Warning: This article contains multiple spoilers.
Squid Game (2021–2025) is a South Korean dystopian survival thriller horror television series created, written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk exclusively for Netflix. The show spans 3 seasons, the latest and final of which was released on June 27th, 2025 with 6 episodes and an average of 50 minutes per episode.
This season of Squid Game picks up right where its predecessor left off; Seong Gihun’s attempt at a rebellion led by himself is unsuccessful due to multiple factors, leading to several fatalities. He and the survivors are now left to navigate the rest of the game with the odds severely stacked against them.
Episode Summary (Spoilers Ahead)
1. Keys and Knives:
After the failed rebellion, Kang No-eul shoots Gyeong-seok (Player 246) non-fatally to gain access to the organ traffickers’ operating room. Seong Gi-hun is returned alive and learns all other rebels, except Cho Hyun-ju and Kang Dae-ho, were executed. A new vote decides to continue the games.
Gi-hun, in shock, blames Dae-ho for the failure. Players are then forced to walk past the hanged rebels and assigned to a deadly hide-and-seek game, where taggers hunt hiders searching for exit keys. Before the game, Dae-ho blames Gi-hun, while Yong-sik and Myung-gi switch roles to become taggers, with Myung-gi teaming up with Nam-gyu.
In the operating room, No-eul kills the traffickers and forces the doctor to save Gyeong-seok. Meanwhile, Hwang Jun-ho’s team resumes their island search, Woo-seok investigates Captain Park, and the Front Man orders Park to eliminate them if needed.
2. The Starry Night
No-eul kills the doctor after Gyeong-seok recovers. In the labyrinth game, Hyun-ju, Geum-ja, and Jun-hee team up. Myung-gi partners with Nam-gyu, killing hiders to reduce competition and increase the prize pool. Seon-nyeo finds the exit but is betrayed by Jeong-dae and killed by Min-su, who is hallucinating from drugs. Jun-hee injures her ankle and goes into labor; with Geum-ja’s help, she gives birth, while Hyun-ju fends off taggers but is killed by Myung-gi just after finding an exit. Overcome with guilt, Myung-gi walks away.
Meanwhile, Gi-hun, acting as a tagger, hunts Dae-ho, who admits lying about his military past and blames Gi-hun for the rebellion’s failure. Gi-hun kills him in rage. Geum-ja, Jun-hee, and the baby reach an exit but encounter Yong-sik, who targets Jun-hee. Geum-ja stabs Yong-sik to protect her, leading to his death by guards. Devastated, Geum-ja survives. Gi-hun, consumed by guilt, tries to kill himself but is stopped by the guards.
3. It’s not your fault
The VIPs arrive disguised as soldiers to execute eliminated players. Geum-ja begs the “O” players to vote “X” but is ignored; she urges Gi-hun to protect Jun-hee and her baby. When he refuses, she hangs herself out of guilt for killing her son. Meanwhile, Jun-ho searches the island, and Woo-seok discovers Park’s involvement in the games but is arrested before escaping.
Moved by Geum-ja’s death, Gi-hun agrees to help Jun-hee and her baby in the next game: jump rope, where players must cross a bridge without being hit. No one moves until Min-su throws Thanos’s necklace, prompting a withdrawal-stricken Nam-gyu to jump and fall to his death. The VIPs declare the baby a player. Gi-hun, vowing to return for Jun-hee, crosses with the baby successfully. Encouraged, Player 096 crosses but starts pushing others. Meanwhile, the Masked Officer, forced by No-eul to help her escape, discovers Gyeong-seok disguised as a soldier.
4. 222
During the game, Player 096 blocks the path, but Gi-hun pressures him to move, before he kills 096 in self-defense. Meanwhile, Myung-gi approaches Jun-hee, who rejects him for murdering Hyun-ju and reveals her foot injury. As time runs out, Jun-hee entrusts her baby in Gi-hun’s care and sacrifices herself, devastating both Gi-hun and Myung-gi. The VIPs vote to allow the baby to remain in the game as Player 222.
Off the island, Gyeong-seok and No-eul manage to escape but are tracked by guards sent by the Masked Officer. In the dormitory, after it was announced that Jun-hee’s baby will replace her mother as Player 222, some players, especially Jeong-dae’s group, angrily try to harm the child but are stopped by guards. They plot to murder Gi-hun and the baby, with Myung-gi pretending to join them. Before the final round, Gi-hun is summoned by In-ho, who proposes a secret deal: remove the remaining players to ensure his and the baby’s survival. In-ho then reveals he is actually Oh Young-il (Player 001) leaving Gi-hun shocked and enraged.
Elsewhere, Woo-seok manages to inform Jun-ho that Captain Park was acting on In-ho’s orders. Mortally wounded during their confrontation, Park admits the truth in his last breath, strengthening Jun-ho’s resolve to uncover the truth and find his brother. Meanwhile, the Masked Officer pressures No-eul into returning to the island by threatening to go after Gyeong-seok and his daughter. She complies, ensuring his escape while returning herself.
The remaining two episodes depict the grand finale of a bloody 3 year journey. The stage is set and the difference is made clear: what makes a monster and what makes a man?
Cast and Performances
- Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun
- Lee Byung-hun as Hwang In-ho / the Front Man
- Wi Ha-joon as Hwang Jun-ho
- Im Si-wan as Lee Myung-gin
- Jo Yu-ri as Kim Jun-hee
- Kang Ha-neul as Kang Dae-ho
- Park Sung-hoon as Cho Hyun-ju
- Song Young-chang as Im Jeong-dae
I actually believe that the characters in this season, and probably the entire series, were written with great thought to their personality types, backstories, and nuances. It would take a whole different article to get into the main characters alone. But I will say this, every single actor did a phenomenal job in carrying out they respective roles, they make you feel real joy, real sorrow, and real hate for fictional characters. And I believe that is the greatest feat for an actor.
But a special kudos to the character Hyun-Ju for a fairly good representation of the transgender community, giving little to no leeway for transphobic stereotypes and actually becoming a fan favourite.
Thoughts and Opinions on Squid Game
Where do I even begin? As a day one fan of this entire franchise, this finale overwhelmed me in all the best and worst ways. First of all, I liked the ending.
Wait, hear me out.
Yes, the series took a very unexpected approach and to some, it could even be considered controversial, but I personally believe it was the right call (regardless of how traumatizing it was). I think that the ending played its role in delivering the core message of the entire franchise. There’s just something poetic about the fact that the only player spared is the most innocent one. And in a really strange way I really love that Gihun was committed to making his point, right to the very end, and giving the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that it was passed across.
Now let’s talk about the message in question..
Squid Game as a whole concept is a critique of capitalism, social inequality and the systemic dehumanization of poor people. It gives a gruesome example of the extremely wide gap between the poor, and those considered as the Elite.
Money is a dangerous catalyst for the erasure of humanity, and the series shows us that in two ways: The Elite, who view the players as mere livestock, almost grotesque in the triviality with which they consider fellow human lives simply because of a difference in social class, and The Players, whose sheer greed overshadows basic human traits such as empathy, compassion, and self-preservation, to the point where not only do they continually choose to risk their lives for a few extra millions but even a newborn child is fair game if the price is right.
I lost a lot of belief in humanity by watching this series.
Now we have our main character, Gihun. After the events of season 1, he finds himself in a delicate balance between the two factions, he is now a billionaire (Elite), because he took part in the games (Player), and somehow managed to maintain his humanity despite the many, many situations that put this delicate balance to the test.
In fact, his character takes an interesting turn; becoming outraged at the system and its correlation to real life. He stands his ground, determined and almost desperate to stand up to the system, to change or destroy it. He is a direct parallel to In-Ho (The Front Man), who ironically has gone through the same experiences as Gihun, but instead allowed himself to be swallowed and skewed by the system (to the point where he runs it). In-ho is jaded and has lost all belief in people, and wishes for Gihun (who In-ho believes is most similar to him) to turn out the same way, because an otherwise outcome would highlight his own weaknesses.
The events begin to serve as a sort of gamble between the two, each desperate to prove their point to the other. And with an ending like that, it’s even difficult for the audience to determine who won said bet. But one thing is for sure, Gihun was heard. His point was made, even though he paid the heaviest price for it. And to some extent, it seemed that even In-ho was moved.
The very last scene pretty much makes all of it pointless though, even though it teases the birth of a new franchise.
I do have some grievances, still. A lot of interesting characters were killed off despite the fact that they could’ve become a very strong plot point in the grand scheme of things (and no this isn’t just me being bitter about Hyun-Ju’s death, but that is definitely a strong factor).
I liked that the show explored other story arcs aside from the players, however some of those, especially the arc with detective Jun-ho, seemed dragged on and almost pointless, which feels like a waste of such an important character like Jun-ho (he’s literally In-ho’s brother, and their story never got a definitive answer).
I really liked the small cameo insert of Sae-Byeok, a main character from the first season with an equally tragic story. Even as an illusion, her appearance served to remind us, and probably Gihun, of the original reason why he’s doing all of this (there’s also the added bonus of ripping my heart to shreds).
Final Thoughts on Squid Game
Despite its tragic nature and mixed receptions, I still believe that this was an incredibly appropriate way to finish the show. It hurt me from an emotional standpoint (Hyun-Ju’s and Gihun’s deaths still sting), but given the story it was trying to tell and the message it was trying to pass across, I am satisfied with the outcome.
All in all, this series is going to go down in history as one of the most iconic commentaries on social constructs and the way it ruthlessly criticizes extreme capitalism and the dark side of humanity with… preschool games.
I rate Squid Game, Season 3: 4.5 out of 5
