Season 3, Episode 6, titled “Humans Are…,” directed and written by Hwang Dong-hyuk, serves as both the season and series finale of Squid Game, marking the end of Korea’s Squid Games—for now. The series, which began with a groundbreaking first season, went through a more divisive second season, but ultimately delivers a conclusive and emotionally resonant ending in its third. The final moments also tease the future of the franchise, with the next iteration set in America. This was confirmed back in October 2024, when David Fincher was announced as director and producer. Fincher is believed to have been involved in the project since 2021, and while anticipation is high, there is understandable concern over how he will handle the legacy that Director Hwang Dong-hyuk so meticulously built.
The central theme of the finale is sacrifice. Gi-hun has consistently demonstrated that goodness still exists within humanity when people are given the opportunity to act on it. The world remains corrupt because evil, greed, and selfishness dominate systems of power, wealth, and influence, embodied in figures like the VIPs and the Front Man. However, this does not mean that all wealthy individuals are inherently evil. Gi-hun’s ultimate sacrifice to save Jun-hee’s newborn daughter—an innocent born into a world of violence and cruelty—becomes the decisive moment. It serves as the final blow to the Front Man’s cynical, nihilistic worldview that humanity is beyond redemption. The irony lies in the Front Man’s hypocrisy, as he repeatedly breaks his own twisted philosophy to inflict suffering for the pleasure of the VIPs and his masters. His belief system is exposed as nothing more than a hollow justification for his sadism.
The Final Round
Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) is forced to confront Myung-gi (Im Si-wan) in the final round of Sky Squid Game after learning that Myung-gi intends to abandon him on the triangle tower and sacrifice his own child in order to win. Myung-gi, a manipulative liar who masks his selfishness behind fake compassion, has always chosen wealth over love and family. The fight ends with Myung-gi falling to his death. However, since neither player had pressed the button to officially start the final round, his death failed to meet the requirements for ending the game.
Gi-hun, faced with a moral dilemma, chooses to make a final statement about the goodness that still remains in humanity. He decides to sacrifice himself so that Jun-hee’s baby may live and inherit the prize money. Pressing the button to begin the final round, Gi-hun then throws himself from the circle tower. He is unable to stop the games or save the other players of the 37th Squid Game, but he succeeds in saving one innocent life.
His death deeply affects the Front Man, who quietly acknowledges his own failure. He expresses subtle shame that Gi-hun died a hero while he, In-ho, continued living as the villain. Yet In-ho refuses redemption. He carries out his duties, evacuating the island with the VIPs, Pink Guards, and remaining staff before initiating the site’s destruction.
Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) arrives too late and confronts his brother, demanding to know why In-ho continues to carry out such atrocities. In-ho gives no reply. In the end, only a few survive: Jun-ho escapes the island, No-eul (Park Gyu-young) helps Gyeong-seok (Lee Jin-wook) escape, and those responsible for the Squid Games vanish into the shadows once more.
The American Squid Games
Six months later, Gyeong-seok, despite not winning the prize money, is able to raise enough funds with the help of his community to pay for his daughter’s treatment. Na-yeon (Park Ye-bom) is now living a joyful life with her devoted father. No-eul, overjoyed for them, receives hopeful news that her own daughter may be alive in China, prompting her to embark on a new journey to find her.
Meanwhile, Jun-ho returns home after retrieving Woo-seok (Jeon Seok-ho), who has been released from prison. There, Jun-ho finds Jun-hee’s baby wrapped in her Player 222 coat, alongside a credit card containing the ₩45.6 billion won prize money—approximately $33.4 million USD. Woo-seok later announces his plans to transform the Pink Motel, where Gi-hun once stayed, into a legitimate hotel inspired by the grandeur of Las Vegas. He is determined to live an honest life from this point on.
Elsewhere, the Front Man arrives in Los Angeles, California. He visits the home of Gi-hun’s estranged daughter, Seong Ga-yeong (Jo A-in), to deliver her father’s Player 456 coat, still stained with blood, along with the credit card holding the prize money. Though it appears to be a gesture of closure, it is in truth a cruel act. Ga-yeong, upon seeing the blood-stained coat, immediately understands the tragic nature of her father’s death. The prize money, stained by blood and betrayal, offers no comfort. It is a twisted gift from a man so detached from humanity that even this moment of supposed kindness becomes a symbol of cold indifference.
The Front Man leaves without a word, allowing Ga-yeong to process her grief alone. As he departs in a sleek black car, he passes an alley where a new Recruiter, portrayed by Cate Blanchett, is seen playing Ddakji with a homeless man. The use of Ddakji—a distinctly Korean game—in an American context suggests that the methods and rituals of the Squid Games have transcended borders. The Recruiter briefly locks eyes with the Front Man, suggesting either that In-ho is now overseeing the American Squid Games or that all Recruiters are aware of the identities of their regional Front Men.
Rating: 9/10