Latest news with #Hide-and-Seek
Elle
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
All The Games Played In 'Squid Game' Season 3, From Hide-And-Seek To Jump Rope With A Brutal Twist
The dust may finally be settling on Squid Game season three, but for those who can't quite seem to shake the dystopian Korean drama's games out of their heads, we thought it high-time to reflect on the games themselves that the players participated in throughout the show's third outing. From the newly-introduced game 'Hide-and-Seek' to 'Jump Rope', these are games — can we really call a matter of life-or-death a game? — unlike any others. Here's a re-cap of all of the games played in Squid Game season three. Starting in the manner in which they aimed to continue, the games of season three began with a chilling reinvention of a childhood classic, 'Hide-and-Seek'. The rules are simple: contestants are divided into two teams by the random draw of coloured balls: Blue and Red. The Blue Team, armed with keys, must either evade detection or orchestrate a daring escape within thirty minutes. Their adversaries, the Red Team, are equipped with knives and tasked with hunting down the Blues. The stakes are clear: failure to eliminate at least one opponent results in immediate execution for the would-be hunters. A macabre twist allows players, before the game begins, to negotiate their fate by swapping roles, which is essentially an invitation to betray or be betrayed before the first move is made. As the stakes get higher in the inaugural game of Hide-and-Seek, so too does the tension. The Blue Team's keys are revealed to be of three distinct shapes — circle, triangle, and square — necessitating a rare cooperation or ruthless theft to secure all three and unlock the final door to salvation. The innocence of playground games is once again subverted in Squid Game season three's lethal iteration of Jump Rope. Players must traverse a bridge while leaping over a swinging rope, all under the unblinking gaze of Young-hee and Cheol-su. The challenge is as much about timing and nerve as it is about endurance: to pass, players must reach the other side within 20 minutes. The order in which they cross the bridge within the time limit, however, is entirely at their own discretion. As the fourth episode commences, the Jump Rope ordeal persists, but with a devastating twist: the number 222 — Kim Jun-hee's baby, arguably not the most adept contestant — must now bear her mother's number, making the stakes all the more confronting and daunting for the other players, who are then pitted against each other and a baby. In true Squid Game fashion, the penultimate game is a test of both strategy and savagery. Players ascend a sequence of geometric pillars — square, triangle, and circle — each serving as the stage for a brutal pushing contest. Survival demands that at least one contestant be eliminated — by virtue of being pushed by other competitors, of course — per round. Each round is governed by a strict 15-minute limit, initiated only when contestants press a button. The final survivors on the circle pillar are crowned the game's victors, but those who fail to push (and therefore eliminate) any players at all within the 15 minutes will find that all of them are then eliminated. The season's finale unfolds atop the Sky Squid Game's final pillar, where the remaining contestants grapple with the ultimate question of humanity — how much of themselves has to be sacrificed to survive in a world engineered for spectacle and annihilation. For the faint of heart, Squid Game is not — and in keeping with the life-or-death nature of the engineered social experiment, the games in the hit series' final outing are not only cunning, they also reflect the deepest and darkest idiosyncrasies of the human condition. ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE. Naomi May is a seasoned culture journalist and editor with over ten years' worth of experience in shaping stories and building digital communities. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard, where she worked across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Digital Editor at ELLE Magazine and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others. Naomi is also the host of the ELLE Collective book club.
Cosmopolitan
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
All the Major ‘Squid Game' Season 3 Plot Holes You Might Have Missed
After three gripping seasons, Squid Game came to an end this weekend, as Seong Gi-hun faced off with Hwang In-ho (also known as the Front Man) one last time. New games were played in the form of Hide-and-Seek, and a super intense version of Jump Rope, which saw 222's newborn child taking on her number. While I was at the edge of my seat during all the gruesome challenges, eagle-eyed fans have pointed out some discrepancies from the third and final installment. From 222's baby, to the numbers of surviving players each round, here's all the Squid Game season three plot holes you might have missed... When it comes to Player 222's (Kim Jun-hee) newborn baby, we have so many questions. First of all, Player 222 gave birth in the middle of the Hide-and-Seek game when she was hiding from the blue team. How no one found her in the room as she was screaming from the labour pains and no one heard the baby crying is besides me. Then there's the issue of the baby's feeding and nappy changes. We saw the baby being fed twice on-screen—first by her mother and then again by a guard during the final feast, but never again. The baby was also being wrapped in player 456's uniform throughout most of the game, which is pretty unrealistic. "Did they give the baby diapers in Squid Game or did it just s*** and poop all over itself for the whole time," one viewer asked on X (formerly Twitter). I know this is Squid Game and the players do remain in their uniforms even after almost being beaten to death in games and are fed morsels of food, but these are adults as opposed to a newborn baby... During the game of Hide-and-Seek, the players with a blue bib had to each kill one player with a red bib in order to progress to the next round. They could also kill more players if they chose to. At the end it was revealed that 35 out of 60 players had lost the game, which one viewer said "doesn't check out". As we saw in the game, blue players had to successfully kill a red player in order to be successful. If they failed to do this in time, they would be eliminated. Blue players only needed to kill one player each, but they could kill more, which Player 333 (Myung-gi) and Player 124 (Nyam-gyu) did, automatically eliminating other red players who would then couldn't be found by an eligible blue player. This could have explained the number, although the math is a little dodgy. In the final episodes, Player 246 speeds away on a boat as he tries to get away from the island where the games take place. Judging by the speed and intensity at which he moved, one Reddit user pointed out that he would have been much further from the island. However, when the detective arrives and 246 points out where it is, it's so close. "Player 246 speeds away on a boat like he's sailing to freedom," the viewer wrote. "By the intensity and speed, I thought he had gotten FAR from the island... In the heavy mist, the island is right there when 246 points it [out]. And the marine takes so long to find the island. [This] makes no sense." There was no mention or sight of a coast guard during season 3, despite a massive ship setting sail. It's very unlikely such a big ship wouldn't have been noticed, yet the detective was out in the middle of the sea and was never interrupted... One viewer had a big question around the final game, which saw Gi-hun sacrifice his own life so that Player 222's baby could live and win the game. However, one viewer had an issue with this, asking on Reddit: "There's a rule in the games if you can quit at any time and you need a majority to quit so why didn't Seong Gi-hun just end the game? The baby would have abstained. And they both would have lived????" However, this isn't necessarily a plot hole but rather a change that was made in season 2. At one point, players were allowed to vote to end the game whenever they wanted and whatever the majority agreed would be the outcome. This was changed after season 2, so voting could only take place at a certain time and not once a game had started, which is very convenient considering the ending...
Cosmopolitan
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
All the major Squid Game season 3 plot holes you missed as Netflix show comes to a tragic end
**Contains spoilers on Squid Game season three** After three gripping seasons, Squid Game came to an end this weekend, as Seong Gi-hun faced off with Hwang In-ho (also known as the Front Man) one last time. New games were played in the form of Hide-and-Seek, and a super intense version of Jump Rope, which saw 222's newborn child taking on her number. While I was at the edge of my seat during all the gruesome challenges, eagle-eyed fans have pointed out some discrepancies from the third and final instalment. From 222's baby, to the numbers of surviving players each round, here's all the Squid Game season three plot holes you might have missed... When it comes to player 222's (Kim Jun-hee) newborn baby, we have so many questions. First of all, player 222 gave birth in the middle of the Hide and Seek game when she was hiding from the blue team. How noone found her in the room as she was screaming from the labour pains and no one heard the baby crying, is besides me. Then there's the issue of the baby's feeding and nappy changes. We saw the baby being fed twice on screen - first by her mother and then again by a guard during the final feast, but never again. The baby was also being wrapped in player 456's uniform throughout most of the game, which is pretty unrealistic. "Did they give the baby diapers in Squid Game or did it just s*** and poop all over itself for the whole time," one viewer asked on X (formerly Twitter). I know this is Squid Game and the players do remain in their uniforms even after almost being beaten to death in games and are fed morsels of food, but these are adults as opposed to a newborn baby... During the game of Hide and Seek, the players with a blue bib had to each kill one player with a red bib in order to progress to the next round. They could also kill more players if they chose to. At the end it was revealed that 35 out of 60 players had lost the game, which one viewer said "doesn't check out". As we saw in the game, blue players had to successfully kill a red player in order to be successful. If they failed to do this in time, they would be eliminated. Blue players only needed to kill one player each, but they could kill more, which Player 333 (Myung-gi) and Player 124 (Nyam-gyu) did, automatically eliminating other red players who would then not be able to find an eligible red player. This could have explained the number, although the maths is a little dodgy. In the final episodes, Player 246 speeds away on a boat as he tries to get away from the island where the games take place. Judging by the speed and intensity at which he moved, one Reddit user pointed out that he would have been much further from the island. However, when the detective arrives and 246 points out where it is, it's so close. "Player 246 speeds away on a boat like he's sailing to freedom," the viewer wrote. "By the intensity and speed, I thought he had gotten FAR from the island... In the heavy mist, the island is right there when 246 points it [out]. And the marine takes so long to find the island. [This] makes no sense." There was no mention or sight of a coast guard during season three, despite a massive ship setting sail. It's very unlikely such a big ship wouldn't have been noticed, yet the detective was out in the middle of the sea and was never interrupted... One viewer had a big question around the final game, which saw Gi-hun sacrifice his own life so that Player 222's baby could live and win the game. However, one viewer had an issue with this, asking on Reddit: "There's a rule in the games if you can quit at any time and you need a majority to quit so why didn't Seong Gi-hun just end the game? The baby would have abstained. And they both would have lived????" However, this isn't necessarily a plot hole but rather a change that was made in season two. At one point, players were allowed to vote to end the game whenever they wanted and whatever the majority agreed would be the outcome. This was changed after season two, so voting could only take place at a certain time and not once a game had started, which is very convenient considering the ending... Squid Game is available to stream on Netflix.
The Hindu
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
‘Squid Game' Season 3 series review : Dystopian thriller takes a chaotic path to a sobering finish
The eerie songs are back, the stakes are high, the games are deadlier, and contestants drop dead like flies by the minute in Squid Games' final season. There is much hype to live up to of course, given how the show has cemented itself as probably one of the most compelling dystopian thrillers of our times. In six episodes, the final season has much to unpack, answer and wrap up with a neat little bow. Does all of this come together? Season 3 picks off where Season 2 ends, in the aftermath of a failed rebellion that leaves Seong Gi-hun/ contestant 456(Lee Jung-jae) a dejected shell of his former idealistic, rage-fuelled self following the death of his friend Park Jung-bae(Lee Seo-hwan). Rebellions and chaos however don't matter in this creepy world of pinks and greens, and the show must go on. Hwang In-ho/The Front Man(Lee Byung-hun) is once again on the top of things and ensures the brutal games get back on track. Squid Game Season 3 (Korean) Creator: Hwang Dong-hyuk Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-joon, Im Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Gyu-young, Park Sung-hoon Episodes: 6 Runtime: 55-66 minutes Storyline: Seong Gi-hun and the players fight for survival in ever-deadlier games, as In-ho welcomes the VIPs while his brother Jun-ho continues the search for the island, unaware of a traitor in their midst There are tensions continuing to simmer among the contestants as well. Gi-hun's vows revenge and stalks Dae-ho(Kang Ha-neul) given how he suspiciously abandoned the rebellion midway, Myung-gi(Im Si-wan) continues to be his seemingly selfish self towards his pregnant ex-girlfriend Jun-hee(Yu-ri), and Hyun-ju(Park Sung-hoon) and Geum-ja(Kang Ae-sim) struggle to do their best to save themselves and Jun-hee. We also have No-eul(Park Gyu-young), a pink soldier who sets out to save a contestant, and elsewhere, detective Jun-ho(Wi Ha-jun) plods along through his painfully arduous search for the deadly island where the games are taking place. If Season 1 did a fine job of depicting the dystopian trappings of capitalism, the economic disparity it breeds and a bloody fight for survival, Season 2 turned its focus on Gi-hun attempting to challenge The Front Man and a clash of ideologies — how according to him, humanity would always triumph over greed and desperation. In Season 3, with each game getting even bloodier than usual, the contestants almost seem to be in a battle of sorts to bring out their depraved best. If the 'good ones' like Hyun-joo (a terrific Park Sung-hoon), Geum-ja and Jun-hee attempt to get by, the evil ones truly begin to run amok. The two new games, 'Hide-and-Seek' and 'Jump Rope', sees new villains emerge and the heart-breaking deaths of some of our favourites — it is all about the survival of the most conniving, even when there is a baby involved. These are now roles that Lee Jung-jae and Lee Byung-hun are well acquainted with and given how excellent their big confrontation is when they finally come face-to-face with each other, one wishes they were given more screen time together in this season. The final season belongs to the show's supporting cast; Park Sung-hoon once again makes us root for Hyun-joo and breaks our hearts, Yu-ri shines as the vulnerable, conflicted Jun-hee and Im Si-wan finally gets to sink his teeth into a character who keeps you guessing right until the end. If you had revelled in the absence of the VIPs, the cringey, English-speaking overlords purportedly funding and betting on the contestants in the brutal games in Season 2, they are unfortunately back at it with renewed vigour this time around. In their extended screen time, they turn into commentators of sorts on the games happening and seem to have been written into the script solely to be an unwarranted distraction from the proceedings. It still baffles me as to why the makers did not opt to cast established actors for the new season, given how the feedback after Season 1 for these characters had been overwhelmingly negative. The run up to the largely heartbreaking, yet expected finale while tightly written, feels chaotic given the multiple parallel storylines. Jun-ho's storyline in particular feels largely frustrating, given how his search at this point feels much too overdrawn, with some unnecessary bloodshed thrown in as well. And while the show does not go out with a bang, the sobering conclusion feels expected. There is no expiry date on greed and what desperation can drive one to do, and when Gi-hun decided in Season 2 to go into the games once again, what followed felt inevitable. It does however feel like a punch to the gut every time a contestant we were rooting for dies in Season 3(there are MANY deaths), and this is probably Hwang Dong-hyuk's biggest success as a creator and a writer — to give us characters to root for despite the grimness of it all. Squid Game Season 3 is not a perfect season of television — that distinction unfortunately solely belongs to Season 1, where the bar was set so high that Season 2 struggled under the weight of the expectations that followed. While we are left with many questions we were hoping to get answers for, we probably have to contend ourselves with the show's chief takeaway: that in the tussle between humanness and greed here, a sliver of hope will emerge a winner. Well, at least sort of. Squid Game Season 3 is currently streaming on Netflix
