Day: June 27, 2025

Squid Game mostly follows its desperate contestants: members of the poor and working class who opt into a series of deadly games for a slim chance at getting out from under capitalism’s boot. While the most cutthroat of these Player characters can become targets of audience ire, Hwang Dong-hyuk’s mirror for late-stage capitalism makes it clear where the blame for bloodshed truly lies: with a cabal of uber-wealthy people, known as the VIPs. First introduced in the seventh episode of Season 1, aptly titled “V.I.P.S,” this group is made up of six disgustingly rich English-speaking men, who watch the Game’s final rounds in person.

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The first season VIPs were described to the actors hired to portray them as “total idiots” and “dirtbag millionaires,” and the characters live up to those descriptions. The mask-wearing egotists are pampered at every turn by the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) and the Game’s workers as they bet on the Players’ lives like they are horses in a race. The VIPs are led by Oh Il-nam, who earned his own massive fortune as a moneylender. In Season 1, Oh Il-nam enters himself in the Game as Player 001 as a way to pass the time while he dies from a terminal illness. On his comfy deathbed, Oh Il-nam tells Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) that he originally pitched the idea of the Game because he was bored.

In Season 3, which brings Squid Game to an end on June 27, the VIPs take on a more significant role as their moral degradation reaches new lows. “They take their masks off and go into the game and kill others with their own hands,” Hwang tells TIME, through an interpreter, referring to the characters’ arrival in Episode 3. This time, they temporarily trade their dinner dress and opulent animal masks for the soldiers’ signature pink suits and black masks, and swap their champagne glasses for machine guns to hunt down and kill the round’s “losers” themselves. Unlike Season 1, this group of VIPs are not afraid to unmask themselves and reveal their identities.

For the Squid Game creator, the VIPs’ more active Season 3 role stems from his real-world observations. “In the past, those that really controlled the system and maintained power, they were hidden behind the curtain, almost like this big unseen conspiracy. However, it’s no longer the case, especially in America,” Hwang says. “We talk a lot about oligarchy these days, but these so-called big tech owners, they step up, telling everyone who they’re backing with their money. The people who really control the power and the system, they no longer hide behind a curtain. They willingly take their masks off, almost as if to declare, ‘We’re the ones running everything. We’re the ones in control.’”

In 2020, when the first season of Squid Game was filmed, the world had about 2,000 billionaires, worth roughly $8 trillion. In 2025, that number has risen to over 3,000, worth over $16 trillion. (For reference, one million seconds is about 11.5 days, while one billion seconds is about 31.5 years.) Collectively, these billionaire humans have more wealth than the GDP of any country in the world, save for the U.S. or China. Elon Musk’s current net worth of $412 billion is bigger than the GDPs of all but 24 countries, including Denmark, Iran, and Malaysia. The lavish Venice wedding of Jeff Bezos, the fourth-richest person in the world, is set to take place the same weekend as Squid Game Season 3’s release on Netflix. The private event costs at least an estimated $46 million and has reportedly necessitated the use of around 90 private jets for the transport of its guests.

While Hwang didn’t base Squid Game’s VIP characters on any real people, that doesn’t mean they don’t resemble members of the increasingly powerful billionaire class. After finishing Season 1, Hwang noted that one of the VIPs unintentionally resembled Donald Trump, the richest person to ever be president of the United States. A similar realization happened after crafting Season 3. “Elon Musk is everywhere these days, right?” notes Hwang, of the world’s richest person and Trump’s top campaign donor. “Everybody talks about him. Not only is he the head of a huge tech company that controls the world almost, but he’s also this showman. After writing [Season 3], of course I thought, ‘Oh, some of the VIPs do kind of resemble Elon Musk.’”

How real-world political polarization inspired Squid Game Season 3

In a better reality, Hwang would have less inspiration for Squid Game. The series was famously inspired by the director’s own struggles following the 2008 financial crisis, and the broader infrastructure of growing wealth inequality: the cryptocurrency boom, the rise of tech giants, and Donald Trump’s first presidency.

Since the release of Squid Game’s first season, things have arguably gotten worse. The consolidation of wealth amongst a miniscule fraction of the Earth’s population continues, contributing to the conditions for the global rise of facism. “All around the world, including in European countries, we see extreme right-wing [movements] taking power,” says Hwang. “We see a continued divide due to political views. In Korea recently, we had former president Yoon [Suk-yeol] declare martial law. He was impeached, but there are very strong, extreme supporters who believe that all of our elections have been rigged. All of these things are leading to exacerbated social conflict and division.”

Hwang was also shaken by the deadly events of January 6, 2021, which saw a mob of Trump supporters storm the Capital following the president’s loss in the 2020 election. The insurrection was egged on by Trump himself. “America is known for its liberal democracy,” he says, “and to see just how intense of a divide elections and voting and political views can put people in… that was very shocking, honestly, so that was also part of the current events that inspired me.”

We see this theme of global polarization explored in Squid Game through a ramping up of the in-Game voting process in Seasons 2 and 3. Between every round, the surviving Players cast their votes. Those who vote “X” want the Game to end, and for the remaining Players to divide the accumulated prize money equally. Those who vote “O” want to keep playing. In Squid Game, the limits of voting and democracy within a society of such extreme inequality are made clear, as the terms have been set by those in power. The set-up encourages two factions who increasingly dislike and fear one another. The Players are left to fight among themselves, while ignoring the VIPs who enjoy unfettered luxury without having to ever “play” at all. 

In the season’s penultimate episode, during the Game’s final round, the surviving contestants take a vote on which Player to kill next. Their options include a baby, whom they see as an easy target. “Let’s vote on who should get eliminated, and keep it democratic,” one Player says to another, as if they are not talking about murder.

“In the past, through elections, while there were obviously always conflicts based on your political views, at least we all looked at one future together and we had a certain level of tolerance,” says Hwang. “I don’t think that is the case anymore. We no longer think that our views are different. We think that the other view is wrong, and only my view is right. Seeing all of these things happen around the world and in a world where so much of our news and our so-called knowledge is based on algorithms and AI-generated news, I thought that it is time for us to beg the question: Are elections still a very effective system?”

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.

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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.