Upamanyu Biswas
In the third season of Netflix’s ‘Squid Game,’ players face a surprising twist near the final rounds when an unexpected newcomer – Jun-Hee’s baby – is allowed to participate in the game despite having not been added as a player at the start. After being born into the hellish and nightmarish environment of the games alongside a host of greedy and depraved humans who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the prize, the baby’s life is put in serious jeopardy, forcing Seong Gi-Hun to take responsibility for its well-being. In many ways, the baby becomes the epicenter of much of the drama involving the final conclusion, showcasing its importance from a story standpoint. However, its inclusion in the narrative goes beyond its impact on how events play out, as its noticeably CGI appearance suggests that the baby had a broader role to play, even stepping behind the scenes.
The Baby is Likely a CGI Model When Decoding Specific Visual Details
From initial inspection, it seems highly plausible that Jun-Hee’s baby is a CGI model throughout the show. One of the main ways to tell is by dissecting the baby for nuanced visual cues, such as its facial expressions. Generally, real-life babies have difficulties controlling their facial muscles as well as their adult counterparts, leading to some unpredictable and often jerky movements on their faces. However, we do not see that replicated to the same extent in Jun-Hee’s baby, whose face seems to emphasize distinct emotions far more easily. Another intriguing element worth considering is the delayed and slow changes in the baby’s facial expressions, which mimic real-life toddlers. Despite this consistency, it is not done with the highest fidelity, leading to slightly uncanny results.
The skin texture of Jun-Hee’s baby also stands out due to the way light interacts with real human skin. As the skin is an irregular surface, it reflects light in various ways, which gives it the natural look we subconsciously expect when looking at faces. However, we do not see that natural lighting recreated in the baby’s face, exacerbating its artificial look. Skin also has other details, such as pores, bumps, and blemishes, which give it an authentic appearance in day-to-day life. On the other hand, the baby’s skin has a strange smoothness, which is likely a result of a CGI model where properties such as skin translucency and diffuse lighting are not implemented to the same standard as reality. This, among other reasons, highlights the CGI approach taken by the team to bring Jun-Hee’s baby to life.
A CGI Baby Was Likely the Solution to Potential Production Challenges
While the elaborate production behind ‘Squid Game’ is one of the main factors behind the Netflix Korean drama’s popularity and success, filming can often involve a variety of meticulous stunts, loud noises, and an abundance of cast and crew filling the set at all times. To that end, bringing a real baby into the equation to play Jun-Hee’s child would likely involve introducing it to several production-related complexities that could derail the show’s making. Although most film and TV show environments do their utmost to protect child actors and infants from the hazards of filmmaking, it still leaves a long list of dangers that might affect a baby down the line. Therefore, it likely made sense to the production team to utilize an entirely CG baby for almost every scene.
It is worth noting that Jun-Hee’s baby is narratively involved in some high-stakes situations, such as the hide-and-seek round where it is born, the rope jump game where the contestants have to cross a narrow bridge to the other side, and the final round where the players must navigate whom to eliminate while walking from one pillar to another. Considering the jeopardy and physicality involved in all these scenarios, using a real baby would have been difficult for the cast and crew to integrate into the scenes in a safe and secure manner. Additionally, a real baby might have also posed a challenge due to its inherent unpredictability, including the potential to cry during the wrong scenes or make noises during a dramatic exchange, adding to the list of concerns over implementing such an arrangement.
The inclusion of babies in a film or show often dredges up a series of problems for crews to handle, and it was likely no different for the team behind ‘Squid Game’ season 3. Solutions can often range from using multiple babies to portray the same baby or using a blend between real and CGI to achieve a desired look, which also brings its own set of issues. While the Netflix series elects a fully CGI route, it was likely a joined effort from both series creator-director Hwang Dong-Hyuk and his creative team to use the best tools at their disposal for the most convincing and feasible way to portray Jun-Hee’s baby without making their already tricky production schedule even more challenging. Thus, using a CGI baby likely prevented a retinue of complicated situations from arising while also achieving the main goal of depicting a baby convincingly, which it does for the most part.
Read More: Where Was Squid Game Season 3 Filmed?
