The Epic Squid Game Season 2 Finale Explained

Season 1 of Squid Game premiered in 2021 and took the world by storm, introducing us to Seong Gi-hun, who ends up becoming the traumatized, reluctant winner of the games and their sole survivor. In Season 2, released in 2024, Gi-hun uses his prize money to assemble a small team with the goal of putting an end to the games, promising to exact his revenge on the sadistic facilitators behind the scenes. But—what happens at the end of season 2? How do Gi-hun and his friends fare against the villainous Front Man and his ruthless cohort of killers? Keep reading for a comprehensive breakdown of season 2’s climactic ending and what it could mean for season 3. Warning: serious spoilers ahead.

Squid Game Season 2 Finale Explained

Gi-hun stages a small rebellion against the soldiers, stealing their guns and killing them all except for one, whom they use to lead them to the control room. A shoot-out ensues, and many lives are lost. Gi-hun and Jang-bae get close to the control room, but the Front Man kills Jang-bae in front of Gi-hun.

Section 1 of 6:

How did Squid Game season 2 end?

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Ahead of the final vote to either stay and keep playing the games or to leave while they still can, Gi-hun proposes the idea of a mutiny against those in command. Gi-hun devises a plan to wait until a fight breaks out between the Os, or the players who voted to stay, and the Xs, the players who voted to leave. Then, Gi-hun and a small group of willing participants hide while the fight breaks out. When the soldiers step in to break it up, Gi-hun’s group pretends to be dead, proceeds to take their guns, and shoots all the soldiers except for one. They use the last remaining soldier to guide them up to the control room.^{[1]
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Gi-hun’s rebel group shoot their way to the control room, with many lives lost. As the rebel group tries to move toward the control room, a shootout ensues between the soldiers and the players. The soldiers have an advantage in terms of ammunition as the rebel group quickly begins running out. Hyun-ju sends Dae-ho back to the sleeping quarters so he can retrieve more ammunition from the bodies of the dead soldiers left behind. However, Dae-ho seems to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and has a crippling episode that keeps him from returning to the rebel group with the magazines.
- Hyun-ju returns to the sleeping quarters and finds Dae-ho in a state of shock.
- She gathers ammo and tries to returns to the rebel group, but Geum-ja keeps her from returning as it's clear that the rebel group is losing and she’d only be going back to die.
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The Front Man, or In-ho, has been disguising himself as a player all along, and agrees to join Gi-hun’s rebel group, forced to sacrifice a few of his men during the shootout to prove his loyalty to the rebel cause. However, as soon as Gi-hun and Jung-bae get close to the control room, In-ho calls Gi-hun over the walkie-talkie and fakes his own death, apologizing to Gi-hun and telling him that “it’s over.” Then, he resumes the identity of the Front Man and confronts Gi-hun and Jung-bae with his mask on.^{[2]
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As they approach the control room, Gi-hun and Jung-bae are the only ones from the rebel group left standing. The Front Man approaches them, and taunts Gi-hun, asking him if he had “fun playing the hero.” Then, the Front Man shoots Jung-bae in the head, causing Gi-hun to cry out. Gi-hun’s rebellion has failed and he is clearly devastated by the loss of his best friend.

Section 2 of 6:

Squid Game Season 2 Ending Explained

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Season 2 may be trying to reinforce the Front Man’s bleak worldview. Since Season 1 of Squid Game, the main conflict between Gi-hun and the Front Man has revolved around their perceptions of humanity. The Front Man is the ultimate diabolical villain, driven by cynicism in what he believes to be a corrupt, greedy world. Although he seems to wholeheartedly believe this from a practical and philosophical standpoint, it’s also convenient that his bleak worldview supports his role as the head of the sinister organization behind the games. Gi-hun, on the other hand, believes people to be innately good, although the choices made by the players in Season 2 continue to threaten that theory.
- At the end of Season 2, the Front Man wins, killing Jung-bae in front of Gi-hun and sending him into a dark downward spiral.
- This could be a segue to the final season, potentially setting up Gi-hun to act out of character in the wake of his grief and prove the Front Man right.

Section 3 of 6:

What does the Squid Game Season 2 mid-credits scene mean?

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The mid-credits scene suggests that the games will continue in an even more intense way. After the credits begin rolling, we see a scene featuring 3 players: 096, 100, and 353. They’re seen in a room with a sunset background and the trademark Red Light, Green Light doll in the center. Then, the red light turns green, signaling that the game is beginning. Finally, the scene fades to black, and we see a title card announcing season 3 coming soon.^{[3]
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- This mid-credits scene implies that the games will continue and that the players who voted “O” won over the players who wanted to stop and voted “X.”
- The continuation of the games in the aftermath of what we are led to believe is a failed rebellion by Gi-hun further hints that the games will only grow more dangerous, intense, and difficult.

Section 4 of 6:

Critical Response to Season 2

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Critics had mixed opinions on the success of Season 2. Squid Game Season 2 has a rating of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is favorable. However, it’s still notably lower than season one’s rating of 95%. Many critics voiced disappointment over season two’s plot development, which felt very slow at first and later appeared to struggle when tying up loose ends. One critic remarked that “nothing new or creative happens” in episodes 2-6, and that season 2 was “creatively bankrupt.”^{[4]
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- Some critics felt that the narrative was redundant and lackluster, since viewers are met with the same win-or-die games presented in season 1 and the same shock and horror that ensued.
- Other critics did not appreciate the sub-plot involving Soldier 11 who escaped North Korea. The soldier was revealed to be a woman, who refused to let injured players live so that their organs may be sold on the black market.
  - Although this sub-plot sparked the interest of audiences, it played no real role in the season’s final episode, leaving viewers to wonder why it was introduced in the first place.

Section 5 of 6:

How Fans Reacted to the Season 2 Finale

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Fans of the show didn’t enjoy the season 2 as much as they did season 1. Although the Rotten Tomato score for season 2 is 83%, the platform’s Popcorn meter, which ranks shows and movies based on audience opinions, was only 63%. This signals a significant drop from the Popcorn rating of season 1, which was 84%. In general, audiences were disappointed by the short, 7-episode arc, which they felt was slow to start and struggled to find its focus. Additionally, viewers agreed that some episodes felt like filler.^{[5]
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- Other viewers complained that the new characters weren’t likable and that they had no one to root for.
- As far as the games, many of them were repeats from season 1 and fans found that they brought nothing new or exciting to the table.^{[6]
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- Some viewers did enjoy the boat crew sub-plot as well as getting to see behind the scenes into the soldiers’ lives, but felt that these storylines unfortunately did not reach any sort of climax.
- In essence, many fans thought season 2 failed to deliver the same high-stakes intensity as season 1 and was filmed simply as a necessary stepping stone toward the show’s final act in season 3.

Section 6 of 6:

Final Takeaways

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Season 2 ends with a failed rebellion and morale at an all-time low. Gi-hun’s rebellion fails, and many players lose their lives in the process, including Jung-bae, Gi-hun’s best friend. It’s possible that the season ends on such a bleak note in order to set viewers up for season 3, during which Gi-hun may act aggressively and out of character as a result of his despair. The mid-credits scene reveals that the games will indeed continue, with more violence and carnage to come.^{[7]
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- The show’s final season is set to premiere on Netflix in June 2025.

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