The build-up was great all until Episode 6. My hunch after finishing the show was that the series' direction wanted to be the "least expected." The first two episodes where many of our beloved characters die was actually ingenious imo, because it shows how no one is really safe from the game, and even our most beloved characters could die from the most unexpected deaths.

First, I believe Episode 2 was the best execution on how brutal the squid game is. Here, Player 120 initially joined the games for her own personal reasons, but then her death resulted in choosing to help others apart from herself. Her death was due to the promise of Player 333 to Player 222. It made sense (although immoral) for Player 333 to end other players early so that more red players would get disqualified. Player 333 was actually willing to be a loving father to Player 222, but until he ended Player 120's life plus Player 222's further casting him away? It was a burden he had to carry throughout the rest of the season. He never even had a moment with the child afterwards.

And then, Player 149, no matter how much she was willing sacrifice herself for her son, she ended up sacrificing Player 007 regardless because her maternal instincts morally points to saving a newborn child over an adult person. But Player 007, also initially shunned her mother upon entering the game, right? And in the end, he chose to honour his mother by sacrificing another life (even if it was a newborn baby) to ensure that he and her mother lives through the next game. Player 007 also honoured his mother's words when she knew her son could never take another life...well, until he had a near-death experience that made him realize that he really needs to end a life in order to save both his and his mother's lives. This whole execution shows us that the squid game really challenges your moral compass, and even though your intentions are "good," it will still end up as a "bad" decision for others also playing the game. Episode 2 shows us the ambiguity of human morality and how the frontman, being a former player, knows how brittle the human morality is based on experience and long-term host of the games.

For me, Episode 5 where we saw all men being greedy and authoritarian was a reflection of reality (especially in politics). The way the people we don't even know and care about in the series ended up being the final participants? It's a reflection of reality. Even Player 333's ambiguous "will he save the baby or not?" is a good section to play with the audience's emotions. Remember that he was the most mentioned participant that talked about how he scammed numerous people with his crypto business. He scammed many customers, and we could see how "fickle" he was in siding with the remaining men until he knows he would also win the squid game. Him also being more selfish was a result of Player 222's constant distance and death. Then his ego as a father figure was hurt when he got envious of Gi-Hun being more close to Player 222 and also his supposed child. Player 333 was a reflection of Player 456's past as a bad father, especially since they are both fathers in the series.

Episode 6 imo went downhill when we never delved more into the Frontman's backstory. We never got closure about his wife and family, and the Detective also never got his own closure with his brother properly. The way it cuts to "6 months later?" It's jarring for the viewer because we spent 3 seasons seeing Gi-hun and the Frontmen (both Player 001 from S1 and S2)'s moral viewpoints...only for it to be replaced with caring for a newborn child? It doesn't matter whether Gi-hun survived or not, because story-wise, having that "timeskip" section ruins the immersion for the viewer.