Editor's note: The below contains major spoilers for the Squid Game Season 2 finale.
Ever since that first game of ddakji in the squalid subway station three years ago, anticipation has been brewing for the second season of Squid Game — which ends with the same gusto the widely popular Korean thriller series initially hit Netflix with. Though nearly all our beloved characters from Season 1 met their demise during that first game, the tournament's reluctant winner returns as the protagonist again but is far from the skittish, desperate man we once knew. Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) finds himself back in the games in Season 2, but this time, he plans to take it down from the inside.
As a Squid Game alum, Gi-hun is shocked to find out that the rules and games have been changed, but most notably, after each round, the players can vote on whether they want to split the winnings and leave or continue the competition. With this added layer of division, he sees the inevitable brawl that will take place when the votes are tied after the third game. Tensions are running high, but instead of participating, he covertly recruits a group of trusted allies and encourages them to use the confusion of the fight to rally against their masked captors.
Gi-hun Leads an Uprising in 'Squid Game' Season 2
The beginning of Season 2 immediately sets itself apart from the former as it follows Gi-hun's efforts to track down people affiliated with the games. There is a greater focus on his intentions of stopping the games once and for all, but he needs access to the higher-ups to do so, specifically the elusive Front Man (Lee Byung-hun). So, when the lights go out after the tied vote and a murderous fight between the players feels inevitable, he instructs his allies to creep underneath the beds and remain uninvolved. When the Masked Ones inevitably come in to break up the violence to avoid losing too many participants, the crew plays dead and catches the guards unawares, overpowering them and grabbing their guns.
Forming a small fighting force led by Gi-hun, Oh Young-il (who we know is actually Hwang In-ho from the Squid Game Season 1 finale, and the Front Man), Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan), and Hyun-joo (Park Sung-hoon), they shoot their way toward the control center, eager to root out the management and the leader of the operation. However, the sheer number of the guards eventually overwhelms their semi-fortified position. Hyun-joo manages to evade that fate by returning to the main room to find out why Dae-ho (Kang Ha-nuel) was taking so long to retrieve extra ammunition. On the other hand, Gi-hun and Jung-bae had pushed ahead of the main crew to access the control room, but like their comrades, they also found dismal failure at the end of their uprising.
The Front Man Takes His Rightful Place in the 'Squid Game' Season 2 Finale
Image via Netflix
When Young-il was introduced as a participant in Squid Game, we immediately recognized him and his intentions to keep an eye on Gi-hun while gaining his trust. As such, it is not a surprise that he ends up being the primary reason Gi-hun's rebellion ultimately fails, but it is still bitter nonetheless. When Gi-hun and Jung-bae meet a stalemate on the stairs leading up to the control room, they call for backup. Young-il comes to the rescue with two others, and they find a route that goes behind the guards that are barring the way. With success so close, Gi-hun and Jung-bae use up the last of their bullets to draw the guards' attention, leaving them vulnerable to Young-il's betrayal.
Young-il shoots down his faux-comrades and uses the walkie talkie to fake his own death for Gi-hun. With Young-il officially dead, he takes back his true position as the Front Man, dons his black, glistening mask, and meets the defeated duo who have now surrendered. It seems like the Front Man is going to kill Gi-hun, but he shifts the gun away and shoots Jung-bae in an excruciating scene. This inflicts more psychological torment on Gi-hun, who already has PTSD from watching everyone die in the previous game and now loses his only friend from his real life. Interestingly, the Front Man decides to let Gi-hun live and never reveals his identity to him. This could just add to the painful ambiguity and loss that currently shrouds Gi-hun, or perhaps there is an ulterior motive to these decisions that will be revealed in the confirmed Season 3.
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Jun-ho Is Also Deceived in 'Squid Game' Season 2
Image via Netflix
Gi-hun isn't alone in his quest to shut down the games. Police officer Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) teams up with the Squid Game survivor after he is found with the dead body of the Recruiter (Gong Yoo). In Season 1, Jun-ho's goal was to track down his brother, eventually coming to a head with him on a cliff where he is revealed as the Front Man. Jun-ho avoids death by jumping off the cliff and is saved by a fishing boat captain, who fishes out his unconscious body from the water. This strikes up an obsession with finding the mysterious island, but despite all of Jun-ho's attempts, he is unable to locate it.
Turns out, the captain may be the reason for this futility. Jun-ho enlists the captain's help when he and Gi-hun concoct a plan to find the island using a tracker in Gi-hun's tooth. However, this plan is foiled as the tracker is removed once Gi-hun enters the game. As such, Jun-ho and his strike team try to find the island using other means, but a scene on a stormy night reveals that the captain is likely a spy for the games, or even the Front Man himself. He throws one of Jun-ho's men overboard after he witnessed the captain tamper with their drone, exposing the captain's betrayal to us. As such, it is possible that the captain had been misleading Jun-ho all these years while also keeping a close eye on his movements, and thus, Jun-ho may be in trouble in Season 3.
'Squid Game' Season 2 Explores the Theme of Choice
Squid Game Season 1's theme of humans reacting differently in extreme environments was hammered into every narrative beat, as lines of morality were crossed and the brutal depths of the human condition in the face of survival were exposed. This becomes the basis of Gi-hun's beliefs when he tries to stop the games, as he gives everyone the benefit of the doubt, believing they were only capable of this destruction due to the environment. But these beliefs are deftly challenged in Season 2 as it includes the voting system after every game. He is shocked by how many people choose to stay in the game.
However, the finale, in particular, drives home the complex idea of choice and the illusion of it. The division of "X"s, those who vote to go home, and "O"s, those who vote to stay, already has a level of this commentary, as many of the "O"s want to stay out of desperation -- without the money, real life has no value to it anyway. As such, to a certain degree, there isn't really a choice but to stay. This goes more in-depth in the finale when individual characters opt out of the rebellion. Personal circumstances of pregnancies, relationships and uncontrollable fear overcrowd their will to fight back. Superficially, these reasons seem selfish, but they reflect real reasons for why many people don't stand up to their oppressors. Choice is sometimes a luxury.
On top of this, the Front Man's covert involvement in Gi-hun's plan meant its failure was inevitable. This once again leads into the commentary on the illusion of choice and revolution, particularly among the masses, as those in powerful positions generally puppeteer the strings. This idea of inevitability was also foreshadowed by the inclusion of the Shaman's character, who rambles on about fate. Through this, Squid Game also furthers its commentary on the elite exploiting the masses in this season, as the Front Man charades as an equal to get closer to Gi-hun. It adds spine-tingling power dynamics to their interactions, perhaps informing the Front Man's decision to spare Gi-hun -- he is too powerful to feel threatened by Gi-hun.
What Does 'Squid Game' Season 2 Finale's Mid-Credits Scene Mean?
Image via Netflix
When Hyun-joo returns to the main room where the other participants are waiting, she is unable to leave again as an influx of Masked Ones enter the room. With the threat of the armed players nullified, and Gi-hun also being checkmated, it seems the games will continue on as per usual. A mid-credits scene in the Season 2 finale presents us with the achingly familiar giant doll from the Red Light, Green Light game. However, she is joined by another giant doll, but this time a male, and a traffic light with red and green on it. Though we don't exactly know what game this is, it does confirm that the games will go on despite the uprising. It could also suggest that they held another vote and the "O"s won, especially since many of the "X"s died fighting for the rebellion. While we aren't sure that Gi-hun will be involved in these games, Squid Game Season 3 will likely have that ultimate showdown between Gi-hun and the Front Man that we have been patiently relishing.
Squid Game Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on Netflix.
Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children's games. Inside, a tempting prize awaits with deadly high stakes: a survival game that has a whopping 45.6 billion-won prize at stake.
Release Date
September 17, 2021
Cast
Wi Ha-joon
, Anupam Tripathi
, Oh Yeong-su
, Heo Sung-tae
, Park Hae-soo
, Jung Ho-yeon
, Lee Jung-jae
, Kim Joo-ryoung
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
English (US) ·