Squid Game Team Cuts VIP Scenes To Focus On Contestants

The third and final season of Netflix's Squid Game, released in June 2025, saw significant editorial decisions that reduced the screen time of the VIPs—rich, cruel spectators who bet on the players' lives—because their scenes lessened the show's tension and distracted from the contestants' emotional experiences. Editor Nam Na-young explained that focusing on the contestants' reactions was a priority, leading to many VIP scenes being cut despite originally filming more. The VIPs wear golden animal masks symbolizing their wealth, power, and inhumanity, with each animal potentially representing different societal roles, reflecting the show's critique of class disparity and capitalism. The production design for the intense Jump Rope game was carefully crafted to evoke themes of childhood and homecoming, with giant robots modeled after Korean elementary school characters. Behind the masks, the actors hail from diverse backgrounds, including British, Hong Kong, American, and French performers, some fluent in Korean, who brought the VIP characters to life despite mixed audience reactions to their portrayal. Meanwhile, the narrative continues to focus on Seong Gi-hun, the series' central figure, while also revealing deeper storylines involving other key characters like Detective Hwang Jun-ho, enriching the overarching plot of survival and societal critique.