Squid Game – K-drama Season 3 Episode 6 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

The Review Geek

19 hours ago

Episode 6
Episode 6 of Squid Game Season 3 begins with Jun-ho rescuing Player 246. With 246's directions, they head towards the island. Once they call the coast guard, Jun-ho swims to the island alone while the mercenary bandages 246's wound. The coast guard soon arrives and the Squid Game staff is alerted.
Once the game is over, the Frontman begins evacuation. To erase all evidence, he starts a 30-minute timer. It is linked to bombs all over the place which Jun-ho notices as he climbs into the base.
Why do Myung-gi and Gi-hun fight?
To begin the final round of the game, the staff activates the bridge connecting towers 2 and 3. However, Myung-gi takes the pole and demands Gi-hun hand over the baby and stay on the second tower. Which means, only Myung-gi and the baby will play the final round. Gi-hun is shocked as he thinks Myung-gi means to kill the baby and let the men win. Gi-hun points out that he will still be eliminated for not crossing tower 2.
Gi-hun planned to kill himself and leave the kid with her father but Myung-gi doesn't trust him. He claims people like Gi-hun have constantly screwed him over. To wrap up their bickering, the staff announces that the bridge will be withdrawn in 5 minutes. When it is down to 40 seconds, Gi-hun pretends to agree. He retrieves his knife from 203's corpse on tower 2 and reaches tower 3 in time.
Cornered, Myung-gi reminds Gi-hun of his original plan but he claims Myung-gi doesn't deserve his sacrifice. They fight and the pole falls. Myung-gi grabs his kid and threatens to drop her till he gets the knife. Gi-hun complies and they fight once more till both men fall off the tower. Gi-hun grabs a rod and saves himself while Myung-gi falls to his death.
But since the timer wasn't pressed, the round hadn't begun. Which means Myung-gi's death is wasted. Gi-hun gets back on the tower and starts the round which excites the VIPs as they think he is going to finally kill the child.
Why does No-eul change her mind?
No-eul doesn't just burn 246's record, but all the files in the archive. She spots her file which states her husband is executed and her daughter is dead. She is about to kill herself when she hears Jun-hee's child crying. She is in shock as she watches Gi-hun holding the child on the edge of the tower. She starts crying as Gi-hun keeps the child on the tower and sacrifices himself. She decides to live and escapes via the staff's getaway boat.
One can assume that she changed her mind because Gi-hun's sacrifice renewed her faith in humanity and restored her will to live.
Is Jun-ho able to stop the games?
The VIPs look bored as Gi-hun decides to kill himself. In-ho seems upset as Gi-hun screams that they are not horses to be bet upon but humans. Gi-hun jumps and kills himself. Jun-hee's child wins the game.
Evacuation begins but In-ho goes to the tower and takes the baby. Jun-ho ends up in the empty VIP viewing suite and points his gun at In-ho. He demands answers but In-ho simply leaves with the child. Jun-ho escapes right when the island goes up in flames. The coast guard is too late. Later, someone takes Gi-hun's remaining prize money.
Do all the living characters find closure?
It is 6 months later. No-eul visits 246 as a customer who is back to working as a sketch artist at the theme park. 246 finds her familiar but she claims they are ex-colleagues. His daughter has recovered and No-eul gives the kid a lollipop before leaving. Her old broker contacts her and reveals that her daughter has been spotted in China and she instantly books a flight.
The broker has also found Sae-byeok's mother and brings her to Sang-woo's mother and Sae-byeok's brother, Kang Cheol.
Woo-seok is freed from prison and Jun-ho picks him up. His friend, Kim is with them and he apologises for being a bad lookout. Having not seen Gi-hun's dead body, they hope he is still alive. Woo-seok and Kim decide to renovate the Pink Motel and run it.
Jun-ho goes home to find Jun-hee's baby. In-ho has also left a bank card which shows all of her winnings – 45.6 billion won.
What does In-ho find in USA?
Next, In-ho visits Gi-hun's daughter in USA. Her anger at her absent father turns to shock when In-ho reveals that he is dead. He gives her Gi-hun's belongings. It includes the second game's uniform and a bank card with Gi-hun's remaining prize money.
At the end of Squid Game Season 3 Episode 6, In-ho is stuck at a red light when he spots two people playing ddakji in an alleyway. It is a Squid Game Saleswoman (cameo by Cate Blanchett) and a potential player. The Saleswoman and In-ho smile before he drives away. This suggests that there are different variations of the Squid Game all over the world, including USA.
The Episode Review
The Squid Game finale is interesting, to say the least. The fight between Gi-hun and Myung-gi is definitely the highlight. They could have easily come to an agreement with some good old communication but where would the fun be in that? It is the misunderstandings and the assumptions and the jumping to conclusions that make it so exciting.
In-ho is yet another character to watch out for, even though he doesn't really voice out his thoughts in this chapter. The flashback to his game reveals much about what kind of person he is. Like his brother, he is a good man who starts out with good motives and ends up losing faith in humanity following his exposure to the game. This is seen with him finding a kinship in the kind but misguided Gi-hun, yet looking upset when Gi-hun does the right thing and sacrifices himself.
However, it is a shame that Jun-ho's storyline in the end doesn't amount to anything. Sure, it adds suspense and thrill but he never was a threat to the games with his small band of mercenaries going against a squadron of powerful billionaires. At least No-eul's one-man crusade succeeded in what she wanted to do from the start – save 246 and his daughter.
Not to be all doom and gloom, but looking at Jun-ho's storyline, the same can be said for Gi-hun's in these last two seasons. Squid Game Season 1 worked because the ambitions were low – survive, win and escape which was a satisfactory ending. In Seasons 2 and 3, Gi-hun, Jun-ho and Woo-seok have big plans on taking down an invincible and invisible corporation. It is doomed from the start because the trio's plans are not big enough.
This K-drama tries to be what dystopian trilogies like The Hunger Games are – starting small, playing the game and then toppling the foundation from within. If the writers never wanted the trio to win but provide a satisfactory ending and send a message that greedy and powerful groups will continue to be greedy and powerful, the show should have ended with season 1. But guess Netflix got greedy… hmmm, sounds familiar.