The Korean drama series
Squid Game Of Netflix
has a twist-filled ending that promises much more, but viewers may need an explanation of events ahead of season two. The conclusion of Squid Game brings the title tournament to an emotional and tragic endechoing the themes of other critically acclaimed survival thrillers like The Hunger
Games e Battle Royale. The series' messages about wealth and survival are touching and its twists and turns will keep viewers hooked until the end of the finale.
After an entire season spent following the divorced and down-on-his-luck Seong Gi-hun in his attempts to win the Squid Games, viewers will finally get to see the result of his efforts in episode 9, “One Lucky Day.” Gi-hun is one of the many competitors submerged in debt and desperate for an escape route, even if it means participating in the deadly tournament. At the end of season 1 of
Squid Game , It will be up to Gi-hun and his childhood friend Cho Sang-woo to decide who will win the grand prize of 45.6 billion won (about 38 million dollars).
Season 1 of Squid Game is available for streaming on Netflix. The second season will debut in 2024.
Who wins the Squid Game tournament? Explanation of Gi-hun's victory
Season 1 episode 9 of
Squid Game opens with the final challenge of the tournament and
the game that Gi-hun and Sang-woo participate in gives its name to Squid Game. The game has one player on the attack, while the other takes a defensive position. The person attacking – in this case Gi-hun – must make his way into a squid-shaped field, touching the squid's head with his foot to win. Meanwhile, the defending player must try to stop him and push him off the pitch. Competitors play until one of them is no longer able to, and the game typically ends with the death of one of them.
During the final, Gi-hun and Sang-woo fight in a tense and exciting way and the VIPs watch numbly as the two violently attempt to win the prize. But while Sang-woo is about to kill Gi-hun with a knife he secretly brought, Gi-hun ultimately chooses pity over money. After gaining the upper hand and finding an opening to win, the leader of Squid
Game takes advantage of the tournament rules, which state that games can end early if the majority agrees.
Unfortunately, offering Sang-woo the chance to leave with him doesn't work for Gi-hun. His childhood friend stabs himself in the neck, making Gi-hun the eventual victor. As for why Sang-woo kills himself during the season 1 finale of Squid Game there are a couple of possible explanations. First, Sang-woo feels guilty for the lives lost during the tournament and suggests not letting them die in vain at the start of the fight between him and Gi-hun. He also knows that if he stays alive, he will return to his mother empty-handed, something he doesn't seem willing to accept.
What will happen to Hwang Jun-Ho after the Squid Game Season 1 finale
After successfully infiltrating the Squid Game tournament as a guard, police officer Hwang Jun-ho gathers evidence to bring back to his colleagues in Seoul. However, Jun-ho's attempts to expose the tournament fail and he is unable to escape the island where it is taking place. During a confrontation with the Front Man, who turns out to be his missing brother In-ho, Jun-ho is shot and left for dead. He falls off a cliff into the ocean and is never heard from again. The season 1 finale ofSquid Game does not confirm Jun-ho's fate and many have speculated that he is still alive.
Jun-ho's shoulder wound may not be fatal, but the ending of Squid Game
suggests that the tournament is still ongoing, meaning Jun-ho's trials will never make it to Seoul. However, theActor Wi Ha-joon is confirmed for the second season of Squid Game . This means that Jun-ho is one of the few characters returning in the second season of Squid
Game. While it's possible he appears in flashbacks, he may also have survived the fall. The series will have to explain what happened after his showdown with In-ho and why his trials had no impact on the deadly tournament.
Squid Game Season 1 Villain Twist Explained
You might expect the fight between Gi-hun and Sang-woo to be the most shocking moment of the season 1 finale of Squid Game but that's not the case. The season 1 finale reveals that Il-nam did not die during Marbles and was never in danger. In one of the most brilliant twists of Squid Game, the series establishes that Il-nam is the creator of the tournament. He summons Gi-hun to his bedside shortly before he dies from a brain tumor and explains that he organized the Squid Games with Front Man's help.
Il-nam is introduced as a normal player, so this revelation is shocking to both the audience and Gi-hun. When Gi-hun asks for more information about Il-nam's identity and motive, he is greeted with a harsh revelation: Il-nam is a rich man who lends money to people for a livingwhich means it's the reason why people are so desperate to participate in the Squid Games. Furthermore, he organizes the tournament because he is bored and tells Gi-hun that having too much wealth makes your life “not funny”.
This offers an impressive depiction of who Il-nam truly is, who is a far cry from the elder Gi-hun believes to be his friend. Il-nam also admits that he entered the tournament to “try something”, highlighting how empty his life is. The older man is clearly fond of deception and games, and plays one last one with Gi-hun before dying. The two make a bet during their final conversation in season 1 of Squid Game and this adds another layer of commentary to the ending.
The true meaning of Seong Gi-Hun and Oh Il-Nam's last bet
The scene that reveals Il-Nam's true identity is not only one of the best plot twists in recent K-drama history, but even the most crucial conversation of Squid Game. As the two talk one last time, Il-nam convinces Gi-hun to take one last bet. Looking from the top floor of a Seoul tower, the two see a drunk homeless man lying on the street in the cold of winter. The man will freeze to death if no one comes to get him soon. Il-nam bets Gi-hun that no one will help the man before the stroke of midnight.
Although Gi-hun dismisses the bet as nonsense, is the perfect metaphor to punctuate their subsequent conversation about the true meaning ofSquid Game. Il-nam's admission that he started and participated in the games because he and his fellow billionaires were bored with life demonstrates how the morality of the rich is often driven by ego. On the contrary, Gi-hun almost didn't touch the money he won out of guilt for participating, even though he practically had no choice. As for their final bet, Gi-hun ends up being right, as someone eventually helps the drunken man. However, Il-nam dies before he can learn from the exchange.
How the final scene of Squid Game Season 1 sets up Season 2
The Salesman makes another appearance as Gi-hun boards a train to the airport to visit his daughter in the United States. While Gi-hun fails to capture the Salesman, he confronts the person the Salesman recruited for the game, telling him not to join and taking the Squid Game card from him. As he is about to board the plane, Gi-hun calls the number on the card and is intercepted by the Front Man. Gi-hun and the Front Man exchange threats and Gi-hun decides not to board his flight. This anticipates his journey into the
second season of Squid
Gamewhich promises to see Gi-hun seeking revenge.
The first Netflix film about the next season of Squid
Game shows a further conversation between Gi-hun and the Front Man, confirming that the enemy knows he's after them. This will be an obstacle for Gi-hun's revenge in season 2, but it doesn't seem to stop him from searching for the other people behind the tournament. Fortunately, this means that
Squid Game could continue well beyond the season 1 finale, leaving plenty of questions for the show to answer.
