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Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Squid Game Season 3. Reader discretion is advised.
Hwang Dong-hyuk's Squid Game Season 3 premiered with another signature gift box. But much to everyone's surprise, it had none other than Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), who was thankfully alive.
Soon after, the pink-masked guards arrived in the dormitory to reveal that a total of 35 players were eliminated (killed) during the players' revolt in the Season 2 finale, including Gi-hun's friend Jung-bae.
This was enough to prompt suspicion against Gi-hun, and the majority of the remaining players blamed him for the players' deaths and accused him of being in cahoots with The Front Man (Lee Byung-hyun) and keeping all the prize money for himself.
Squid Game Season 3 opened with the lingering question of why the Front Man kept Gi-hun alive after the players' revolt, when he was right in front of him.
Eliminating Gi-hun would not only ensure the smooth commencement of the remaining games, but it would also have stopped the rebellion brewing between some players.
However, as the final season of the show progressed, it was made clear why the Front Man kept Gi-hun alive.
More on this in our story.
Disclaimer: This article is based on the author's opinion. Reader discretion is advised.
Squid Game Season 3: Exploring the Front Man's motives in keeping Gi-hun alive after the players' revolt
Squid Game Season 3 saw a turning point just before the final game, where Gi-hun is taken into the Front Man's room and he finally reveals his identity to him. While Gi-hun is visibly shocked that the Front Man is none other than Player 001, he is presented with an opportunity.
The Front Man gives a sharp knife to Gi-hun and advises him to kill all the remaining players before the final game, ensuring his and Jun-hee's baby's safety.
While Gi-hun contemplates the decision, the Front Man sees him through his monitor and reminisces about his own time in the game when the Old Man (Player 001 from Season 2) presented him with the same opportunity. It was revealed that he succumbed to the old man's temptation and killed the remaining players in cold blood while they were fast asleep, emerging as the winner.
While Hwang In-ho became the Front Man, he was clearly guilty about his actions and wanted to see which path Gi-hun would choose. After hosting the games for many years, the Front Man had lost faith in humanity, and he somehow wanted to justify his actions through Gi-hun.
After the players' revolt, the Front Man kept Gi-hun alive because he wanted to test his endurance and how long his faith in humanity would last. While he anticipated that Gi-hun would also take his path, Gi-hun broke the cycle of violence and did not kill the players.
Dong-hyuk leaves the viewers with some larger questions about humanity in the Squid Game Season 3 finale through Gi-hun. Even when all odds were against him, he chose to break the cycle and sacrifice himself for Jun-hee's baby, choosing the opposite path to the Front Man and the rest of the players.
The Front Man somehow felt guilty for his past actions and wanted to test Gi-hun by putting him in that same precarious situation. Instead, as Dong-hyuk discussed with Netflix's Tudum, Gi-hun sacrificed everything:
“Gi-hun’s self-sacrifice to save the baby is the message we need to hear today. This character, who is thrust into the game, endures everything, and then jumps back in to end it, is the one who should deliver this message.”
This sacrifice not only saved Jun-hee's baby, but the Front Man set the island on fire in the Squid Game Season 3 finale, suggesting that Gi-hun's death eventually put an end to the game and the system.
In addition, he delivers Jun-hee's baby to Jun-ho and Gi-hun's prize money to his daughter in LA, suggesting the 'last remaining piece of humanity' inside him, as Byung-hyun told Tudum:
“That actually highlighted the fact that he has that last remaining piece of humanity deep down somewhere. That’s the agreement that director Hwang and I came to. That’s how I played my character. Front Man has that last piece of benevolence remaining inside of him.”
Squid Game Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.
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