India, June 27 -- The world of Squid Game is no stranger to despair - and as the Netflix series approaches its third and final season, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk makes it clear: this one won't offer any emotional reprieve. "The tone is going to be more dark and bleak," he says. "The world, as I observe it, has less hope."

Premiering on June 27, Squid Game season 3 is already stirring anticipation and anxiety in equal measure. Fans who've followed the show from its blood-splattered beginnings might be hoping for redemption or even a glimmer of hope, but Hwang says that would go against the story's DNA. "People like a happy ending. I'm like that too. But some stories, by nature, can't have one. If you try to force one, the essence is compromi...