Squid Game season 1, 2, 3 plot & filming locations & Cast Insta

Игра в кальмара | 鱿鱼游戏 / 魷魚游戲

El Juego del Calamar

inktvis spel

gra w kalmary

Round 6

Игра В Кальмара

гра в кальмари

Το Παιχνίδι του Καλαμαριού

далайн амьтан тоглоом

Hra na oliheň

لعبة الحبار

Jocul calamarului

विद्रूप खेल

Permainan cumi-cumi

משחק הדיונון

สควิดเกม เล่นลุ้นตาย

Trò chơi con mực

Gong Yoo as the Recruiter, a salesman who finds participants for the Game

Park Gyu-young as No-eul

Lee Byung-hun as Hwang In-ho, the Front Man 001

Won Ji-an as Se-mi 380

Park Sung-hoon as Hyun-ju 120

Jo Yu-ri as Kim Jun-hee 222

Im Si-wan as Lee Myung-gi 333

Kang Ha-neul as Dae-ho 388

Lee Jin-wook as Gyeong-seok 246

Yang Dong-geun as Park Yong-sik 007

Kang Ae-shim as Jang Geum-ja 149 : Park Yong-sik’s mother

Jeon Seok-ho as Woo-seok

[00:00] 01.Way forward
[04:04] 02.O X I
[07:19] 03.You’re Nothing but a Puppet
[09:39] 04.Pink Soldiers Redux
[12:38] 05.Vote I
[15:27] 06.Let’s Go Out!
[17:48] 07.Round the Circle I
[21:23] 08.Let Me Be a Part of the Game
[25:22] 09.Jung-bae ya!
[30:15] 10.Round II
[32:21] 11.No way back
[34:39] 12.O X II
[38:10] 13.Hyun-ju
[40:25] 14.War
[43:07] 15.A Five People Game
[47:38] 16.I Believe Your Courage
[48:53] 17.The Team HJ
[51:18] 18.Gong-gi with Bullets
[53:39] 19.We’re Together
[56:10] 20.Funeral
[59:35] 21.A Toilet Fight I
[01:02:45] 22.Ddakji Man
[01:05:27] 23.Round the Circle V
[01:09:43] 24.Molar I
[01:10:25] 25.A White Limousine II
[01:11:58] 26.Player vs Pink Guards
[01:15:50] 27.Player vs Pink Guards III
[01:20:25] 28.Counter Strike
[01:22:03] 29.Don’t Die in Vain

While excitedly talking to Ga-yeong on the phone outside, he is suddenly chased by loan shark Kim Jeong-rae and, in his rush to escape, bumps into someone and gets pickpocketed, losing almost all his winnings. Without even realizing what happened, he is eventually caught by the loan sharks and forced to sign a consent form in a bathroom, giving up his rights to his body as collateral.

Desperate to make even a small amount of money, he tries to win a toy gun lighter from a claw machine as a present for his daughter, but quickly takes it back and instead buys her tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). Feeling like he can’t even be a proper father, he is left with only self-loathing. He tries to comfort Ga-yeong, promising, “I’ll do better for your birthday next year,” but she hesitates and doesn’t answer.

After taking Ga-yeong home, Gi-hun misses the last subway at Yangjae Citizen’s Forest Station and becomes frustrated. At that moment, a man in a suit approaches and proposes a game of ddakji (a Korean paper tile game) for 100,000 won per round. Confident, Gi-hun starts playing but immediately loses. Since he has no money, the man tells him to pay with his body and slaps him across the face. Shocked at first, Gi-hun gets angry, but the man explains, “For each slap, I’ll deduct 100,000 won from your debt.” Driven by pride rather than money, Gi-hun keeps playing, getting slapped dozens of times in front of passersby. Eventually, he manages to win a round and raises his hand to slap the suited man, but instead, the man hands him 100,000 won, reminding him of the rules. Gi-hun stops, realizing what’s happening. After that, Gi-hun wins several more rounds and earns a decent amount of money.

The recruiter then says, “If you do this for a few more days, you could make a lot of money,” and tries to make Gi-hun an offer. Gi-hun, suspicious, dismisses it as some kind of pyramid scheme and tries to leave. But the recruiter calls out in a low voice, “Seong Gi-hun? You signed a consent form today, didn’t you?” Startled, Gi-hun freezes as the man lists off his personal history, debts, and the fact that he signed away his body earlier that day. Realizing the recruiter knows everything about him, Gi-hun nervously asks, “Who are you? Why are you investigating me?” The recruiter simply hands him a Squid Game business card and disappears onto the arriving subway train, leaving Gi-hun in shock.

With the money he won from the recruiter, Gi-hun goes to a fish shop run by the mother of his childhood friend Cho Sang-woo, who graduated top of his class at Seoul National University, and buys mackerel before heading home. He’s in a good mood, singing and boasting about the fish, but then receives the devastating news that Ga-yeong will be moving to the United States with her mother and stepfather. His mother tells him that if he had financial means, he could bring Ga-yeong back, but Gi-hun, unable to even support himself, is left speechless.

Fearing he may never see Ga-yeong again, Gi-hun finally calls the number on the Squid Game card and decides to participate. At the appointed location, a van arrives, and a masked figure in a red suit asks for a password. When Gi-hun answers, “The hibiscus flower has bloomed,” the door opens. He boards the van, is gassed, and loses consciousness.

He wakes up in a strange place, wearing a green tracksuit with the number 456. Around him are hundreds of others in similar outfits, each with a different number. The first person he meets is an elderly man, Oh Il-nam, whose uniform reads 001. Gi-hun realizes Il-nam was the first to arrive. Meanwhile, gangster Jang Deok-su (101) assaults Kang Sae-byeok (067), who had previously pickpocketed Gi-hun. Gi-hun tries to intervene but is stopped by Deok-su. During the commotion, Gi-hun also meets Ali Abdul (199), a foreign worker, and his childhood friend Sang-woo (218).

The Squid Game begins, with six games over six days. The winner of all six games will receive a massive prize of 45.6 billion won.

The participants are given a chance to leave, but none do, and the first game begins: “The hibiscus flower has bloomed” (known in English as “Red Light, Green Light”). Players must cross the finish line within five minutes, stopping whenever the giant robot “Young-hee” turns around. Thinking it’s a simple childhood game, the players are shocked when the first person eliminated is shot dead. Panic ensues, and many are killed as they try to flee. Gi-hun, Sang-woo, and Sae-byeok manage to survive, with Gi-hun and Ali barely crossing the finish line with just one second to spare. Out of 456 participants, only 201 survive the first round.

Back in the dormitory, the survivors are traumatized. The masked staff return, and the prize money is revealed. A vote is held on whether to continue or end the game, and it comes down to a tie. The deciding vote is cast by player 001, Il-nam, who chooses to end the game, so the majority decision is to stop. However, participants are told they can return if they wish.

The players are simply dumped back onto the streets, blindfolded and bound. Gi-hun and Sae-byeok are left in their underwear, but Gi-hun helps Sae-byeok untie her hands before she quickly dresses and leaves.

Sang-woo and Ali are dropped off in a remote grassy area in Yeouido. Sang-woo receives messages from the police and loan sharks. He buys Ali instant noodles at a convenience store and gives him 10,000 won for bus fare. Ali returns to his workplace and demands six months’ unpaid wages from his boss, who claims he can’t pay and verbally abuses Ali.

Meanwhile, Deok-su is on the run after embezzling gang funds and losing them at a casino in the Philippines. Betrayed by his own men and hunted by gangsters, he kills a subordinate and narrowly escapes by jumping into the Han River, deciding to rejoin the Squid Game as his only way out.

Sae-byeok confronts a broker who abandoned her family after taking their money, then visits her younger brother Cheol at an orphanage. Hearing Cheol say he misses their mother, Sae-byeok decides to re-enter the game to reunite her family.

Back home, Gi-hun goes to the police to report the Squid Game, but is dismissed as crazy. His mother is hospitalized with diabetes, but he cannot afford her medical bills. When he visits his ex-wife, her new husband gives him a large sum of cash and asks him never to contact their family again.

By chance, Gi-hun and Sang-woo meet again. Sang-woo confesses that his debt is not 600 million won, but 6 billion, and that he even mortgaged his mother’s fish shop for investment. With no way out, he tries to end his life in a motel, but is interrupted when another Squid Game card is slipped under his door. Gi-hun, equally desperate, meets Il-nam at a convenience store, who says he wants to enjoy his remaining days and decides to rejoin the game.

Gi-hun realizes that reality is even more hellish than the game.

Meanwhile, police officer Jun-ho, who witnessed Gi-hun’s outburst at the station, learns that his brother In-ho is missing. Seeing the Squid Game card, Jun-ho suspects Gi-hun holds the key and seeks him out.

Jun-ho asks Gi-hun if what he reported last time was true, but since the police never believed his report in the first place and Gi-hun had no way to re-enter the Squid Game, he brushes it off, saying, “I was just bored and drunk and decided to play a prank.” However, when Jun-ho says his brother also had one of those business cards, Gi-hun lies and says he just picked it up off the street. Jun-ho grabs Gi-hun, pleading that he must find his brother. Gi-hun coldly refuses, saying, “I’m not in a position to help anyone else,” and goes inside his house, where he finds a Squid Game business card stuck in his door.

Gi-hun is torn, and ultimately, realizing that his current miserable reality is even more hellish than that cruel and filthy place, he and several other participants come to the desperate and extreme decision that rather than living such a wretched, trash-like life, it’s better to risk their lives in a deadly survival game—winning means getting the money, losing means being shot and dying cleanly. So, they all get into the van at the designated location provided by the organizers to re-enter the Squid Game. Jun-ho, following Gi-hun, also boards the van and heads to the meeting place, ending episode 2.

Arriving at Mujin Port, Jun-ho sneaks onto the ship by clinging to the Starex van, kills one of the staff members who brought Gi-hun, number 29, and disposes of the body by throwing it into the sea. He then puts on the staff member’s uniform. Since all the staff are wearing masks, he is fortunately not discovered, and Jun-ho successfully infiltrates the game site by pretending to be a staff member. The ship heads to the game site, and the game resumes.

After the game resumes, Gi-hun forms an alliance with Sang-woo, Ali, and Il-nam, and others also start to form small groups for survival. Disguised as a staff member, Jun-ho becomes a grunt (circle worker) and acts as worker 29, carefully collecting evidence of what’s happening. At night, Mi-nyeo causes a commotion saying she needs to go to the bathroom, and Sae-byeok quickly follows her. While Mi-nyeo smokes a cigarette hidden in her private area, Sae-byeok uses a knife she secretly brought to open the bathroom vent, trying to find something out. In exchange for promising to tell Mi-nyeo what she discovers, Mi-nyeo stalls for time. Sae-byeok sees the staff melting sugar in a pot through the vent, but can’t figure out exactly what they’re doing and returns with little to show for her efforts. Meanwhile, Sang-woo, who was awake, overhears their conversation and realizes Mi-nyeo and Sae-byeok saw something.

The next morning at breakfast, participant 111 seems to have made a deal with the organizers, as he finds a piece of paper with a hint about the next game hidden in the bread he was given. As the game starts and they move to the game area, Sang-woo asks Sae-byeok, “It seems like you found something out, if you tell me, I can help you.” Sae-byeok replies that they were melting sugar. When they are told to choose a shape right before the game, Sang-woo suddenly recalls the dalgona (sugar honeycomb) game but doesn’t share this with his teammates, instead suggesting everyone pick whichever shape they want. He chooses the triangle, the easiest shape, just in case it is dalgona. Ali picks the circle, Il-nam picks the star, and when Gi-hun picks the umbrella, Sang-woo tries to stop him but gives up. Sae-byeok, seeing Sang-woo pick the triangle, follows him. When it is revealed that the game is indeed dalgona, Gi-hun, who picked the most difficult umbrella shape, quietly mutters, “I’m screwed.”

Sang-woo and Sae-byeok, who picked the triangle, succeed easily, and Ali, who picked the relatively easy circle, also succeeds. Mi-nyeo, who picked the star, uses a lighter she smuggled in to heat the needle and complete her shape, then secretly passes the lighter to Deok-su, signaling her willingness to help him. Deok-su also succeeds easily. Meanwhile, Gi-hun, desperately trying to carve out the umbrella with a needle, sees his sweat melting the sugar. He realizes that if he melts the back of the dalgona, the thin outline will naturally separate, so he frantically starts licking the back. Others think Gi-hun’s behavior is bizarre, but Il-nam follows suit, and soon others around them also start licking their dalgona. With only one second left, Gi-hun and Il-nam manage to complete their shapes and pass. All participants who fail the dalgona game are executed.

Meanwhile, Jun-ho, who witnesses everything as a staff member, is questioned by a square worker who says, “Worker 29’s job is to handle the bodies, so why are you here now?” Jun-ho makes an excuse, but the square worker tells him to wait there until the game is over. At that moment, one participant, unable to accept being eliminated, resists, stabs a staff member in the eye with a needle, and takes another staff member hostage with a gun, demanding to be let out. The square worker is forced to remove his mask, revealing that he is just a young teenager. The participant, shocked, asks, “Why is a kid like you doing this?” and kills himself. The Front Man appears and personally executes the square worker for breaking the absolute rule of not removing one’s mask, saying, “Remember, if you find out who we are, you die.” Jun-ho secretly picks up the square mask, ending episode 3.

The organizers prepare food for the number of participants, but each person only receives one boiled egg and a bottle of soda, which is not enough for a proper meal. Deok-su’s gang secretly takes two servings, leaving some without food, which leads to a fight. During the fight, Deok-su accidentally kills participant 271 for breaking his soda bottle. Gi-hun protests that a person died and that they shouldn’t do this to each other, but the organizers simply treat the death as an elimination and remove the body, taking no action. The participants realize that killing each other outside the regular games is also allowed.

Jun-ho follows the staff handling the bodies to see how they are disposed of, but almost gets caught. He puts on the square mask he picked up the day before and pretends to be a superior to escape. Meanwhile, a participant suspected to be a doctor is dissecting bodies behind the incinerator. Some of the staff are smuggling relatively intact bodies for organ trafficking, and participant 111, a former doctor, is getting information about the next game in exchange for his help. The doctor is advised by his accomplices to stick with the strongest person, as a massacre is about to happen. Remembering this, the doctor seeks out Deok-su’s group and offers to help if anyone gets hurt, but is ignored. He then whispers to Deok-su that he has information about the next game, gaining his interest.

Soon, lights out signals bedtime, and Deok-su’s gang, who have been waiting for this moment, start a massacre. They first kill participant 198, who exposed them for eating twice, and then go after Sae-byeok. Sae-byeok barely escapes by kicking Deok-su in the groin. While chasing Sae-byeok, Deok-su is attacked by participant 331, but Deok-su kills him with a knife Sae-byeok dropped. Gi-hun, trying to find his group, is attacked by participant 413, but Sang-woo and Ali save him. They try to find Il-nam but are attacked by participant 113. As Gi-hun’s group and Deok-su’s group face off, Il-nam climbs to a high place and begs for the killing to stop. The Front Man intervenes and declares the game over, ending the massacre. A total of 27 people are eliminated in the massacre.

As the organizers clean up the dormitory, Jun-ho approaches Gi-hun and asks, “Is there a Hwang In-ho among you?” but only hears, “We don’t know each other’s names.”

Afterwards, Gi-hun’s team introduces themselves by name. The doctor stitches up Deok-su’s wound, and Deok-su and Mi-nyeo sneak into the bathroom to have sex. Mi-nyeo asks Deok-su for his name and threatens to kill him if he betrays her, promising to stick together until the end. Deok-su whispers that they should survive together. Back in his room, Jun-ho turns on his smartphone with 39% battery left and starts recording notes, but notices coughing from the next room in Morse code calling for “29,” which is him. The next game begins, and Gi-hun and Sang-woo form a team with the elderly and women, the weakest participants.

Meanwhile, Deok-su, having heard from the doctor that the next game is tug-of-war, abandons Mi-nyeo and forms a team of only strong men. Mi-nyeo is forced to join Gi-hun’s team, which now has three women and one elderly man, putting them at a disadvantage. Team 1, which includes Deok-su, easily wins against Team 7, and the losing team falls to their deaths as the rope is cut. Team 4, including Gi-hun, faces Team 5, which is all men. As everyone despairs, Il-nam encourages them, saying he once beat a champion wrestling team, and teaches them the standard initial holding strategy. With Il-nam’s strategy, they gain an early advantage, but as the other team recovers, Team 4 begins to lose ground. At that moment, Sang-woo suggests they all take three steps forward at once, and the screen goes dark.

Team 4’s sudden move causes Team 5 to fall, and they pull the rope desperately to win and survive. During a post-game chat, Ali and Mi-nyeo argue, and Mi-nyeo tries to find the “boss” to kick out the illegal immigrant, but Sang-woo says, “There’s no boss here; we’re all the same.” They suspect Deok-su’s team had information about the game. As bedtime approaches, Gi-hun’s team prepares for another massacre by barricading empty beds. Deok-su mocks them, but Gi-hun retorts, “Do you trust those trash teammates of yours? If I were on your team, I’d kill you first, since you’re the strongest.” Deok-su, feeling the sting, tells his team to rest for the night. Gi-hun’s team takes turns standing watch, with Sang-woo and Ali going first. Sang-woo, learning Ali is younger, tells him to call him “hyung” (older brother). They bond over Ali’s family. Gi-hun and Il-nam take the second watch, and Gi-hun reminisces about his past, losing his job during a strike.

The Morse code calling for “29” was to summon Jun-ho at night. Jun-ho follows and witnesses illegal organ harvesting by some staff. During the operation, the staff discuss a “zombie” participant who survived the “Red Light, Green Light” game but had only one kidney, so wasn’t worth much. Jun-ho is shaken by this story and asks what happened to the zombie. The staff suspect him, but the doctor interrupts, asking for help, and Jun-ho escapes suspicion. Jun-ho and worker 28 pack the organs in a backpack and start to leave the island through a secret passage. In the operating room, the doctor demands to know the next game, but the staff say they don’t know. The doctor, enraged, starts a fight with a scalpel.

At the end of the secret passage, worker 28 becomes suspicious of Jun-ho, but Jun-ho, armed, subdues him. Jun-ho explains that the “zombie” with one kidney was his brother, who donated a kidney to him. Worker 28 tries to reassure him, saying the zombie was a woman and that there’s a participant list in the boss’s room. Jun-ho kills him after getting the information. The doctor goes to the playground set and confronts the staff. One staff member lowers his gun and removes his mask, pretending to reconcile, but tries to kill the doctor. The Front Man appears, shoots the staff member’s hand, and declares, “I don’t care if you eat or sell organs, but you broke the only and absolute rule here: equality.” He kills the staff member, and another staff member kills the doctor. The Front Man later finds worker 28’s body and a bullet in his head. Jun-ho, having infiltrated the Front Man’s office, looks for the participant list, suspecting his missing brother In-ho entered the game this year (2020), but In-ho’s name is not there. However, he finds In-ho’s name among the winners in 2015, realizing his brother once won the Squid Game.

On their way to the next game, the participants see the bodies of the organ trafficking team, who were executed and hung by their wrists as a warning. The Front Man broadcasts an apology, saying, “This is the fate of those who broke the fairness of the game for their own benefit, and it will not happen again.” The next game requires teams of two, and participants choose partners they trust. Sang-woo teams up with Ali, Sae-byeok with Ji-yeong, and Gi-hun, seeking a strong male partner, ends up with Il-nam out of sympathy. Since participant 111 was executed the night before, there is an odd number of survivors, and Mi-nyeo, unable to find a partner, is taken away by the staff.

The two-person marble game begins. Since strength is not important, teams with elderly or female members have a chance, but the game’s rule is to take all your partner’s marbles within 30 minutes. Participants are devastated to learn they must compete in a death match against the person they trust most.

Sang-woo, initially sympathetic, teaches Ali the rules, but as he keeps losing, suspects Ali of cheating and gets angry. He later deceives Ali, telling him, “If the game isn’t over in 30 minutes, it will become a 2:2 match,” and tricks Ali into giving up his marbles, swapping them for pebbles and winning. Realizing he was betrayed, Ali returns and, heartbroken, is eliminated.

Sae-byeok and Ji-yeong, following Ji-yeong’s suggestion, bet all their marbles in the last minutes and have a personal conversation. Ji-yeong, whose family history is as tragic as Sae-byeok’s, shares her story and asks what Sae-byeok would do if she won. They decide whoever rolls their marble closest to the wall wins. Ji-yeong reveals her name and lets Sae-byeok go first, then deliberately loses, saying, “The person with a reason to live should go on. Thank you for playing with me.” She is executed.

Il-nam and Gi-hun agree to be “ganbu” (marble-sharing partners) and start the game warmly, but are devastated to learn they must compete against each other. Il-nam, suffering from dementia, wanders around the set looking for his old house, delaying the game. Eventually, they play, and Il-nam, despite his dementia, wins most of Gi-hun’s marbles through sharp observation and psychological tactics. Gi-hun, seeing Il-nam forget what he just said, exploits this to turn the game around. With one marble left, Il-nam disappears again, finds a place he calls his home, and proposes a final bet: his last marble against Gi-hun’s 19. Gi-hun refuses, saying it’s unfair, but Il-nam retorts, “Was it fair when you tricked me out of my marbles?” revealing he knew all along. Il-nam thanks Gi-hun for making him happy and gives him his last marble, choosing to be eliminated. Gi-hun, in tears, hugs Il-nam, who finally remembers his name: “My name is Il-nam. Oh Il-nam.” As Gi-hun walks away, a gunshot rings out, signaling Il-nam’s elimination and the end of episode 6.

The participants return after the marble game. Mi-nyeo, who was thought to have died for not having a partner, is found safe in the dorm as a “kkanbu,” an old children’s rule of not abandoning the weak. She mocks Deok-su, who is shocked to see her. The participants are given boiled potatoes and a short meal break. Meanwhile, the Front Man receives a call from the VIPs and heads to the elevator to report to the host. Suddenly, he draws his gun, turns around, and says, “Are you in here? You made one mistake. I always put the receiver down the other way,” and, noticing the bullet found in the autopsy is from a Korean police M60 revolver, starts searching for the intruder. As the Front Man reaches the warehouse where Jun-ho is hiding, a radio message reports a body found on the island’s outskirts. The Front Man leaves in a hurry. The real worker 29’s body is found, along with Jun-ho’s police ID. The Front Man, seeing Jun-ho’s photo and name, orders the body to be burned and returns to welcome the VIPs.

The VIPs, foreign tycoons wearing animal masks, arrive on the island and enjoy the Squid Game like a horse race, drinking and watching. The Front Man provides commentary in English. Jun-ho, now disguised as a VIP servant, threatens one with a gun and steals his uniform. The next day, participant 69 hangs himself, and VIP 4, who bet on him, complains. Another billion won is added to the piggy bank. As the glass stepping stones game approaches, the participants worry, and VIP 4 bets on participant 96. Gi-hun almost takes number 1, but 96 asks for it, so Gi-hun becomes 16 and curses. The game is to cross a bridge of tempered and regular glass. Number 1 is at a disadvantage, while those at the back can follow the survivors’ path. VIP 4’s pick, 96, gets only one right and falls. VIP 4, losing interest, flirts with Jun-ho, who is serving drinks.

As the order progresses, participants fall one by one. Deok-su refuses to move forward, causing a delay. Mi-nyeo, number 11, pushes number 10 off and then grabs Deok-su, reminding him of her earlier threat, and jumps off the glass together, killing them both. VIP 4, who likes Jun-ho’s eyes, takes him to a private room and demands sexual favors. Jun-ho pretends to comply, then incapacitates him and records his confession about the Squid Game on his phone. By the 13th turn, a participant reveals he worked at a glass factory for 30 years and quickly crosses the remaining bridge. The organizers, finding this boring, turn off the lights so he can’t distinguish the glass. With time running out, Sang-woo pushes the glass worker, and only Sang-woo (14), Sae-byeok (15), and Gi-hun (16) survive. As time runs out, all the glass explodes, sending shards toward the survivors, ending episode 7.

Sae-byeok is critically injured by glass shards in her abdomen. Jun-ho escapes with diving equipment to a nearby uninhabited island and tries to call for help, but communication fails.

Back at the dorm, Gi-hun confronts Sang-woo about pushing the last person, and Sang-woo mocks him for being lucky to get a later number. Gi-hun argues the person was about to go anyway, but Sang-woo insists everyone else must die for the winner to claim the prize. When Gi-hun asks if he would have pushed him, Sang-woo explodes in anger, saying Gi-hun’s incompetence and nosiness are why his life is a mess. Gi-hun retorts that if Sang-woo is so great, why is he in the same situation. The organizers interrupt, telling them to change into formal wear for a banquet. The final three survivors dress in tuxedos and enjoy a luxurious meal at a triangular table, but remain distrustful and wary. The host thanks them for their dedication and effort and encourages them to do their best in the final game, ironically telling them to enjoy the meal.

After the meal, the organizers intentionally leave only one knife per table, and the participants pocket them. Jun-ho, discovered, fires his last bullet at the Front Man’s shoulder, but when the Front Man removes his mask, he is revealed to be Jun-ho’s missing brother, Hwang In-ho. The Front Man urges Jun-ho to join him as the only way to survive, but Jun-ho, shocked, trails off, and the Front Man shoots him.

The final survivors return to the dorm and sit on their beds, unable to sleep as they watch each other. Sae-byeok, losing consciousness from blood loss, is comforted by Gi-hun, who assures her he means no harm and proposes they team up against Sang-woo and escape together. Sae-byeok asks what Gi-hun will do with the prize money, and they talk about their families. Sae-byeok makes Gi-hun promise to take care of her brother if only one of them survives, but Gi-hun refuses, saying they can both survive. When Gi-hun sees Sang-woo dozing, he approaches to kill him, but Sae-byeok stops him, saying, “You’re not that kind of person.” Sae-byeok collapses from her injuries, and Gi-hun calls for help, but the staff bring a coffin-shaped box instead. Sang-woo approaches and stabs Sae-byeok in the neck, killing her. Gi-hun, enraged, attacks Sang-woo with a knife, but is restrained by the guards. Now only Gi-hun and Sang-woo remain, having crossed a point of no return. The Front Man removes the bullet from his shoulder and tends to his wound, but sees a vision of his brother Jun-ho in the mirror. Episode 8 ends with “Fly Me to the Moon” playing.

Masked Announcer: The final, sixth game is Squid Game.

Gi-hun and Sang-woo play Squid Game on the field where the first game was held. The attacker must hop on one foot until crossing the waist of the squid drawing, but Gi-hun throws sand in Sang-woo’s eyes and claims “secret inspector.” Suddenly, it starts to rain heavily. Gi-hun asks why Sang-woo killed Sae-byeok, and Sang-woo says he was just ending her suffering quickly. Gi-hun retorts she could have been saved, but Sang-woo says he killed her to prevent Gi-hun from quitting the game. Gi-hun says he would have died if Sae-byeok hadn’t stopped him, and they fight fiercely with knives.

After a brutal fight, Sang-woo pins Gi-hun and tries to stab him, but Gi-hun bites Sang-woo’s ankle and knocks him down. Gi-hun beats Sang-woo and, with the knife through Sang-woo’s hand, seems ready to kill him but instead stabs the ground. Gi-hun wins by stepping on the squid’s head, but as Sang-woo faces execution, Gi-hun invokes Article 3 of the consent form, saying he wants to quit the game and go home. Sang-woo, recalling their childhood, tries to take Gi-hun’s hand but instead stabs himself, asking Gi-hun to take care of his mother. Gi-hun, devastated, becomes the final winner and receives the 45.6 billion won prize.

Gi-hun, traumatized by the games and his mother’s death while he was away, returns home in a daze. In the limousine, the Front Man tells Gi-hun, “You like horse racing, right? You’re a horse.” and puts him to sleep with gas. Gi-hun later withdraws 10,000 won from an ATM and confirms he has received the 45.6 billion won. Sang-woo’s mother, unaware of her son’s fate, gives Gi-hun mackerel to share with his mother, but Gi-hun’s mother is already dead.

A year later, Gi-hun, mentally broken by the trauma and guilt of missing his mother’s death, lives as a recluse, leaving the prize money untouched in his account. The bank manager invites him to discuss the low interest rate, but Gi-hun, still unwilling to use the money, asks to borrow just 10,000 won. He lives unkempt, not even shaving. While drinking alone by the river, a flower seller approaches and asks him to buy a flower. Gi-hun buys one, finding a Squid Game business card attached, with an invitation from “Ganbu” on the back. Following the invitation, Gi-hun finds Oh Il-nam, the game’s architect, bedridden in a hospital.

Gi-hun asks Il-nam why he created the Squid Game, and Il-nam replies it was just for fun. He says the rich and the poor share one thing in common: life is no fun. No matter how much money he spends, it never runs out, so life becomes boring. That’s why he created the Squid Game, to bring excitement to life. Il-nam participated directly because it was more fun than just watching. When Gi-hun asks if that’s why he committed murder games, Il-nam says he never forced anyone, dismissing the criticism. Even on his deathbed, Il-nam proposes a bet with Gi-hun: will anyone help a homeless man freezing outside before midnight? Just before midnight, a man approaches the homeless person but leaves. Il-nam asks if Gi-hun still believes in people, and when Gi-hun asks why he spared him, Il-nam replies, “Because you made me happy.” As the siren sounds, a police car arrives, and the man who left earlier returns with the police to help the homeless man. Gi-hun wins the final bet, and Il-nam dies as his vital signs flatline.

The Front Man closes Il-nam’s eyes and recalls Il-nam asking him to take care of the guests when he decided to participate. After the conversation with Il-nam, Gi-hun gets his life back together, finds Sae-byeok’s younger brother, and entrusts him to Sang-woo’s mother along with a large sum of money for his upbringing. Gi-hun decides to go to the United States to see his daughter.

At Incheon Airport, Gi-hun sees the suited man who recruited him playing ddakji with another person. The suited man escapes on the train before Gi-hun can reach him. Gi-hun takes the business card from the new recruit and tries to stop him from joining the game, realizing the Squid Game is still ongoing. After much thought, Gi-hun calls the number on the card instead of boarding his flight. When told to state his name and birthdate to participate, Gi-hun says, “I’m not a horse. I’m a person.” The Front Man, realizing it’s Gi-hun, warns him, “It would be best for you to get on that plane now, 456.” But Gi-hun replies, “I can never forgive you,” and turns away, ending Season 1.