Our Biggest Unanswered Questions After the 'Squid Game' Season 2 Finale (2025)

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for the Squid Game Season 2 finale.

Netflix's Squid Game has returned with its long-awaited Season 2 after a phenomenal debut in 2021. Picking up the story two years after the events of Season 1's finale, Squid Game Season 2 follows Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) as he continues his mission to find the Recruiter (Gong Yoo) and reach the Front Man, In-ho (Lee Byung-hun). The show packs some interesting twists in Season 2 to keep the stakes higher than before, with In-ho even joining the games and successfully managing to gain Gi-hun's trust. However, while it resolves a few dangling threads from Season 1, Squid Game leaves the audience with more unanswered questions after its second season finale.

What Will Happen to Gi-Hun?

In the finale of Squid Game Season 2, Gi-hun makes one final attempt at stopping the games by leading a coup against the Front Man and his band of soldiers. However, having placed himself strategically in Gi-hun's inner circle, In-ho ensures that the odds land in the favor of the organizers. After staging his own death as Player 001, In-ho makes a final appearance to punish Gi-hun for his heroics by killing Gi-hun's best friend, Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan).

Naturally, In-ho derives a thrill from playing cat-and-mouse with Gi-hun, and the presence of a former winner, who's trying to sabotage the game, only makes way for more entertainment from the perspective of the elites who fund the games. As a consequence, In-ho appears to spare Gi-hun for the moment, but a large question mark looms over Gi-hun's fate. With In-ho back at the helm and out of the game, it is no longer an indirect battle between In-ho and Gi-hun. Moreover, with In-ho killing Jung-bae, things have gotten more personal than ever for Gi-hun.

The Fate of the Games Remains Undecided in Season 2

Unlike Season 1 of Squid Game, the sophomore season does not complete its story arc. The games do not reach their end, and it remains unclear who survives the deadly tournament. Naturally, this means that Season 3 will edge closer to a logical conclusion to Gi-hun's attempts at putting an end to the games.

For some reason, Season 2 tries to push the idea of multiple winners more aggressively, possibly hinting that Season 3 may end with not just Gi-hun surviving (if he survives at all). Importantly, Season 3 will also answer whether the games continue if In-ho is removed from the equation. As Gi-hun noted earlier in the season, In-ho is only one player in a complex network and there would be many ready to replace him, if Gi-hun manages to kill him at the end of Season 3.

What's Wrong With Dae-ho?

Season 2 introduces a new set of interesting characters considering that not many from the first season survived in the first place. All the characters come with interesting backstories, which are discussed in a limited manner only. Kang Ha-neul's Dae-ho remains the most fascinating character of the lot. Initially, Dae-ho claims to be a former marine – a story he backs up with a tattoo on his arm and some other details that help convince Jung-bae, who's also a marine. However, it's slowly revealed that Dae-ho may be lying about his identity after all. During the coup in the finale, he barely manages to hold his ground and, eventually, betrays his group altogether, leaving them to fend for themselves. It's clear that Dae-ho has not revealed his story accurately.

In addition to Dae-ho, Chae Kook-hee's Seon-nyeo, who is a shaman, also contributes an unusual energy through her ramblings and predictions, adding more unexpected elements to the already chaotic setting of the show. No-eul (Park Gyu-young), a former North Korean soldier who defected to South Korea, makes for another layer of intrigue to the ongoing action. Although she has remained on the sidelines throughout much of Season 2, it's likely that she will play a bigger and more crucial role in Season 3, considering how the show has set up her character after introducing her this season.

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What Is Captain Park's Role in the Entire Scheme?

Jun-ho (Wi Ha-jun) survives the anti-climactic events of Season 1 after being shot by In-ho and being rescued by Captain Park (Oh Dal-su), who also assists Jun-ho with his search for the island being used for hosting the games. Initially, it appears that Captain Park is genuinely invested in Jun-ho's cause, but in the Season 2 finale, Captain Park is found in a very questionable spot when he's discovered tampering with the drone being used to find the island. After being caught, he chooses murder to hide his trail. However, Captain Park's true intentions behind spoiling Jun-ho's expedition are never revealed.

It's possible that In-ho may have tasked Captain Park with rescuing his brother, Jun-ho, after shooting him and ensuring that Jun-ho never fulfills his mission of finding the island again. It's also likely that Captain Park may have his own agenda behind keeping the island away from Jun-ho's reach. Season 3 of Squid Game will need to delve deeper into the motivations of Captain Park's character. Whether or not Jun-ho manages to reunite with his brother and convince him to step away from his devious path also remains a question that Season 3 must answer.

What's Happening in the Mid-Credits Scene of the 'Squid Game' Season 2 Finale?

With five games already played and Gi-hun's plans to kill the organizers failing, everything boils down to the final game to be played in Season 3. Thankfully, Season 2's final moments offer a hint into what this final game will look like. The mid-credits scene of Season 2's finale shows a glimpse of the location for the final game. Interestingly, the setting is very similar to the Red Light, Green Light game. However, there's a catch; instead of one doll, there are two dolls this time. It's possible that this may be another version of the Red Light, Green Light game, which is usually played in the first round. In-ho may have made some improvements to ensure that the loopholes exploited by Gi-hun earlier are covered, making the game more deadly than before.

Currently set to premiere in 2025, Squid Game Season 3 will bring the show to an end, according to creator Hwang Dong-hyuk. Thankfully, the audience will not have to wait very long to learn more answers. The finale of Season 2 hypes up the eventual face-off between Gi-hun and In-ho even further. Undoubtedly, despite Gi-hun's best attempts, the games are far from over, and Gi-hun may find himself at his wit's end at the start of Season 3, after the shock he receives in the form of Jung-bae's death. This also means that Gi-hun will likely resort to even more desperate measures to put an end to In-ho's evil schemes when Squid Game returns.

Squid Game Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on Netflix.

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Squid Game

TV-MA

Adventure

Drama

Action

Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children's games. Inside, a tempting prize awaits with deadly high stakes: a survival game that has a whopping 45.6 billion-won prize at stake.

Watch on Netflix