Breaking Down the Ending of Squid Game

Time​ Magazine

3 days ago

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Squid Game Season 3
Squid Game was never supposed to have a second season, let alone a third one. It wasn't even supposed to be a show—Hwang Dong-hyuk, the writer-director behind the global phenomenon, originally imagined the story as a film. However, the massive success of the series—Squid Game had been viewed nearly 600 million times prior to the release of the final season—led to more seasons. On Friday, the final six episodes of the series will premiere, closing out the devastating dystopian drama.
Season 3 picks up right where the second season ended, following Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) as he heads back into the Game for a second time with the intention of ending it. At the end of Season 2, Gi-hun led a failed rebellion against the workers, soldiers, and managers who run the Game under the Front Man's (Lee Byung-hun) orders and on behalf of the VIPs. With their hope dashed, Gi-hun and his surviving allies head back into the Game. Who lives, who dies, and how does Hwang wrap the Korean-language drama up? Let's break down the brutal but hopeful ending of Squid Game.
Who dies in Squid Game Season 3?
Per tradition, most of the characters in Squid Game do not make it out of the season alive. Heading into Season 3, surviving Players include: trans woman Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon), mother-son duo Geum-ja (Kang Ae-sim) and Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun), pregnant contestant Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri) and her crypto YouTuber ex Myung-gi (Yim Si-wan), timid Min-su (Lee David), Thanos' right-hand man Nam-gyu (Roh Jae-won), shaman Seon-nyeo (Chae Kuk-hee), and former marine Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul).
Round 4 is a bloodbath, as the Players are randomly divided evenly into 'Knives' and 'Keys' categories. The Knives must kill a Key to stay alive, and the Keys must stay alive to, well, stay alive. Nam-gyu convinces fellow Knife Myung-gi to temporarily team. Myung-gi has promised Jun-hee, a Key, that he will find and protect her. Meanwhile, Jun-hee is with fellow Keys Geum-ja and Hyun-ju. They make a good team—when Jun-hee goes into labor, Geum-ja delivers the baby, while Hyun-ju protects them and finds a safe exit. The baby is born, but before they can escape the game, Hyun-ju is killed by Myung-gi. He runs off to keep Nam-gyu from going after Jun-hee, leaving Jun-hee and Geum-ja devastated by Hyun-ju's death.
Gi-hun, who has been sorted onto the Knife team, has temporarily gone insane with vengeance. Devastated by the death of Jung-bae and the other people he led into the rebellion, he places all of the blame on Dae-ho. Dae-ho, who talked a big game about being a former marine, failed to bring back much-needed weapons to the rebellion because he was too scared to return to the fight. Gi-hun spends the round stalking Dae-ho and eventually kills him. 'It's your fault,' he tells Dae-ho, as he chokes the life from him. Shaman Seon-nyeo also dies in this round, killed by Min-su after she is betrayed by Player 100, aka Im Jeong-dae (Song Young-chang). Min-su, who has taken one of Thanos' pills, hallucinates Seon-nyeo as Nam-gyu, who has been torturing Min-su the whole game.
Geum-ja and Jun-hee make their way toward the exit as the clock ticks down. They are found by Yong-sik, a Knife who has yet to kill anyone. Geum-ja tries to convince her son to kill her, but he turns his gaze towards Jun-hee instead. To protect Jun-hee, Geum-ja uses her hair piece to stab her own son. After the surviving Players are back in the dorm, Geum-ja tells Gi-hun he must do everything he can to protect Jun-hee and her baby. That night, Geum-ja hangs herself, unable to live with the knowledge that she killed her son.
Round 5 is a deadly game of Jump Rope in which Players must make it across a narrow walkway without falling hundreds of feet below. Gi-hun has committed himself to protecting Jun-hee and the baby. He brings the baby across first but when he prepares to go back for Jun-hee, she chooses to step over the edge to her death. She knows that, with her swollen ankle and the limited time left, it will be almost impossible for Gi-hun to help her without losing his life too. Following Jun-hee's death, the baby assumes her role as Player 222.
Does the Front Man reveal his identity to Gi-hun?
One of the major questions heading into Season 3 was: will Hwang In-ho ever reveal his true identity to Gi-hun? In Season 2, In-ho went into the Game as Player 001, as a way to control the events and, let's be honest, torture Gi-hun a little bit. During Gi-hun's failed rebellion, In-ho switches back into Front Man mode. He pretends Player 001 is dead, and kills Gi-hun's friend, Jung-bae. As the Front Man, he taunts Gi-hun for his belief that he could end the Game.
In Season 3, In-ho finally reveals himself to Gi-hun as the Front Man. At the end of Episode 4, '222,' the Front Man has his soldiers bring Gi-hun to his office ahead of the final round. In-ho gives Gi-hun a knife, and tells him that he should murder the other contestants in their sleep. If he does, Gi-hun and the baby can 'vote' to end the game and split the money between themselves. When Gi-hun asks the Front Man, 'Why are you suggesting this?,' In-ho removes his mask, revealing his identity as Player 001 to Gi-hun. Gi-hun is furious and considers killing In-ho with the knife. In-ho tells him it won't change anything: someone else will just take his place.
In-ho claims that he is trying to help Gi-hun and the baby, but Gi-hun sees through him. He only wants more bloodshed. He wants to bring Gi-hun down to his level because, otherwise, In-ho has to question everything he has become. As is revealed in flashback, In-ho won his version of the Game by doing exactly what he suggests Gi-hun does: kill the remaining contestants in their sleep. In In-ho's mind, it was the choice anyone would make. But Gi-hun's refusal to take the same path proves In-ho could have made a different choice—he still could.
The final round: game of towers
The final round in Squid Game Season 3 is brutally simple. The remaining Players must navigate across three massive, tall stone towers. In order to progress to the next tower, they must kill one of the remaining players. At the end, any surviving players will split the money evenly.
Heading into the round, Gi-hun and the baby are at a disadvantage. The remaining Players, including Player 100 and Myung-gi, are mostly thugs who care about making as much money as possible more than they do about their fellow contestants' lives. A high Min-su is an easy first target. They make a show of having a 'fair' vote for Min-su's elimination, and Myung-gi does the dirty work of pushing him over the edge to his death.
In the next round, Gi-hun puts up much more of a fight. He has the baby to protect, and he has the knife given to him by In-ho. Without Gi-hun as an easy target, the thugs all turn on one another, with Myung-gi particularly brutal and effective. With only four players left—Myung-gi, Gi-hun, the baby, Player 100, and a beaten down Player 039—Myung-gi chooses to push Player 100 over the edge so he can ensure more money for himself. Player 039 chooses to roll over the edge himself, tired of playing the Game.
Does Gi-hun die in Squid Game Season 3?
Gi-hun dies in the final round of the Game. He makes it to the final tower with the baby and Myung-gi. Myung-gi tries to convince Gi-hun to hand over the baby, but Gi-hun refuses, believing Myung-gi plans on sacrificing his own child. They fight, and Myung-gi falls to his death. Unfortunately, neither men pushed the button signifying the start of the round, so Myung-gi's death does not count as this tower's sacrifice. Gi-hun is left with a terrible choice: kill the baby and survive, or sacrifice himself so that the baby can live.
Much to the VIPs' astonishment, he chooses the latter. As they wait for him to kill a newborn, he instead stares them down with the baby in his arms. He cannot see them through their viewing room, but he knows they're there, watching with mild interest. Then, he turns away from them. What he says next isn't for them, it's for us. He kisses the baby and places her on the ground before looking into the camera: 'We are not horses. We are humans.' Then, Player 456, our audience surrogate in this deadly game, falls to his death.
In sacrificing his life for the baby, Gi-hun is choosing humanity. He believes even the most vulnerable of humans has inherent worth, and should be protected. He refuses to play by the VIPs' rules, even when it means his own death. Gi-hun's decision shakes the Front Man, who has spent Seasons 2 and 3 trying to convince Gi-hun that humanity isn't worth trying to save. When he reveals his identity to Gi-hun in Episode 4, he asks him: 'Player 456, do you still have faith in people?' With Gi-hun's final choice, In-ho gets his answer.
Who wins Squid Game in Season 3?
Player 222, a newborn baby, wins the Game.
Does Jun-ho see his brother again?
Those hoping for a big reunion between Jun-ho (Wi Ha-jun) and his brother, In-ho, might be disappointed by the Squid Game ending. Soon after Gi-hun sacrifices himself, the Korean Coast Guard arrives on the island. They have been sent by Jun-ho, who learned the location of the island after rescuing an escaped Player 246 from the pink soldiers in pursuit. Knowing that the Coast Guard has arrived, In-ho orders the evacuation of the island, and initiates a 30-minute countdown for the facility's destruction. He has to destroy the evidence. The VIPs, of course, escape.
Meanwhile, Jun-ho is searching the facility for his brother. He heads into the VIP watchroom just as In-ho makes it to the top of one of the Round 6's towers to retrieve the baby, aka Player 222, aka the winner of the Game. Jun-ho shoots the glass separating the VIPs' watch tower from the game arena, getting In-ho's attention. Jun-ho aims the gun at his brother, but cannot shoot him. In-ho is holding a baby. And, unlike In-ho, Jun-ho probably does not actually want to shoot his brother. Instead, he yells: 'Why? Why did you do it?' In-ho doesn't answer, turning his back and walking away.
Six months later, Jun-ho arrives home to find Jun-hee's baby and the Game's winnings delivered to him, presumably left by In-ho. While In-ho may not want to talk to his brother, he seemingly wants him to have a good life. By giving the baby to Jun-ho, he seemingly wants the baby to have a good life, too.
Does No-eul survive Squid Game?
No-eul not only survives Squid Game, she plays a major role in the Game's downfall. By saving Player 246 so that he can return to his sick daughter, Na-yeon, No-eul sets the events in motion that allow Jun-ho and the Coast Guard to find the island. After helping Player 456 escape, No-eul destroys the evidence that he was ever there. She is sitting in the Front Man's office, prepared to kill herself, when she witnesses Gi-hun's sacrifice. She hears the baby cry, and she decides to live.
Six months later, we see No-eul visit Player 246 at the amusement park where he still works as a caricature artist and where she used to work as a costumed performer. He doesn't recognize her as the pink suit soldier who saved his life because she never took her mask off. When Na-yeon arrives, she is happy and healthy. No-eul gifts her a lollipop and tells her not to get sick again.
When No-eul is leaving, the refugee broker who helps North Korean defectors try to get their family members out calls No-eul: her daughter might be alive, and in China. Later, No-eul is at the airport, getting ready to board a plane to hopefully see her daughter. It's an echo of the Season 1 ending that saw Gi-hun getting ready to board a plane to see his daughter in Los Angeles. This time, however, the parent will get on the plane.
Sae-byeok's brother, Cheol, is reunited with their mother
Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon) was one of the most important characters in Squid Game Season 1, and we see her briefly in a cameo. When Gi-hun is at his lowest in Season 3, and is considering slitting his fellow contestants' throats in their sleep, he remembers what Sae-byeok said to him: 'You're not a killer.'
Later, we see Sae-byeok's brother, Cheol, at the airport with Sang-woo's mother, who has been taking care of him, and the refugee broker. Sae-byeok went into the Game to get the money to get her parents out of North Korea. Now, her mother is in South Korea, and has been reunited with her brother. The two embrace. They might not have the other members of their family, but they finally have one another. Part of Sae-byeok's wish has come true.
The Front Man goes to LA to see Gi-hun's daughter
In Season 1, Gi-hun is a deadbeat dad. It's one of the major reasons he goes into the Game in the first place. After winning, Gi-hun plans to go see his daughter, Ga-yeong, but chooses to try to end the Game instead.
Following Gi-hun's death, In-ho travels to Los Angeles to see Gi-hun's daughter. When he knocks on the door of the house she lives in with her mom and stepdad, Ga-yeong is angry. She doesn't want to hear about her dad, who she understandably feels abandoned by. When In-ho tells her that her father is dead, she accepts the box of his belongings. Inside, is Gi-hun's bloody Player 456 uniform and a debit card with what is presumably his millions of dollars of winnings. Gi-hun has given his daughter the resourced future he always wanted to, but he isn't there to see it.
In-ho didn't have to tell Ga-yeong about her father's death, or give her the money. He also didn't need to deliver it in person. The decision implies he might have been changed by Gi-hun's choice to hold onto his humanity. Could In-ho be poised to choose something different in the future?
Cate Blanchett and the Squid Game: America Spin-off
In the final scene of the episode, the Front Man is in a car after having dropped off Gi-hun's winnings to his daughter. He happens to hear the sounds of slapping and ddakji coming from a nearby alley, and rolls his window down to investigate. It is a Recruiter, played by Cate Blanchett. She catches the Front Man's eye and acknowledges him before returning to her work.
While nothing has been confirmed at the time of this writing, the scene implies that we will see a version of the Game played in America. As we know from Season 1, the Game is played all over the world. In October 2024, sources told Deadline that an English-language Squid Game series was in the works with director David Fincher coming on to develop it. The final scene of Squid Game Season 3 could be the first scene of Squid Game: America.
Does Squid Game have a happy ending?
Squid Game doesn't have a happy ending because, as it exists now, capitalism doesn't have a happy ending. Still, Hwang leaves us with hope.
The final episode of Squid Game is titled 'Humans are…' They are Gi-hun's final words. With them, Hwang is both leaving the statement open-ended for viewers to answer for themselves, as well as giving his own answer with Squid Game itself: Humans are susceptible to corruption, to greed, to vengeance. But we are prone towards caring for one another too, to making sacrifices to protect others, to hoping for something better. Gi-hun doesn't always make the moral choice—we see him murder Player 388 (Kang Ha-neul) out of shame and vengeance in Episode 2, 'Starry Night'—but he tries to be better, even after he has taken a human life.
In a system designed to pit him against others, Gi-hun ultimately sides with humanity. It might not be a happy ending, but it's a hopeful one.