Squid Game Season 3 Finale Explained

Squid Game Series Finale Explained

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were taking a deep dive into the final episode of Squid Game.

It goes without saying that there will be TONS of spoilers ahead for the season 3 finale.

Season 3 of Squid Game picked up right where we left off, after Gi-huns failed rebellion and Jung-baes ruthless execution at the hands of In-ho  better known as the Front Man. After season 2, everyone was speculating whether or not Gi-hun figured out that In-ho was the Front Man, and we eventually learn that the answer to that question is a resounding no. Near the end of the fourth episode, 222, the Front Man tries to make Gi-hun a deal for the good of Jun-hees baby, taking off his mask and revealing the truth. Enraged, Gi-hun nearly kills In-ho, like he murdered Dae-ho during hide and seek  but he cant do it. He also falters when In-ho tries to goad him into killing the other finalists, imagining Kang Sae-byeok who youll remember was the third finalist in season 1  telling him not to stoop to In-hos level.

From this point on, its a battle between Gi-hun and the others over Jun-hees baby, who is made the new Player 222 in her mothers place after Jun-hees sacrifice during jump rope. Myung-ji, the babys father, has survived as well, but eventually proves that hes the most cold-blooded of all the participants. The final episode sees our survivors jostling to be the last left alive, conspiring on how to best kill Gi-hun and 222 so that they can take the money for themselves. Predictably, their alliance falls apart, while Myung-ji switches sides to protect the baby when it becomes clear that Gi-hun wont give her up. In the end, Myung-ji and Gi-hun both fall from the podium, with Myung-ji perishing when the jackets tear. Gi-hun is unable to save him.

In the background, its become clearer and clearer that the Front Mans philosophy about people being trash for constantly choosing to take part in the games falls apart when faced with the innocent baby who, unlike everybody else, didnt choose to be there. But, as we already said, Gi-hun couldnt bring himself to kill the others in their sleep before the final game, even though they were all doomed anyway. The final tragedy is that Gi-hun also takes his own life, after turning to the camera and assuring the audience of his own humanity, leaving 222 the winner with billions of won, but nobody in the world. Nobody except the Front Man, that is.

Meanwhile, Hwang Jun-ho has FINALLY reached the island, while Kang No-eul has returned after saving the life of Gyeong-seok, the father of the seriously ill girl she met in season 2 while working in the theme park. Gyeong-seok is rescued by the boat after they finally figure out that Captain Park is on the games payroll and cant be trusted, while No-eul goes toe-to-toe with the Officer to erase all traces of Gyeong-seok so that the games organizers cant harm him. She also very nearly takes her own life, but at the last moment, hears 222 crying in the arena, and manages to escape.

Now, the Front Man has laid explosives and theyre primed to detonate within 30 minutes. Jun-ho makes it inside the facility, but isnt able to get answers or closure from In-ho, because hes taken 222. Jun-ho doesnt want to risk hurting the baby, so In-ho gets away. The VIPs are also nowhere to be seen. The entire island explodes while Gi-hun lies dead on the floor, and we get a six month time skip.

Woo-seok is released from prison, joining Jun-ho, who says that all the cash Gi-hun was keeping in his motel has mysteriously disappeared. No-eul visits Gyeong-seok at the theme park and meets his daughter again, whos thankfully on the road to recovery, and then she gets the call shes been waiting for: her daughter, whom she had to leave behind when her husband was executed and she had to flee North Korea, might be alive and living in China. At the same time as No-eul is departing, we get the resolution of another old plot point: Kang Sae-byeoks mother arrives, finally reunited with Cheol, the brother Sae-byeok was so desperate to protect, after also escaping the North.

But what happened to the Front Man? As he explains to Gi-hun earlier, theres no point killing him, because even with him gone, the games will only continue; they started long before he won them, after all. We find out that hes alive and has traveled all the way to Los Angeles, where he locates Gi-huns estranged daughter, Ga-yeong. She insists that she doesnt want to speak to her father anymore, only for In-ho to reveal that Gi-hun has died and hes bringing her his personal effects. He gives her Gi-huns bloody tracksuit, somewhat bizarrely, but also a bank card with whats left of Gi-huns fortune on it. So, we can safely assume that the Front Man knew where Gi-hun was living this entire time, and took the money to deliver it to Ga-yeong.

And finally, what about 222? Though the baby remains nameless, after the time skip, Jun-ho returns home to find 222 safely swaddled in his apartment, along with another bank card, this one containing her winnings from the games. It seems that Jun-ho is now going to be her guardian, since both Myung-ji and Jun-hee have died.

But back in LA, theres one final scene that raises more questions than answers. While driving in his SUV, the Front Man stops, rolls down the window, and observes a homeless man playing ddakji with a mysterious woman. That woman turns around and reveals that shes none other than Cate Blanchett, in a cameo role. She and In-ho lock eyes and he forlornly looks away while she keeps playing. Its unspoken that he knows what shes doing, but equally, he seems to be disillusioned with the games, and Gi-huns choice to die rather than hurt the baby and take the money. Because of Gi-hun, every single person who chose to be in those games died with nothing, and the only person who didnt choose it the only one who isnt trash, by the Front Mans logic  has won. And perhaps Gi-hun thought he didnt deserve to live anymore after what he did to Dae-ho, whose failure was borne from fear rather than malice.

Since some comments all the way back in season 1, though, when we were first introduced to the VIPs, people have been dying to know whether the games really do exist in other countries. Cate Blanchetts appearance proves that yes, they do, even in America, the richest country in the world. And considering the other VIPs got away, the Front Mans claim that the games will continue regardless seems to be entirely true. They likely even have enough money to rebuild in South Korea on one of the other many, empty islands Jun-ho searched.

But with Gi-huns last words, humans are, ringing in our ears, what do you think? Are humans inherently good and worth saving, as Gi-hun believes? Or are they inherently selfish and cruel, like the Front Man thinks? Its this conflict thats central to Squid Game, and ultimately, you have to make your own decision about what humans are and arent. He fails to stop the games, but was he wrong to try? Was he wrong to die for what he believed in, and give 222 a better life? And will Netflix use its power over the Squid Game IP to make international spin-offs, since its Netflix, not creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, that controls the rights? Only time will tell, but Squid Game: The Challenge HAS been renewed for a season 2 despite all the controversy around it.

Let us know your Squid Game ending theories in the comments.