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Squid Game's third and final season: Some burning questions we need answered
Squid Game's third and final season: Some burning questions we need answered

CNA

time7 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • CNA

Squid Game's third and final season: Some burning questions we need answered

The highly anticipated final season of Squid Game premieres on Friday (Jun 27) on Netflix, bringing the intense battle of survival and betrayal to a final end. Season 2 left us with plenty of unanswered questions and as fans gear up to dive back into the deadly games in the third season, here's something to get you up to speed. In Season 2, Seong Gi-hun – Player 456, the winner of the brutal games in Season 1 – returns. This time with a mission to bring down the game once and for all. Despite once refusing to even touch his prize money, viewers discover that Gi-hun has been secretly using his winnings to fund an underground operation aimed at locating the game's elusive recruiter. Meanwhile, Detective Hwang Jun-ho, last seen being shot in the shoulder by his own brother, the Front Man Hwang In-ho, has been transferred to the traffic department. He appears to have left his past behind. But beneath the surface, the trauma of what he uncovered still haunts him. Learning that his own brother is deeply entangled in the games – not just as a participant, but as the Front Man himself – drives Jun-ho into desperation to seek the truth. As both Gi-hun and Jun-ho pursue their own missions to bring down the games, their paths inevitably cross. Realising they share the same goal, the two join forces to dismantle the sinister operations. As part of their plan, Gi-hun re-enters the game, this time with a discreet tracker hidden inside a dental crown. But the plan fails when the device is discovered and removed. KEY PLOTLINES AND BURNING QUESTIONS HEADING INTO S3 One of the biggest twists in Season 2 comes when the Front Man infiltrates the games, in disguise as Oh Young-il, Player 001. He forges what appears to be a sincere connection with Gi-hun. Being the emotional idealist, Gi-hun lets his guard down once again, trusting Oh Young-il – a cruel echo of Season 1, when that same misplaced trust he had with Play 001, Il-nam, led to devastating revelations. But the true gut-punch comes when Gi-hun's best friend, Park Jung-bae, Player 390, is shot at point-blank range by the Front Man himself. The season ends on a harrowing note, with a wounded and guilt-stricken Gi-hun collapsed in anguish beside the lifeless body of his friend. After everything he has lost, will Gi-hun give up his mission realising it has caused the deaths of so many innocent lives? Or has the cost broken him so deeply that he might do the unthinkable and join the very system he once vowed to destroy? Interestingly, the Front Man assumes the same player number – 001 as Il-nam in Season 1, who was later revealed to be the original creator and mastermind behind the games. Is this a coincidence, a twisted homage, or could the two be connected in a deeper and more sinister way? In Season 2, we also get a glimpse of the Front Man's tragic past. Under the disguise as Player 001, he tells Gi-hun that his wife is gravely ill and pregnant. He joined the games in a desperate bid to fund her treatment, a plea for empathy and even justification for his actions. But the truth unfolds when we learn that his wife has already passed. The lie exposes deeper emotional fractures. What truly happened to his wife and what pushed him down this dark path? A deeper flashback reveals more. The Front Man once donated his kidney to save his brother, Jun-ho's life. This led to his own life crumbling as he was left with nothing when his wife becomes critically ill. Drowning in debt, he too joined the games. Does Jun-ho feel responsible for his brother's descent into evil? What secrets lie buried between the two? Meanwhile, Jun-ho, receives help from once-trusted ally, Captain Park, a seasoned boatman who helps him trace the location of the secret island where the games are held. A flashback reveals that Park had rescued Jun-ho after he was shot and fell off the cliff. However, the truth cuts deeper. Park has been a mole all along, secretly working for the Front Man. The greater twist comes when it is revealed that his rescue was orchestrated by his brother all along. Does the Front Man harbour a personal vendetta against his brother? Can there ever be a reconciliation between the two, or will their story end in tragedy? The trailer for Season 3 hints at a final, high stakes showdown between Gi-hun and the Front Man. In a chilling glimpse, the Front Man locks eye with Gi-hun and asks "Number 456, do you still have faith in people?". It's more than just a question, it encapsulates the theme of the entire series. In a world built on vengeance, betrayal and survival, that single line may ultimately determine Gi-hun's fate to challenge the darkness or become part of it.

Squid Game Season 3: Why is Wi Ha Joon missing from promos? Fans question the Front Man's brother's role in the final chapter
Squid Game Season 3: Why is Wi Ha Joon missing from promos? Fans question the Front Man's brother's role in the final chapter

Time of India

time25-06-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Time of India

Squid Game Season 3: Why is Wi Ha Joon missing from promos? Fans question the Front Man's brother's role in the final chapter

Squid Game Season 3: We're just hours away from the third and final chapter of Netflix's biggest hit. Ahead of the premiere, social media is flooded with speculation as fans break down every clue and hidden Easter egg. But one detail has left viewers puzzled: why is Wi Ha Joon, who plays detective Hwang Jun Ho and the Front Man's younger brother in the South Korean survival thriller, missing from all the promos? Has his role been reduced, or is Netflix keeping something under wraps? Fans are weighing in. Wi Ha Joon's role in Squid Game: What's really going on with Detective Hwang Jun Ho? If you've been rewatching Squid Game and waiting to see what happens next with Detective Hwang Jun Ho, you're not alone. Ever since Wi Ha Joon made his brooding entrance in Season 1 as the determined cop sneaking into the games to find his missing brother, fans have been obsessed with his arc. And now that Season 3 is almost here, many are appalled that he's nowhere to be seen in the promos. Back in Season 1, Jun Ho was more than just a side character. He was our window into the VIPs, the inner workings of the game, and most shockingly, the brother of the Front Man, aka Hwang In Ho, played by Lee Byung Hun. His disappearance after being shot and falling off the cliff left fans heartbroken, but we didn't lose him. Season 2 finally gave us answers. Jun Ho returned to the game, having been rescued by a fisherman, and resumed his mission to uncover the truth. His target remained the same — find his brother and expose the deadly system behind the games. But unlike his bold character in Season 1, his actions in Season 2 feel more subdued. His attempts to investigate are constantly being blocked, as if someone is working overtime to keep him quiet. Fast-forward to now, and with Netflix rolling out teaser clips and character posters ahead of the Squid Game Season 3 release, there's no sign of Wi Ha Joon. Naturally, fans are suspicious. While he did attend the launch event in Korea earlier this month, fans are wondering why he has been missing from the main posters. In fact, even in the trailer for the final part, he was seen in a blink-and-miss appearance, further intensifying fans' worries about his role in the final installment. Why is Wi Ha Joon missing from Squid Game Season 3 promos? Fans share theories! Fans on Reddit have been actively discussing Wi Ha Joon's absence from posters, trailers, and promotional events for Squid Game Season 3. Many are hoping it's simply due to his packed schedule, not because his character has been sidelined in the final instalment of the show. One fan wrote, "I hope it's because of his schedule as well as maybe they're trying to keep his plot under wraps. But I agree; I want to see more interviews of the Hwang bros. He better be in a lot of post-show interviews and promos." "He's not much in the trailers either, so I kind of hope it's because he's connected to the plot that would be too much to spoil. Other than Gi-hun and the Front Man, the most focus is on the games and players, but I doubt this will be the only thing we are about to see... I think Jun-ho will be connected to what the showmakers don't want us to guess and speculate much about yet," mentioned another. A third user, meanwhile, noted, "Unfortunately I'm bracing myself for disappointment. I care a lot about the Hwang Brothers. I really hope they get a good, solid arc, but it seems unlikely as of now... Please, at least a good emotional reunion scene." "It upsets me too but I'm fairly certain this is because his plot would dive too much into spoiler territory. He's probably going to be very important to the actual conclusion of the show and the dismantling of the games, because at this point there isn't really anything Gi-Hun could do to stop the games, and he still needs to have a final confrontation with In-Ho. If none of this happens, they shouldn't have even brought him back from the dead in the first place," one mentioned. Check more comments in the Reddit thread below: Squid Game Season 3 is set to premiere on Friday, June 27, with all six episodes releasing at once on Netflix. For all the latest K-drama, K-pop, and Hallyuwood updates, keep following our coverage here.

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