'Squid Game 3' Ending Explained & Finale Recap: Is Gi-hun Dead?

[Spoiler Alert] Seong Gi-hun’s sacrifice, in Squid Game 3’s ending, was the testament to the fact that he didn’t lose his faith in humanity until his death. Gi-hun’s last words echoed loud and clear in those very halls built upon the blood of the innocent who had been misguided by greed. Before jumping to his death, he told those capitalist mongers that humans are not horses. Humans are… humans are much more than mere flesh and blood. Every VIP watching Gi-hun from afar had speculated that he would throw away the baby, Player 222, to save his life and win the prize money. But he surprised them all when he chose to kill himself instead of taking an innocent life. And that was something even the former winner of the game, In-ho, aka, Front Man, wasn’t capable of. The thing about greed is, it makes you self-centered. Whenever your own life is in danger, your animalistic instinct, also known as the survival instinct, kicks in, and you cannot particularly think about anyone else except yourself. It happened with each and every participant of the game, but Gi-hun had always been different.

Gi-hun Sacrifices His Life For Player 222

Gi-hun had made a promise to the baby’s mother, Jun-hee, that he would protect her daughter to his last breath. The newborn had nothing to do with the game or the prize money it entailed. The baby didn’t choose to participate in her free will. Well, she didn’t have a will at all, which disqualifies her as a player, but the vicious VIPs felt her presence made the game much more enjoyable. Yes, rich people get pretty weird when they fail to put their wealth to good use. But if you think these VIPs and the Front Man were worse, then you should really consider what Myung-gi, the baby’s father, had planned to do. He wanted to throw the baby off the platform to win the prize money. Gi-hun knew he wasn’t the man to be trusted and therefore fought against him, trying to protect Jun-hee’s daughter. Player 333, aka Myung-gi, fell to his death, and Gi-hun climbed up the platform, only to realize they hadn’t pressed the button to start the game, which meant they still needed to eliminate one player after they had activated the button. This was the moment Gi-hun recalled his promise and jumped to his death, just to tell those getting pleasure out of human miseries and deaths that they are not animals. Though Gi-hun knew that the rich are not only blinded by their wealth but are also ignorant and arrogant. His words were going to fall on their deaf ears, and his sacrifice wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Gi-hun entered the Squid Game for the second time because he wanted to put an end to it once and for all, but in the end, he only realized that the games might just continue forever, maybe thrive in the near future, because there’s no end to human greed. Players in the game would just end up stealing money from someone else to pay their debts or end up killing the innocent on the streets. These games just gave them an opportunity to put down their mask and show their real self to the world. The game didn’t create monsters. The game just fed the monsters that were already there. And unfortunate were those who became collateral in this sick game of life and death. And Gi-hun wanted to protect these innocent ones who fell for the trap set by the game organizers but eventually failed to move the mountains.

Front Man Is A Glimmer Of Hope

I guess Front Man was the only person who was a little moved by Gi-hun’s death and his beliefs. I am not saying he’s going to go rogue and try to stop the Squid Game, but he did at least try to do the right thing so that Gi-hun’s sacrifice doesn’t go in vain. The poor child had lost her parents in the game, and she had no relatives to look after her, which was why the Front Man gave the baby to the person he trusted the most in the world, his stepbrother, Hwang Jun-ho. Squid Game 3’s ending suggested that Jun-ho would raise the baby as his own, just like his mother and father had adopted In-ho when he was young and given him the family he truly deserved. Throughout these years, In-ho always believed that Jun-ho would just forget about him and abandon him because they weren’t blood related, but he didn’t. Jun-ho never gave up searching for his missing brother and even tried to confront him in the end, but In-ho really had nothing to explain. He became a part of the game to save his beloved wife, and with his family already dead, he didn’t have any reason to look back. In-ho would continue donning the mask of Front Man and fulfill his promise he had made to his master, Oh Il-nam.

In Squid Game 3’s ending, Front Man even paid a visit to Gi-hun’s daughter, Seong Ga-yeong, in Los Angeles. He gave her the money Gi-hun had won in the first game and hadn’t spent, along with all the belongings he had, so that Ga-yeong would find some closure and stop waiting for her dad’s call. Yes, it was the Front Man who took out the money from the Pink Motel Gi-hun had bought and likely converted it into American dollars and put it in a bank so that Ga-yeong could use it to build her future, something her dad had wanted her to do.

I guess Front Man had always been a complex person, or maybe he was just a poorly written character. He wanted to remain neutral towards the players but broke a bunch of rules by participating in the game itself, so we are not completely sure what he wanted. In the end, he did what was expected of him as a “human being,” but his loyalty would always remain to the game. I think one of the reasons why Front Man was the best person to organize the game was because he didn’t have any ties left in the world. After he became Front Man, he didn’t follow his self-interest, though he occasionally tried to save his brother’s life. Yes, that’s why I said he’s pretty gray. He tried to help Gi-hun because he wanted him to survive, but that’s cheating, right? Well, I guess we’d never be able to fully understand Front Man as a person, but I am glad he still has an ounce of humanity left in him.

Jun-ho Will Give Up His Hunt

Throughout seasons 2 and 3, Jun-ho had been trying to reach his brother. In season 3’s ending, he eventually found him, but their encounter was short-lived. Jun-ho wanted answers, and In-ho didn’t have any, but I guess he gave a bit of closure to his younger brother by leaving a baby to look after. Well, a newborn is going to keep him busy, at least for a few years or so. Additionally, in season 3’s ending, In-ho had activated the self-destruction protocol to blow up the entire facility, as he didn’t want the coastal guards to find any evidence of the Squid Games. Based on this fact, I think it’s safe to assume that In-ho wouldn’t be organizing any new games, at least not until he had rebuilt the whole thing from the ground up, which is going to take a lot of time. Meanwhile, the only evidence Jun-ho had to locate the games was the island, but with the facility blown to pieces, he doesn’t have any lead to follow, and he would have to start his investigation from scratch. The ending of Squid Game 3 also suggests that the next round of Squid Games is going to take place overseas, in America in particular, and I am not sure how Jun-ho will get such information. I think it’s safe to assume that this was the last we saw of Jun-ho, though if the makers of the spin-off shows would want to bring the investigator back, then Jun-ho wouldn’t mind catching the criminals betting on humans for their sadistic pleasure.

Choi Woo-seok Takes Over Pink Motel

In season 3’s ending, Woo-seok, who was arrested for breaking into Captain Park’s house, finally came out of prison. Neither Woo-seok nor Jun-ho had any idea who had taken Gi-hun’s prize money stashed inside the Pink Motel. They believed that either someone stole it or Gi-hun took it out and left Korea for good. The thing is, none of these people, except for Front Man and Gi-hun’s daughter, were aware of the fact that Gi-hun was dead, but Woo-seok was certain that Gi-hun wasn’t coming back, which was why he decided to renovate his Pink Motel and turn it into a profitable business. I am pretty sure he wouldn’t go back to his loan shark business and lead an honest life from here on. Also, if Jun-ho ever decided to reopen his investigation into the Squid Games, then it’s likely that Woo-seok will tag along to find the culprits running an illegal betting game.

Kang No-eul Travels To China

In the ending of Squid Game 3, Guard 011, aka No-eul, found some hard copy records of all the players and the guards in Front Man’s chamber. No-eul had defected from North Korea in 2017, and while trying to escape from the country, she had to leave her daughter, Han Song-i, behind. After coming to South Korea, she didn’t leave a stone unturned to find the whereabouts of her lost daughter; however, according to Front Man’s records, Song-i was dead. The revelations crushed No-eul’s only hope to survive, and she tried taking her life when she suddenly heard the cries of Jun-hee’s baby. It likely reminded No-eul of her own daughter, who saw this as a sign from the god itself. Furthermore, Gi-hun’s sacrifice to protect the young child filled No-eul with the hope that she wouldn’t give up on her daughter without trying. She should do everything in her power to find her, and that was what motivated her to leave the facility to look out for her daughter. In the end, Mr. Park from South Men, North Women, contacted her and told her that someone had seen her daughter in China. Well, as soon as No-eul heard the words, she immediately packed her bags and booked a flight to Yanji to find her daughter. Mr. Park had asked someone to receive No-eul in Yanji, and I hope she finally finds Song-i. It’s also possible that No-eul and her daughter’s story will continue in the spin-off of Squid Game.

Cate Blanchett Is The New Recruiter

In Squid Game 3’s ending, Front Man spotted a woman (Cate Blanchett) dressed in a suit playing a game of Ddakji with a vagabond. Well, it was obvious that in this scenario Blanchett was the recruiter who had been fishing for new players for an American spin-off of the Squid Games. But why she was playing Ddakji with an American is quite weird. I mean, I do understand that you want to cash in on nostalgia, but please, for heaven’s sake, don’t throw logic out of the window. Well, whatever the writers had in mind, this brief scene suggests that Squid Game will return. In a different place, with different players, playing a different set of games, their greed and their savagery are going to remain the same. 

It’s possible that In-ho will reprise his role as the Front Man in the spin-off series and help organize the Squid Games in America. I mean, his visit to LA couldn’t be just to hand over Gi-hun’s last remains to his daughter, and maybe he went there for a mission. His base in South Korea had already been destroyed, and the blast had attracted too much attention, so it would be the safest move to organize the game in another country. And the way In-ho exchanged looks with the recruiter, it seemed like the two knew each other before. Remember Woo-seok had found some photographs in Captain Park’s house that suggested that In-ho had been friends with the Recruiter and the senior guards of the game. Based on these assumptions, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Front Man is going to return to our screen pretty soon. But let’s just hope that the spin-off isn’t complete trash like the last two seasons of Netflix’s Squid Game and at least brings something fresh narratively to the table, not just new games and new faces.

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