Squid Game ended as it began—with blood, sacrifice, and an impossible choice. But this time, the blood was Gi-hun's. After three seasons of fighting the games, Seong Gi-hun died in the finale. His death wasn't an accident or a twist—it was the only way his story could end.
Here's why Gi-hun had to die, who actually won the games, and what the ending really means.
Why Gi-hun Had to Die
The Trap He Built From Season 2, Gi-hun's plan was self-destructive. He returned to the games not to win, but to destroy them. That mission was always going to cost everything.
The Character Arc Gi-hun's guilt over Season 1 never healed. He won by letting others die. Every choice he made afterward was trying to balance that moral debt—a debt that could never truly be paid.
What His Death Represents Gi-hun dying proves something the show has argued from the start: you cannot beat the system by playing the system's game. The games were designed so that winning means losing your humanity. Gi-hun refused that trade-off, and it killed him.
The Alternative If Gi-hun had lived and "won," what would that mean? Another corrupt billionaire? Another traumatized survivor? His death is freedom from the cycle.
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Who Actually Won: The Baby Theory Explained
The Twist In a deliberately provocative choice, the "winner" of the final game is a baby—the child of two players who both died protecting them. The prize money goes into a trust for this infant.
Why This Matters The baby represents pure innocence. They never competed, never made terrible choices, never betrayed anyone. They "won" because others sacrificed for them.
The Message Hwang Dong-hyuk is saying something profound: the only winners in systems of exploitation are those who never participate. The baby didn't play the game—they were protected from it.
The Trust The 45.6 billion won goes to a managed trust that will provide for the child. But will that money be a blessing or a curse? The show leaves this ambiguous.
Breaking the Cycle Unlike Gi-hun's win, which perpetuated his trauma, the baby's "win" offers hope that wealth could be used differently. The next generation might choose better.
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The Front Man's Choice
In-ho's Arc Hwang In-ho, the Front Man, has the most surprising arc. His brother's final words force him to remember who he was before the games consumed him.
The Final Moment In-ho's last act is one of sabotage. He allows the baby to survive when protocol demanded elimination. It's not redemption—too much blood on his hands for that—but it's acknowledgment that the games are wrong.
Why He Did It In-ho saw himself in Gi-hun—a man destroyed by the games even while "winning." Choosing to let the cycle break was choosing to reject everything he'd become.
His Fate In-ho's ending is left ambiguous. Did he face consequences for his betrayal? Does he survive? The show suggests it doesn't matter—what matters is the choice.
What the Ending Really Means
The Show's Thesis From episode one, Squid Game argued that capitalism creates games with rigged odds. Season 3's ending drives this home: the only winning move is not to play.
Gi-hun's Legacy By dying, Gi-hun becomes a martyr. His sacrifice exposes the games in ways survival never could. His death is played on global media, and the games can no longer hide.
The Future The games don't end with Season 3. The closing montage shows other games continuing worldwide. But awareness is growing. Resistance is building.
Hope or Despair? Is this a hopeful or bleak ending? Both. The games continue, but so does opposition. Gi-hun died, but the baby lives. The cycle broke once—it can break again.
Hwang's Statement "I didn't want to give audiences the easy victory. The games are capitalism. You can't defeat capitalism by winning at capitalism. You defeat it by refusing its terms."
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