Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Squid Game season 3!Squid Gameseason 3 included the show’s most controversial death, but it made complete sense - the series couldn’t have ended any other way.ThroughoutSquid Gameseason 3, major characters are killed off as the games progress, leading up to the final round, Sky Squid Game, with only a handful of players remaining.
It’s here thatSquid Gameseason 3’s most tragic deathhappens. After Myung-gi falls before he or Gi-hun can press the button to start the final round, the protagonist is faced with an impossible choice. He can either drop Jun-hee’s baby, or sacrifice himself. Ultimately,Squid Gameseason 3 endswith Gi-hun dying, so the child can live.
Gi-hun’s Death In Squid Game Season 3 Has Been Polarizing
Not Everyone Agrees It Was The Right Fate For His Character
Gi-hun’s sacrifice has become part of the polarizing conversation surrounding the final season of the show. WhileSquid Gameseason 3 reviewsfrom critics have been positive, audience reception has been more mixed. As of writing,the season’s Rotten Tomatoes scores are 78% from critics and 50% from audiences. Many factors created this divide, Gi-hun’s death being one of them.
Despite originally rejoining the games to put an end to them,he was instead forced to participate once again as a regular contestant. This was after his original plan of having Jun-ho track him using a fake tooth fell through, meaning he’d need to survive as long as possible. Even so, he was determined to get as many people to live as he could.
However,season 3 showed he wasn’t going to be able to achieve his goal, as the number of survivors slowly started to dwindle. This, coupled with his death at the end of the season, has resulted in mixed reception toward the way his story ended. However, the way Gi-hun’s story played out makes complete sense for the show’s grand finale.
Gi-hun Was Never Going To Stop The Games
Despite His Attempt, The Games Are Just Too Big To End
Gi-hun also already tried directly instigating a coup against the Front Man at the end ofSquid Gameseason 2.
The Netflix series telegraphed early on that Gi-hun was never going to be able to completely stop the games by participating in them. Season 1 introduced the VIPs who appear to be from English-speaking countries, signalingthe games are much bigger than the ones being held in South Korea.This made stopping them for good next to impossible.
Gi-hun also already tried directly instigating a coup against the Front Man at theend ofSquid Gameseason 2. This resulted in Jung-bae and many other players getting killed. While this may have offered potential for the protagonist to pull himself up from his lowest point,the show was realistic in showcasing how big an obstacle the games are.
This is further emphasized by the show’s final scene, which reveals the games are also happening in the United States. They’re a global phenomenon, meaning that,even if Gi-hun had killed the Front Man, those truly running the game would have simply replaced him. But his hopeful endeavor was never really the true point of his return to the games.
Gi-hun Won His Ideological Battle With The Front Man
He Chose His Humanity Over His Survival
Even though he arrived trying to stop the games, the true battle in seasons 2 and 3 wasGi-hun’s ideology facing up against the Front Man’s.The protagonist still had unwavering faith in humanity despite the evils people are capable of. As for the Front Man, he believed people were akin to the horses Gi-hun used to bet on.
The Front Man’s planwas to break Gi-hun, believing that, in dire enough circumstances, he would turn against his foundational principles and become just as selfish as the more ruthless players in the game.He even gave Gi-hun a knife to kill other players in their sleep, which would have guaranteed he’d win and Jun-hee’s baby would be protected.
Instead,Gi-hun did what the Front Man couldn’t, allowing the final game to progress. While he died because of this, making his sacrifice a Pyrric victory, he stayed true to his beliefs up until the very end. The antagonist was unable to break down his humanity, with Gi-hun unwilling to make an inhumane choice that would have saved his life.
Why Gi-hun’s Death Is A Fitting End To His Story
When Push Came To Shove, He Stayed True To His Values
Despite his death,Gi-hun’s sacrifice was a necessary part of showing the Front Man he’s wrong about humanity. Gi-hun’s dark turn inSquid Gameseason 3 already happened when he killed Dae-ho. Had he dropped Jun-hee’s baby, he would have sacrificed the last bit of humanity he had, murdering a child to save his own life.
Instead, he allowed himself to fall,even ending by saying that people are not horses as the Front Man had proclaimed. While he didn’t stop the games, a task that was going to be impossible once his plan started falling apart, he did showcase that not everyone could be corrupted by money and self-preservation, choosing the greater good instead.
Gi-hun proving the Front Man wrong likely influenced him to give his remaining winnings to his daughter.
The show also made it apparent that, even if he did survive the games,he never would have been able to stop himself from continuing to try and take them down. Now that the Front Man knew he was a viable threat, he may have even been killed anyway when he left. This outcome may have been all Gi-hun had.
Dying was the only way to guarantee Jun-hee’s baby would live, while also proving his belief in the future of humanity. This justifies Gi-hun’s death inSquid Gameseason 3, as his sacrifice symbolizes just how much faith he still has in people. Even though he couldn’t stop the game, he still guaranteed someone else survived.
