, 'You're my son, so I love you, I support you, I love you.' It was mixed. I was sad, but in the end grateful she said she loves me." Then his team members and company began encouraging him to take the leap - and tell the this year the band began a world tour, and on the last stop of their US tour, Bain decided to come out on stage. Since then, the band has been thrust into the spotlight - with Bain giving countless interviews as he quickly became the new face of the Korean LGBTQ community."I feel like I've changed a lot since coming out. I feel more confident. When I meet someone new, I show who I am immediately," he says. "But I also feel sad that my identity is such a big deal now." Over time, he hopes, people will stop saying "oh, he's gay, but rather, oh, that's just who he is". The taboos in K-pop When South Korean actor Hong Seok-Cheon came out as gay in 2000, LGBTQ representation truly entered the country's mainstream. He was the first Korean celebrity to open up about his sexuality - and it came at a cost. He was dropped from TV shows and have certainly changed since then. A Pew survey from 2019 showed that the number of people who accepted homosexuality has risen to 44% from 25% in 2002. And yet, only a handful of other celebrities have come out. In 2018, Holland became the country's first openly gay K-pop artist and, in 2020, Jiae, a former member of girl group Wassup, came out as bisexual. Both have said they found it hard to sign with a record label as a announcement, however, has been celebrated by both fans and South Korea's LGBTQ community. "When someone like an idol comes out, it gives people like me a sense that we are not alone," says a 26-year-old Korean transgender woman, who does not want to be named."It brings comfort…makes me think, maybe I'm ok the way I am." Online too, a majority of the comments have been positive. One gay fan in a YouTube comment wrote how he was encouraged by Bain, after feeling "so much despair" over "the hateful comments" and discrimination."But thanks to Bain, I've found the courage to keep going." International fans have especially cheered him on: "After the initial shock, I started to cry," said Lia, a K-pop fan from the US who identifies as lesbian."Knowing that Korea still has some repression against LGBTQ people, the bravery and courage he displayed by coming out…[was] admirable."South Korea's cultural footprint has been growing globally, and that has brought fans from everywhere, with their own perspectives and beliefs. They may well reshape the K-pop that will take time. And that is evident in the range of comments in response to Bain's announcement - disapproval to apathy. For one, the country has seen a rise in right-wing, often avowed anti-feminist beliefs in young men, who seem to oppose any challenge to traditional gender those roles remain strong in South Korea. The government and the church champion conventional family values, encouraging young people to marry and have children so they can boost birth rates, currently the lowest in the world. Given all that, it may not be a surprise that homosexuality is still a taboo, even in a global industry like K-pop. This is a world where even straight couples don't talk about their private lives, says critic Lim Hee-yun."K-pop has spent nearly 25 years avoiding the topic of sexuality [altogether]. Even heterosexual relationships are hidden to protect fan fantasies." Bain, he adds, has "challenged that silence in a symbolic and powerful way. I believe it marks a major moment". But he believes fans may have reacted very differently - "it might have been explosive" - if a member of a global boyband had come out as gay."Bain's case was significant, but his group isn't as famous [so] it didn't cause as much stir domestically," Mr Lim has certainly helped raise awareness, he agrees. "It's a slow process but we're seeing more public figures speaking up or content being created around these LGBTQ issues."But any immediate change in K-pop or the entertainment industry is unlikely, according to him. "It's not just a social issue - it's a market issue. Male idols usually have a much larger female fanbase… [and] if you find out your favourite male idol is gay, that can shatter the illusion that you could one day be the object of his affection," he says."So if they do [come out] they risk shaking the foundation their fandom is built on."Bain, however, says his decision would be worth it if even "one person in K-pop gains strength or interest" from it."I've spent so long pretending… I realised that because I came out, others felt safe to do so too."The day he came out, he recalls, several fans approached him, saying they were gay or lesbian, talking about their own identity. "They thanked me and I thought to myself 'I should have done this sooner'."
