Somehow, ‘Squid Game’ Season 3 Took a Horrifying Situation and Made It Ten Times Worse
It’s not exactly breaking news to say Squid Game remains one of the most harrowing shows on television, but few characters have it worse in Season 3 than Kim Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri) during her pregnancy. Of course, events from the previous season made the birthing scene inevitable, but when and where it happens makes it truly horrific. The birth itself remains marred by death as well, contributing to one of the most heartbreaking moments in the season, but the child that emerges is also the main source of hope for those who are struggling to find any. For the players, having a baby included in the games serves as the final test of their humanity, a trial that only one character manages to conquer.
Kim Jun-hee’s Pregnancy in ‘Squid Game’ Was Doomed From the Start
When the first season of Squid Game came out, its success astonished just about everyone, and it’s not a surprise that further installments would follow. However, this presented the show with a fundamental problem, since much of the first season found its strength in the shock value of each game. Plus, the show already commented perfectly on the human condition, so what could it do to stand out and make the storyline feel original? The answer, it turned out, was as brilliant as it was horrifying.
When Kim Jun-hee is revealed to be pregnant during the games early in the second season, not only are the stakes raised for her, but it becomes a constant source of tension between her and Lee Myung-gi (Im Si-wan) in a relationship that was already strained. The painful suppression of her growing pregnancy almost gets Jun-hee killed in the first game, and she only hides it with covert assistance from Jang Geum-ja (Kang Ae-shim) and others. Still, the very nature of her condition meant that a dramatic birth was inevitable, and such an event could not have come at a worse time. Rather than a delightful occasion, it’s a virtual death sentence — even before Jun-hee breaks her ankle just as she goes into labor.
The Birth Scene In ‘Squid Game’ Season 3 Represents Both Hope and Tragedy
After building for so much of Season 2, the pregnancy subplot finally reaches a conclusion during probably the last game where one would want to deliver a newborn. The hide-and-seek game is deadly enough as it is, but the birth of her child immediately places Jun-hee in the most vulnerable position imaginable. Furthermore, the idea of new life also becomes contrasted with death, as Geum-ja kills her own son, Park Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun), in self-defense to keep Jun-hee and her baby safe. Like most birth scenes, the event might be sanitized, but what happens around the birth is not sugarcoated in the slightest.
At the same time, Jun-hee giving birth also represents the ultimate source of hope. Just as Geum-ja loses everything by killing her child, Jun-hee regains faith by delivering hers, while Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) also finds something to live for. Of course, that faith does not save Jun-hee from dying in the games later on, but it means that the priorities of everyone involved have been changed. This little baby arguably becomes the soul of the final act of the series, even more so than Gi-hun himself.
Saving Jun-hee’s Baby Is the Final Moral Test of ‘Squid Game’
As a newborn, Kim Jun-hee’s daughter is not a character with agency, but her importance lies more in how she affects everyone else. More than a McGuffin, the existence of an infant in the games serves as the true test for the players in the last two rounds. It’s a trial far worse than any deadly game the VIPs could have come up with, and their inclusion of the child purely for entertainment displays a horrifying side of humanity. This moral dilemma affects more than just the backers of the games, but also the players themselves.
While some players try to rationalize the idea of killing the infant because it’s now an orphan and has no one to care for it even if it wins, there truly is no way to defend the murder of a helpless child who is forced to play. Unlike the baby, the other players make their own choices and remain fully responsible for them. Those like Myung-gi who attempt to “mercy kill” the child are beyond salvation, especially with him being the father. The only person who passes the test is Gi-hun himself, and it’s a stunning display of bravery when he forfeits the games for a child who will never even know him. The last challenge and Gi-hun’s sacrifice might be the best testament to the power of Squid Game, showing off the best and the worst of humanity all at once.
