Netflix’s Squid Game took the world by storm, becoming a global phenomenon with its harrowing depiction of desperate individuals forced to play deadly children’s games for a life-altering cash prize. The South Korean drama, created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, captivated audiences not only with its brutal survival premise but also with its sharp social commentary, compelling characters, and shocking twists. The series follows Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) as he navigates the horrific competition, emerging as its reluctant winner at the end of the first season. Season 2 of Squid Game, however, flipped the script as Gi-hun intentionally re-enters the games to destroy it from within, leading to a cascade of new alliances, betrayals, and devastating losses.
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With the third season of Squid Game coming to Netflix, fans gear up for what promises to be an explosive conclusion to Gi-hun’s story. As a direct sequel to Squid Game 2, the new episodes build on several critical plot points and unresolved questions from his last harrowing encounters. Remembering these key developments is essential to fully grasp the narrative threads that will undoubtedly shape the brutal challenges and moral quandaries awaiting in Squid Game 3.
1) Gi-hun’s Failed Revolution
In Squid Game 2 Gi-hun orchestrated a player uprising against the masked guards and the game’s administration. His strategy involved attempting to arm players by overpowering guards and trying to reach the facility’s control center. Key allies in this endeavor included his longtime friend Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) and other players like Gyeong-seok (Lee Jin-wook). Unfortunately, the rebellion was met with overwhelming force from the game’s soldiers and was decisively crushed.
At the end of Season 2 of Squid Game, the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) executes Jung-bae, forcing Gi-hun to witness his death. In addition, many other players who joined the revolt were also killed by the guards during the suppression. In the immediate aftermath, Gi-hun himself was physically overpowered, apprehended, and shown to be held in confinement within their facility. This marked the complete failure of his direct action and resulted in significant loss of life among the participants he had rallied.
2) The Front Man’s Ideological Victory
During the events of Squid Game 2, Hwang In-ho, previously established in Season 1 as the Front Man and brother of police officer Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-jun), adopted a disguise as Player 001. In this persona, he actively participated in the new game cycle alongside Seong Gi-hun and other contestants. Throughout his time as a player, In-ho frequently engaged Gi-hun in conversations, articulating a cynical view of human nature and asserting that the games offered a fair, albeit brutal, stage for individuals to reveal their inherent self-interest.
As Player 001, In-ho observed and sometimes influenced situations that tested Gi-hun’s moral choices, particularly during Gi-hun’s planning of the player rebellion. After the rebellion was quashed, and after Gi-hun made decisions In-ho framed as compromising his ideals, In-ho orchestrated a scenario where Player 001 appeared to die. He then appeared as the Front Man to Gi-hun, stating that Gi-hun’s actions and the outcomes had validated his belief that all humans, when pushed, act out of self-preservation or a corrupted sense of utilitarianism. After all, Gi-hun chose to sacrifice lives in the name of his rebellion.
3) The Shocking Betrayal by Captain Park
In Season 1 of Squid Game, Jun-ho infiltrated the game facility while searching for his missing brother. His investigation culminated in a confrontation with the Front Man, who revealed himself as In-ho before shooting Jun-ho, causing him to fall from a cliff into the sea. Squid Game 2 confirmed that Jun-ho survived this fall and was subsequently rescued by a fisherman named Captain Park (Oh Dal-su). Following his recovery, Jun-ho formed a working relationship with Captain Park, using his boat over an extended period to search for the game’s hidden island and later hiring mercenaries for a direct reconnaissance mission.
During this mission in Squid Game 2, one of Jun-ho’s mercenary team members discovered Captain Park sabotaging their surveillance drone, a critical piece of equipment for locating the island. To prevent his exposure as an operative for the games, Captain Park killed the mercenary and disposed of the body, misleading Jun-ho by attributing the mercenary’s disappearance to a storm. This sequence of events revealed Captain Park’s secret allegiance to the game’s organization.
4) Dae-ho’s Mysterious Background
A new character introduced in Squid Game 2 was Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul), a player who informed Gi-hun and others that he was a former Marine. Based on this claim, he was perceived as a potentially strong and disciplined ally within Gi-hun’s faction during the player uprising. However, when the rebellion commenced and combat ensued, Dae-ho’s observed actions were inconsistent with his purported military background. For instance, he struggled with the effective use of firearms.
Later, during the height of the conflict, Dae-ho retreated from the main battle area to the player dormitories, supposedly to retrieve more ammunition. He was then depicted in a state of apparent shock, unable to rejoin the fight. Dae-ho ultimately survived the failed rebellion due to his absence from the final confrontation, but his failure to go back to the front with ammunition helped undermine the revolution. The season concluded without confirming the truth of his military service or explaining his behavior.
5) No-eul’s Undecided Allegiance
No-eul (Park Gyu-young) was featured in Squid Game 2 as one of the masked guards within the game facility. Her duties included enforcing the rules and carrying out the execution of players who failed the games or violated regulations. The series also reveals that No-eul is a defector from North Korea. She stated her reason for working as a guard was to earn sufficient money to bring her son to South Korea.
While No-eul performed her duties, certain interactions, particularly with Gyeong-seok (Lee Jin-wook), a player she recognized from a past civilian job, suggested she experienced some degree of internal conflict regarding her role. Gyeong-seok, who was playing to fund his daughter’s critical medical treatments, was killed by guards following Gi-hun’s failed revolution, an event No-eul witnessed. Still, her specific stance to the game’s organization following these events was not explicitly shown by the end of Season 2.
6) The Second Giant Doll
Squid Game 2 mid-credits scene offered a brief view of the large outdoor courtyard where the “Red Light, Green Light” game is traditionally held at the beginning of each competition. In this scene, fans can spot the familiar giant motion-sensing doll used to officiate that game. However, positioned alongside it was a second doll.
The players in Season 2’s main game cycle, which included Seong Gi-hun’s re-entry, had already participated in and survived their “Red Light, Green Light” challenge much earlier in their competition. The mid-credits scene offered no dialogue or further action to explain the presence of this additional doll or to indicate what new purpose or game variation it might serve. Maybe the games will be reset after Gi-hun’s revolution, or the Front Man is introducing a deadly form of punishment to underline the rebels’ defeat.
7) Hyun-ju Future After the Revolution
While Seong Gi-hun was captured and many participants in his attempted uprising were killed at the end of Squid Game 2, not all key figures involved met the same immediate fate. Notably, Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon), who had been an active part of Gi-hun’s revolutionary group, managed to avoid being apprehended or killed in the direct aftermath of the failed rebellion. When the revolutionaries were subdued, she had returned to the player dormitories to find Dae-ho.
When the game’s soldiers later stormed the dormitories to round up or eliminate remaining rebels, Hyun-ju hid her firearm. She purportedly distanced herself from the clear indicators of rebellion, allowing her to avoid being immediately identified as a core conspirator by the soldiers. Her survival and her actions to evade immediate culpability left her status and potential future role within the games an unresolved matter at the close of Season 2.
Squid Game Season 3 premieres globally on Netflix on June 27th.
What are you most eager to see resolved in Squid Game Season 3? Share your theories in the comments below!
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