The third season of Squid Game shocked audiences by crowning a newborn baby as its ultimate winner. This twist, both surreal and deeply symbolic, has ignited debate and reflection far beyond the show’s dystopian games. What does the “Squid Game” baby say about us—about our society, our values, and our future?
The Baby as a Symbol: Hope and the Future Generation
Series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has been clear: the baby represents the future generation. By making the most innocent and powerless contestant the winner, the show delivers a message about the responsibility we bear for those who come after us. Hwang explained, “Ultimately, the baby represents the future generation. I believe we also have the responsibility and duty to try everything that we can in our power to leave a better world for the future generation”.
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Hope Amid Despair: The baby’s victory stands in stark contrast to the greed, violence, and self-interest that define the games. It is a glimmer of hope, suggesting that even in a world corrupted by competition and cruelty, innocence and potential can survive.
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A Call to Action: The show’s ending urges viewers to reflect on their own choices and the legacy they leave. If we continue to prioritize immediate self-interest over collective well-being, the future—embodied by the baby—will inherit a broken world.
Social Critique: Sacrifice, Self-Interest, and the State of Humanity
The final game’s moral dilemma—whether to sacrifice oneself or an infant—serves as a metaphor for the choices society faces today. Gi-hun’s self-sacrifice to save the baby is a direct challenge to the audience: are we willing to bear costs and make sacrifices for the next generation, or will we cling to comfort and convenience at their expense?
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Myung-gi’s Greed: The baby’s own father, Myung-gi, is willing to kill his child for financial gain, embodying the ways people prioritize their own interests over the well-being of future generations.
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Gi-hun’s Redemption: Gi-hun’s choice to die so the baby can live is a rediscovery of humanity and conscience, a message that selflessness is essential for a better future.
Gender, Motherhood, and Controversy
The depiction of Player 222’s childbirth and the baby’s role has sparked controversy. Many viewers criticized the unrealistic and “tone-deaf” portrayal of childbirth, as well as the narrative’s tendency to use women’s suffering as a device to advance male characters’ stories.
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Misogyny and Sacrifice: Critics argue that the show sidelines women, reducing them to vessels of suffering or sacrifice, while the baby becomes a tool for the male protagonist’s redemption.
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Social Mirror: The show’s treatment of women and children reflects real-world issues—how society often undervalues their lives and contributions, and how their struggles are frequently overlooked or instrumentalized for others’ narratives.
The Baby as a Meme and Cultural Touchstone
The “Squid Game” baby has also become a meme, a symbol of both the absurdity and poignancy of the show’s message. Online, viewers have debated whether the baby’s victory is a sign of hope or a bleak commentary on the state of the world, with some seeing it as a parody of the idea that innocence can survive in a corrupt system.
The “Squid Game” baby is more than a plot twist—it is a mirror held up to society. It asks us:
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Are we willing to sacrifice for those who come after us?
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Do we value innocence and potential, or do we exploit and endanger them for our own gain?
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Can hope survive in a world defined by competition, greed, and suffering?
The answer, the show suggests, is up to us. The baby’s victory is both a warning and a call to action: the future is in our hands, and what we do now will determine what kind of world the next generation inherits.
