Squid Game Season 3 Ending Explained: Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, 오징어게임 시즌3 features a star-studded cast including Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun, Lee Byung-hun as In-ho aka the Front Man, Wi Ha-joon as Jun-ho, Kang Ha-neul as Kang Dae-ho, Park Gyu-young as Kang No-eul, Yim Si-wan as Lee Myeong-gi, Park Sung-hoon as Cho Hyeon-ju, Jo Yu-ri as Kim Jun-hui and others. Raced through in a mere six episodes, the season flies by and is packed with heartbreak, violence and sacrifice. The finale leaves more than a few questions dangling for readers to consider — and here’s a complete breakdown of how it all ends.
Warning: End of Squid Game Season 3 Explained – Contains Major Spoilers
The Squid Game final season begins right after the horrifying rebellion in Season 2 fails. Gi-hun, once full of fire and hope, is now emotionally destroyed. Watching his fellow rebels die left him with nothing but guilt. His punishment? Living with the haunting memories of those he couldn’t save. Although he continues playing the deadly games, his spirit is gone. His only remaining purpose is to protect Jun-hee’s newborn baby.
Meanwhile, Kang No-eul, who has secret motives, is also introduced as a mysterious guard on a mission of death. She saves fellow player Park Gyeong-seok when she feigns being shot, sneaks him into the operating room and kills the guards to save him. However, when Gyeong-seok tries to betray her to the VIPs so that he can escape, she has to submit at least temporarily. Detective Jun-ho is also back and more determined than ever to find the island and stop the Squid Game once and for all.
Squid Game Season 3 Ending Explained
How Did Hyun-ju and Young-sik Die?
The Keys and Knives game brought out both the best and worst in the remaining players. In one of the most emotional scenes of the season, Hyun-ju, who had the chance to save herself, chose instead to go back and help Jun-hee, who was in labor, and Geum-ja, the elderly woman helping with the delivery. Hyun-ju found the exit door but returned to guide the others, putting their lives ahead of her own.
But just when hope seemed possible, Lee Myung-gi, unaware of what Hyun-ju had done, stabbed and killed her, thinking she was just another competitor in his way. This tragic moment showed how the twisted structure of the game punished even the most selfless acts.
Meanwhile, Geum-ja’s son, Young-sik, shocked everyone by turning on Jun-hee, threatening to kill her during the escape. In a devastating twist, Geum-ja was forced to kill her own son to protect Jun-hee and the newborn baby. Her heartbreak was evident, and this moment marked a deep emotional turning point for her character.
Why Did Geum-ja and Jun-hee Sacrifice Themselves?
After killing her son, Geum-ja is consumed by guilt. She tells Gi-hun to protect Jun-hee and the baby, and the next day, the players find she has taken her own life. Her final act shows her deep humanity in a world that had stripped so many of their morals.
In the next game, “Jump the Rope,” the challenge is to cross a narrow bridge while jumping over a moving bar. It’s especially deadly for Jun-hee, who is now injured and carrying her baby. Gi-hun takes the baby to save it but can’t return in time. Knowing she can’t survive, Jun-hee jumps to her death, trusting Gi-hun to protect her daughter.
Did Gi-hun Succeed in His Revenge by Stopping the Game?
The final game, “Sky Squid Game,” is the season’s most shocking moment. Players must push others off three high-rise structures to advance. If they don’t kill, they don’t move forward. Only Gi-hun aka Player 456, Myung-gi Player 333, and the baby aka Player 222’s daughter are left in the end.
In-ho reveals himself to Gi-hun and offers him a way out—kill the others and walk away with the baby and the prize money. Gi-hun refuses, proving that unlike In-ho, his soul hasn’t been corrupted.
Myung-gi, the baby’s real father, pretends to protect the child but turns against Gi-hun. A brutal fight follows. Gi-hun wins by throwing Myung-gi off the final tower—but forgets to press the buzzer that confirms the kill. This means Gi-hun now has to kill the baby to finish the game.
As the VIPs watch in anticipation, certain he’ll do it for the money, Gi-hun shocks them all. He whispers, “We’re not horses”, and jumps off the tower, ending his own life. By doing so, he saves the baby. So, no Gi-hun did not stop the game; the Squid Game continues. But his final act of selflessness is his revenge—a message to the creators that humanity still exists.
Who wins Squid Game Season 3?
Surprisingly, the Winner of Squid Game Season 3 isn’t a scheming adult, but a newborn baby—the daughter of Jun-hee. With Gi-hun and Myung-gi dead, she is the last remaining participant.
This poetic twist, where the most innocent soul triumphs over a world filled with greed and bloodshed, closes the chapter on Squid Game in the most unexpected way. It’s both heartwarming and haunting, a reminder that hope sometimes survives even the darkest games.
Did Hwang Jun-ho Make It to the Island?
Detective Jun-ho spends the season tracking down the Squid Game’s secret location. Suspicious of Captain Park on his team, he investigates and discovers that Park is working with the game organisers.
After a deadly confrontation, Jun-ho kills Park and survives. He later finds Player 246, Gyeong-seok, injured at sea—he had escaped with No-eul’s help. Using this information, Jun-ho finally locates the island and arrives just after Gi-hun’s death.
He sees his brother, In-ho, standing with the baby. Though filled with rage, he doesn’t shoot, because of the child. Instead, In-ho takes Gi-hun’s belongings and later delivers the baby and prize money to Jun-ho’s home. So yes, Jun-ho finds the island, but just like Gi-hun, he doesn’t get the closure he was hoping for—yet.
What Happened to Kang No-eul?
Kang No-eul has one of the most touching arcs in Squid Game Season 3. Initially a guard working inside the system, she turns against it after discovering the horrific truth—organ trafficking, child endangerment, and pure evil. Her bond with Gyeong-seok grows after she learns he has a terminally ill daughter, and she helps him escape.
No-eul returns to the island to create a distraction, allowing Gyeong-seok to survive. She fights off the Masked Officer and kills him, even after being stabbed herself. At the end of the season, she receives a call from a man in China who tells her that her own daughter might still be alive. With renewed hope, No-eul boards a flight to China, leaving viewers with a sense of purpose and unfinished business.
Also Read: Squid Game Season 3 Review: Violent, Revengeful and an Ending That Almost Hits the Mark
What happened in The Squid Game Season 3 Ending?
Season 3 of Squid Game ends in a mix of devastation, death and peaceful revelations. Jun-ho returns home tired and forever altered by all that he’s witnessed. In shock, he finds that Jun-hee’s child is abandoned at their home, and an exceedingly large sum of money is deposited into a bank. It is unclear who left the child behind.
In a sweeping finale, In-ho sees a woman playing ddakji in the streets — this time, Cate Blanchett in a cameo role as a recruiter for a new organisation. It is a hauntingly brief vision that, while this part of the game might be concluded, the cycle perhaps never will be.
They leave us with more anguish than closure. Gi-hun’s self-sacrifice is poignant but does not bring down the whole system. Jun-ho finds answers but not justice. But Kang No-eul survives, and her story is hardly over. The finale leaves little to the imagination: even when humans resist, the machine driving the game continues to churn. It does provide some closure in some of the stories, but the ending of Squid Game Season 3 leaves us with a question mark — can the game actually ever end, or will it go on somehow with fresh players and fresh victims?
Squid Game Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.
