Will Gi-Hun finish the games in Squid Game Season 3? Here's how we think the Season 2 cliffhanger will play out

After that terrifying second season of Squid Game, viewers were left with a gut-punch of an ending—Gi-hun, the original triumphant player turned reluctant revolutionary, had ended up where he began: stuck in the fatal game he vowed to destroy.

Things are different now. The playing field has changed, alliances have broken down, and Gi-hun isn't merely fighting to live; he's determined to take down the system from the inside.

Season 2 didn't end in triumph or resolution. Instead, it offered a bitter lesson in how entrenched the game's framework truly is. The uprising Gi-hun attempted to spark failed; the Front Man killed his best friend Jung-bae, and the system remained intact.

Now, with Squid Game Season 3 officially set to release on June 27, 2025, viewers are left to wonder: Will Gi-hun truly complete the games?

Have a look at the official teaser:

The collapse of the rebellion

Season 2 of Squid Game built up towards an internal rebellion. Gi-hun, who had been a passive agent, returned on a mission of his own: to destroy the game's masters. Alongside Jung-bae—a new protagonist who immediately became his most valuable ally—they struggled to expose the decadence behind the spectacle. Yet, despite their desires, their rebellion crumbled.

By the end of Season 2, Jung-bae is murdered by the Front Man in a cold, calculated act. It is not just a loss—it is a formative trauma. With the rebellion defeated and trust destroyed, Gi-hun feels broken and alone, compelled to play the very system he sought to overthrow.

A grudging comeback to the games in Squid Game Season 3

Rather than escaping or going underground, Gi-hun is dragged back into the nightmare in Squid Game Season 3. However, this is not the same man who clung to life out of desperation. Season 3 begins with Gi-hun returning to the games with a motivation that goes far beyond survival. According to official teasers and Netflix's press release, he's now determined to shut down the game completely—even if that means he might not survive.

This change rewrites the entire premise of the show. Gi-hun's journey has shifted from being a player to becoming a disruptor of the system. He's not there to win money; he's there to dismantle the rules.

Netflix has confirmed that Squid Game Season 3 will be the last. Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk said that this is the end of Gi-hun's journey. This knowledge casts a dark shadow over every scene from here on out. The end is approaching, and it's coming quickly.

This also implies that Season 3 must answer the central questions raised throughout the show: power, inequality, corruption, and human life. Regardless of whether Gi-hun wins or not, his choices will probably dictate whether the game ends with him or goes on without him.

A new game, A new set of rules

The Squid Game Season 3 teasers assure us that the game structure has been altered. One of the key additions is a gumball machine that assigns players to random teams. This seemingly lighthearted detail has profound consequences. It stops long-term alliances, promotes distrust, and introduces an element of randomness that might ruin any plans Gi-hun attempts to make.

This format change is a reaction from the creators—an effort to plug the loopholes that enabled Gi-hun to make deals and strategize in Season 1. It indicates how the system is catching up and evolving, as is he.

The front man's role as the central antagonist in Squid Game Season 3

One constant that is present in Squid Game Season 3 is the Front Man. His ideological confrontation with Gi-hun will be the center of Season 3. Where Season 1 cast the Front Man as an enigma, and Season 2 fleshed out more of his complicated past, Season 3 sets him up as a clear antagonist.

Jung-bae's murder at his hands in Season 2 wasn't only strategic—it was personal. It might lead to a showdown between two men who both survived the game once, but went in very different directions afterwards. Their fight is no longer about domination but what it means to rebel or conform.

Gi-Hun's quest is no longer about survival

The most significant change in Squid Game Season 3 up to this point is Gi-hun himself. He's no longer playing to win. His aim has changed from survival to legacy. As the games become more difficult to control or predict, Gi-hun is presented with decisions that can either save his life or bring down the entire operation.

Season 3's storyline will most likely center around this conflict: personal security and the greater good. In the Squid Game universe, prioritizing the greater good has never come without its sacrifices. Gi-hun appears to be ready to make that sacrifice.

Will he complete the games—or end them?

The "finish the games" in Squid Game Season 3 refers to a new meaning at the tail end of the last season. It does not necessarily mean enduring until the final round or winning the prize. For Gi-hun, completing the games could mean having them come to an end—irrevocably. Whether that is done by subversion, revelation, or sacrifice is yet to be determined.

The setup is evolving. The stakes are higher. The end is imminent, and Gi-hun is marching right into the lion's den with eyes wide open.

Gi-hun in Squid Game Season 3 isn't the same guy we knew in Season 1. After a rebellion that falls apart, losing his best friend, and a system that gets stronger faster than it falls apart, he comes to Squid Game Season 3 with a goal much riskier than survival. The games are more difficult. The contestants are cut off. And the ultimate showdown with the Front Man will be more than anything physical.

Squid Game Season 3 is not about who wins. It's about who dares to break the cycle—and if one man can do it alone.