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With Squid Game's global success, Squid Game Season 3 has received praise for both its visuals and its storytelling, but not everything was completely safe from criticism.
Arguably, the most divisive aspect of the show is still the English-speaking Season 1 VIPs, whose wooden dialogue and cringeworthy delivery became a frequent meme punching bag, think piece material, and gripe from viewers.
As Squid Game Season 3 continues to generate discussions, this ancient controversy has resurfaced, and this time around, there are fresh roundtables regarding who specifically did those jarring stunts. VIP lead Bryan Bucco recently addressed the issue straight on in a TikTok clip and elucidated one of the most misunderstood aspects of the series.
As per CBR, Bucco said,
"Those are the English dubs. I was the actual actor. What's being played here isn't my voice. Some of the actors voices are more noticeably changed. It seems they did use voice actors to try and sound like us."
He added,
"I don't even want to s**t on my voice actor either because I think he did fine, I'm sure it wasn't easy for him to say his lines either."
Bucco discovered that in several iterations of the show—among the most-watched Korean ones—the VIPs' voices were not the original stars' but English voice dubs. For him, some voices were quite different-sounding, and perhaps Netflix tried to copy the actors' tone using voice actors during post-production.
The origins of the VIP dialogue controversy in Squid Game Season 3
When the VIP players first appeared in Squid Game Season 1, they seemed strange right away, not merely because of their expensive-looking masks and distant sadism, but also because of just how stilted their dialogue was. Viewers booed their scenes as unbalanced and subpar to the rest of the cast.
The criticism generated speculation: Were the lines bad? Were the actors under-directed? Or was something else influencing how the performances felt? With Bryan Bucco's recent explanation, there is now a more refined understanding of what might have caused the disconnect.
Dubbing: A key detail that changed the conversation in Squid Game Season 3
Bryan Bucco's TikTok answer points to an important production detail. In the subtitled Korean version—what most global viewers have watched—Netflix dubbed the VIP actors' voices, even though they'd recited their lines in English on set. As per CBR, he said,
"I've seen different clips floating around where some have my voice, and others that are clearly not me... It doesn't really matter at the end of the day... Just... if it sounds dubbed, that's because it probably is. And the ones used in this video above ARE the dubbed voices."
He also cited that some VIP voice actors' voices were more interrupted than others. Netflix, he theorized, likely had voice actors hired to try and mimic the original delivery and tone of the cast, but did not always succeed. What remained for audiences to watch was a speech that sounded off-kilter with the physical acting, a dissonance one can immediately pick up on.
Not all versions were affected by the dub
Notably, Bucco clarified that the dubbing issue in Squid Game Season 3 was not present in all Squid Game versions. In some globalized versions, specifically those targeting Western audiences, the original VIP voice actors were retained. However, in the Korean/subtitled version watched by most people around the globe, dubbing was employed.
This discrepancy is the reason why some viewers of Squid Game Season 3 reacted more strongly than others; those who had viewed the Korean version could well have experienced a glisten of dubbing that was not present anywhere else. This also means that not every VIP actor was dubbed and that every scene was equally debilitated by the process.
The inconsistent application of dubbing has created a discontinuous viewing experience.
The role of localization and post-production workflow in Squid Game Season 3
International Netflix workflow often involves complex localization choices. Dubbing isn't merely about translating one language into another—switching the same language to suit local tastes is also possible. Even if spoken dialogue appears in English, it could be re-dubbed for improved clarity, pace, or technical level for subtitled use.
These are choices taken with the aim of making the watching experience uninterrupted for the viewers, but might also bring about unintended consequences, like tone imbalance, stilted pacing, or acting that does not quite resonate.
In the case of Squid Game Season 1, using the English dialogue overdubbed with alternative English voices had the consequence of generating just that feeling, to further intensify the blanket criticism about the VIPs' sequences not quite gelling.
What does this signify for Season 3 of Squid Game?
As Squid Game Season 3 looms, there's increased pressure on whether the show will tackle or sidestep previous errors.
Now that the controversy over dialogue has been clarified, the production crew can perhaps exercise more caution while including English-speaking characters. Viewers are increasingly sensitive to how dubbing and localization impact performance, and there will probably be increased pressure for subtlety and uniformity in all versions released regionally.
In addition, audiences are likely to be more forgiving of the original cast, understanding that the problem was partly due to post-production choices and not due to the abilities of the actors or filming on location.
While the Season 1 VIP scenes were the target of most criticism when it comes to delivery and tone, it now appears that the actors viewers saw on screen had very little say in how things transpired on and off screen. With this in mind, the controversy over the VIP scenes isn't so much about horrible acting but more about the post-production process being able to change how performances look all over the world.
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As Squid Game Season 3 continues to woo viewers across the globe, everyone will be watching to see how the series tackles English dialogue and localisation by region. The key is to find the point where the fine line between translation and transformation lies.
Also read: All contestants eliminated in Squid Game Season 3 episode 1 Hide and Seek
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