Netflix’s hit Korean thriller “Squid Game” has officially concluded with its third season, bringing an end to Seong Gi-hun’s story. Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed last July that Season 3 would be the final installment of the original series.
Season 3 consists of six episodes, continuing directly from Season 2’s cliffhanger. After years of tracking the Front Man and Squid Game operatives, Gi-hun finds himself forced into the deadly competition for a second time. Having already lost many friends including Jung-bae in Season 2, he faces even more brutal challenges in the final season.
The first episode introduces a dark tone when shaman Seon-nyeo (Player 222) predicts none of the players will survive. The competition quickly turns deadly with games including a terrifying hide-and-seek and a lethal jump rope challenge. During the second episode, pregnant player Jun-hee (also Player 222) gives birth in the middle of a game, adding a new layer of stakes when her baby becomes part of the competition.
By episode three, we see the return of the VIPs – wealthy spectators who bet on the games. One drunk VIP accidentally bet on Jun-hee to win. When she dies from injuries sustained during a fall, another VIP suggests her newborn baby should continue in her place, now wearing her Player 222 tracksuit.
Episodes four and five reveal more about the game’s inner workings, including Captain Park’s true role as a Front Man operative. Meanwhile, rebellious Pink Guard No-eul creates an elaborate plan to help Player 246 (Gyeong-seok) escape the island.
The sixth and final episode culminates in a game called Sky Squid Game, where players must navigate three towers and eliminate competitors. The final showdown comes down to Gi-hun, Player 333 (Myung-gi, the baby’s father), and the baby. After Myung-gi falls to his death in a knife fight with Gi-hun, only Gi-hun and the baby remain.
Faced with an impossible choice, Gi-hun sacrifices himself so the baby can live and become the competition’s winner, receiving the 4.56 billion won prize. “Gi-hun’s self-sacrifice to save the baby is the message we need to hear today,” Hwang explained about this ending.
After the games, the Front Man experiences a change of heart. He rescues the baby and delivers Gi-hun’s fortune to his estranged daughter in Los Angeles. Six months later, the Front Man leaves the baby and its prize money with his brother, detective Jun-ho.
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The series ends with a scene in Los Angeles where the Front Man observes a well-dressed woman played by Cate Blanchett recruiting a new player with the same ddakji game used by Korean recruiters, suggesting the existence of an American version of the competition.
Other characters receive closure too. Pink Guard No-eul helps Player 246 escape, allowing him to reunite with his cancer-stricken daughter. No-eul also learns her own daughter might still be alive in China. The series also reveals that Sae-byeok’s brother from Season 1 finally reunites with their North Korean mother.
Will there be a Season 4? The answer is definitively no. “I think the story ended in a manner where it doesn’t need a further story to be told,” Hwang told The Hollywood Reporter. However, he hasn’t completely closed the door on the “Squid Game” universe.
Hwang has mentioned potential interest in a spinoff exploring the three-year gap between Seasons 1 and 2, focusing on “what the recruiters or Captain Park or officers or masked men were doing in that period, not inside the gaming arena, but their life outside of that.”
Netflix seems committed to expanding the franchise in other ways. The reality competition “Squid Game: The Challenge” has been renewed for a second season, and a video game adaptation is reportedly in development.
The surprise appearance of Cate Blanchett has fueled speculation about an American spinoff. Reports suggested filmmaker David Fincher was developing an American version with writer Dennis Kelly for Netflix. As of June 2025, Variety reported that Netflix has “no plans to announce a Squid Game spinoff,” but is “considering next steps for the IP.”
For fans hoping to see more of Gi-hun, however, his story has reached its conclusion. As Hwang said, “Season 3 is indeed a finale, and you’ll be able to feel that once you watch.”
