The creator of Netflix's Squid Game said he considered a different ending—one that can be considered a happy one—for its third and final season. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hwang Dong-hyuk said that while he was writing the first draft of seasons two and three,

Fans welcomed Lee Jung-jae’s return as Player 456, and critics praised his performance as viewership numbers solidified Dong-hyuk’s massively popular Korean drama as the world’s biggest TV show. Squid Game is credited with catapulting Korean content into the mainstream.

Hwang Dong-hyuk explains Sae-byeok’s cameo in Squid Game S3 and how it shapes Gi-hun’s final decision in the ending.