Squid Game Season 3 brought Hwang Dong-hyuk's brutal vision to its conclusion with 7 episodes that answered long-standing questions while delivering the series' most intense games yet. Released on June 27, 2025, the final season drew 145.4 million views in its first month, cementing the show's place as Netflix's most-watched series ever.
This guide breaks down every episode, every game, and every major plot point. Full spoilers ahead—if you haven't watched, experience the finale first and come back.
Episode 1: "The Return"
The season opens three years after Season 2's cliffhanger. Gi-hun has been training, planning, and recruiting. His red hair is gone—replaced by determination and a dangerous edge we haven't seen before.
- Gi-hun enters the games again, this time with a plan
- New players introduced, each with compelling backstories
- The first hints of dissent among the pink soldiers
- A shocking return of a familiar face
The episode masterfully balances setup with tension, reminding us why we fell in love with this show while promising the stakes are higher than ever.
Episode 2: "Hide and Seek"
The first game of Season 3 subverts expectations brilliantly. Instead of running from the doll, players must hide from roaming hunters in a massive warehouse filled with containers.
- Players have 10 minutes to hide
- Hunters (masked guards) search for 20 minutes
- Anyone found is eliminated
- Last 100 players advance
Death Toll: 287 players eliminated
The game becomes a commentary on class—wealthy players bribed guards for hiding spots, while others formed human shields. Gi-hun's strategy of constant movement rather than hiding proved genius.
Test Your Survival Skills
Experience this game yourself - can you survive?
Episodes 3-4: "Trust" and "Betrayal"
These paired episodes form the emotional core of the season. A trust-based game forces players into groups of five, where one member must be sacrificed each round based on group vote.
The Twist: The sacrificed player doesn't die—they're moved to a separate game where survival is possible but brutal. This creates an agonizing dynamic where players must decide: sacrifice themselves for their group, or condemn someone else to unknown horrors?
Gi-hun faces his greatest test when he's forced to vote against someone who saved his life earlier. The show doesn't let him off easy—there are no clean choices.
Episode 5: "Jump Rope"
The most physically demanding game yet. Teams of two must complete increasingly complex jump rope patterns while the rope speeds up every 30 seconds.
Death Toll: 84 players eliminated
What makes this episode memorable isn't just the game—it's the revelation about the Front Man's past. We finally learn what happened during his year as a player, and it recontextualizes everything we thought we knew about In-ho.
The VIP subplot also reaches its climax here, with consequences that ripple through the remaining episodes.
Episode 6: "The Choice"
A quieter episode that builds to an explosive finale. The remaining 32 players are given a choice: vote to end the games and split the current prize equally, or continue for the full amount.
The Vote: 17-15 to continue
But here's the twist—Gi-hun voted to continue. His plan requires reaching the final game, and he can't stop the system from outside. This decision costs him allies and forces the audience to question whether the games have changed him.
The episode ends with the Front Man removing his mask for Gi-hun alone, and the confrontation we've been waiting three seasons for finally begins.
Episode 7: "Sky Squid Game" (Finale)
The 90-minute finale delivers everything promised and more. The final game is Squid Game itself—but played on a glass platform suspended 100 meters in the air, with the boundaries marked by sensors rather than lines.
Final Players: Gi-hun vs. the Front Man himself
Yes, In-ho enters the game as a player. The confrontation between ideology and action, between hope and cynicism, plays out in the most visceral way possible.
The Ending (Major Spoilers): The final ten minutes redefine what we thought the show was about. Without spoiling the specific outcome, the ending is neither fully hopeful nor entirely bleak—it's honest. The system doesn't fall in a day, but cracks have formed.
The Cate Blanchett cameo as the American Recruiter in the post-credits scene confirms the games aren't confined to Korea, setting up potential spin-offs while providing closure to this story.
Test Your Season 3 Knowledge
Experience this game yourself - can you survive?
Final Verdict
Season 3 succeeds where many finales fail—it honors what came before while taking risks. The new games feel fresh yet thematically connected. The character arcs reach satisfying conclusions without feeling forced. And the ending trusts its audience to sit with ambiguity rather than wrapping everything in a bow.
This is how you end a phenomenon.