Squid Game’s Creator Dreamed Up a Ecstatic Ending. Then He Thought Better of It

Though Netflix’s most-watched series ever has come to a close, Squid Game’s shocking finale might have left many viewers with lingering questions. The show’s creator, writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk, has said that while he wrote the first draft of seasons two and three in only six months, he revised the scripts constantly as he went along, completely changing the series’ ending.

In a lengthy and revealing interview, Hwang breaks down the finale he landed on, shares details about the alternate ending he originally had in mind, and explains the thought process behind some of the final episode’s most surprising and significant moments. Throughout our conversation, it’s clear that he’s pondered the thorniest issues facing society today—and found innovative ways to weave critique into the finale, from the game’s design to the drastic decisions made by some of the characters. (Director Hwang responded to questions in Korean; though he was joined by an interpreter, the answers below are a combination of the interpreter’s words and my own direct translation.)

Vanity Fair: Why did you end the show the way you did, with Gi-hun choosing to sacrifice himself to save the baby, and also the final scene taking place in LA?

In the beginning, when I was just vaguely thinking about seasons two and three, I thought of an ending where Gi-hun makes it out of the games alive and goes to see his daughter in the US. So it was kind of a content ending. But once I actually started writing, I got to thinking more and more about what it is that I wanted to say through this show. What kind of message should I be sending to the world? And that’s when I felt the current ending would be more appropriate.

I felt that the world had gotten even worse compared to when I was working on season one. Economic inequality was getting worse; there were no real solutions being offered for the climate crisis; the threat of war was growing in various parts of the world; and the number of vulnerable people falling outside the social safety net was increasing. It felt like the younger generations were losing more and more hope for the future.

So as part of the older generation, I thought that in order to leave a better world for future generations, it was time for us to put a halt to our incessant greed and selfishness—at least to some extent. I felt it was time for us to make sacrifices and start thinking seriously about how we can create a better future.

So that was the reason behind having a baby be a part of the story. The baby symbolizes hope and the future generation. By having Gi-hun, a member of the older generation, sacrifice himself to save that child, I wanted to convey the idea that this is how we must look at giving the future generation a better world. I felt that was the most suitable ending for this show.

You told Variety that when you were thinking about the finale, you initially had Gi-hun making the “exact opposite choice.” Does that mean you were originally envisioning that Gi-hun would sacrifice the baby to save himself?

No, no. [laughs] It wasn’t about any particular choice [that Gi-hun makes], but about the alternate ending. I just meant that I initially envisioned a content ending where he survives and goes to see his daughter, which is the complete opposite of the current ending.

Can you talk a bit more about that original ending that you had in mind? Was Gi-hun the sole survivor again?

The ending wasn’t about him being the sole survivor again. I had a vague idea that Gi-hun and a few of the other major characters—and maybe including the baby as well—would survive and leave the island. I imagined Jun-ho and the police arriving at the right time during the final game and, instead of Gi-hun ending the game on his own, he’d do it with the facilitate of others.

Were there any other alternate endings that you were thinking of?

I don’t think I seriously contemplated any other alternate ending. It was between those two.