Squid Game Season 3 finale explained: Who wins the game?

The Netflix mega-hit Korean series Squid Game, the most-watched series globally upon release and honoured with an Emmy Award, has officially released a twisted Season 3.

With blood, tears, and sacrifices, the series finale had a melancholic ending, leaving the audience shocked and satisfied at the same time.

The first episode of the new season of the survival game thriller resumed from the fighting sequence of the previous season. The guards were picking up the dead bodies, cleaning the place, and preparing to welcome the VIPs.

In the first episode, the star of the series, Gi-hun, was screaming about why they kept him alive, but by the end of the season, Player 456 died too.

Back to the Squid Game Season 3 premiere, Seon-nyeo (Chae Kuk-hee) predicted that none of the contestants would survive.

And his prediction was true — none of the original contestants of the Squid Game survived the competition.

Instead, the winner of Squid Game was Jun-hee’s (Jo Yuri) baby, who was born in Episode 2. So, how did the series wrap up with an unexpected winner? Why did Gi-hun die despite being a pro at the games? Did the detective searching for the island reach the game location? And what happened to the games and the Frontman?

Here’s the entire explanation of Squid Game Season 3, including insights from Netflix and Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of Squid Game.

How did a baby win the Squid Game?

Player 222 gave birth to the baby during a horrendous hide-and-seek game in Episode 2. By the time of the third game, she couldn’t continue due to a sprained ankle. She handed her baby over to Gi-hun, asking him to swear to protect her, and then fell off the platform to end her life.

However, despite her mother’s death, the baby continued in the game, representing 222, along with eight more contestants, including Gi-hun and the baby’s father, Myung-gi (Yim Si-wan).

The final challenge, called Sky Squid Game, tasked players with navigating three towering structures — a square, a triangle, and a circle.

To make each elimination count, players had to push at least one rival off each tower. However, the second and third rounds only began officially once a ground-level button was pressed. The catch was that any deaths occurring outside an official round did not count.

Throughout the horrific game, contestants had their eyes on the baby girl, who was tightly wrapped in Gi-hun’s arms. Every other player tried to kill the baby, including her father, who attempted to kill her too.

Myung-gi wanted to kill the baby because, in the end, only he, Gi-hun, and the baby were left. The other players had killed each other in battle.

“If I were to characterise Myung-gi’s ultimate goal, it would be ‘take as much money as he can,’” Yim told Tudum. “He’s asking for too much, and that is because of his greed.”

Trying to save the baby, Gi-hun got into a fight with Myung-gi. During the struggle, the father dangled from Gi-hun’s coat as Player 456 grasped the handle on the tower. Although the button hadn’t been pressed and the round hadn’t begun, Gi-hun didn’t want to throw him.

However, the coat ripped, and Myung-gi fell. The final competition was then between Gi-hun and the baby.

Gi-hun was left with three options: press the button, kill the baby, and win the game a second time; allow the baby to win; or end his own life and give the baby her future.

He had lived a life of remorse before and didn’t want to live it again. So, he hugged and kissed the baby girl, placed her gently on the floor, and said passionately to the Frontman and the VIPs, “We are not horses. We are human. And humans are…”

…before he could finish, he fell off the tower — embracing death, humanity, and coincidence. The winner of the game, Player 222 — the baby girl — slept on the tower surface, wrapped in the jackets of 222 and 456, before the Frontman came and picked her up.

Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk intended the twist to inspire hope. “Ultimately, the baby represents the future generation,” he told Tudum, Netflix.

“I believe we also have the responsibility and duty to try everything we can to leave a better world for the future generation,” Hwang continued. “The baby coming out as the winner was in line with the meaning of Squid Game.”

What happens to Gi-hun?

Gi-hun died. And while the whole venue of the game was demolished, Gi-hun's eyes reflected the blast.

Explaining Gi-hun’s fate and the baby’s symbolism to Player 456, director Hwang said that during production, he started contemplating his own life, whether he wanted to be a pessimist or an optimist.

“I eventually came to believe that, no matter how hopeless and dark the world may seem, perhaps we still have a chance if we can find even a glimpse of hope within ourselves,” Hwang said.

“Rather than seeking something from or in others, I hope we can reflect on our own values and whether we have faith in ourselves, so we can build on the good within us,” he continued. “That’s the takeaway I hope viewers will have after watching Season 3.”

Gi-hun dies! Does the game really end?

As the chapter closed and the baby girl was handed over to the detective, the Frontman left a credit card for Gi-hun’s daughter. But the creator left viewers with a grisly scene, a sign the game isn’t over.

The final shot showed Hollywood actress and producer Cate Blanchett playing ddakji, the red-blue card game from the first two seasons, with a prospective player. As In-ho watched from afar, the two exchanged a glance, seemingly recognising each other.

This clearly showed that the games hadn’t ended. However, the creator confirmed that Squid Game is not returning for Season 4.

Director Hwang has confirmed that Season 3, Episode 6, marked the series finale of Squid Game.

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