At first glance, the Squid Game ending plays out like our standard game show finale, where one player wins a mountain of cash that drops from the sky. Squid game has all it takes to be that game show and there’s so much more. So hold on to your jumpsuits, because the moment you scratch beneath that tidy surface, the final episode unravels faster than a tug-of-war rope mid-match.
Instead of offering a clean exit, the ending of Squid Game gives us emotional landmines, surprise villains, moral mayhem and a big red circle drawn around just how messed up the entire game really was. The “winner takes all” moment is more like “winner gets existential crisis”. And just when you think it’s all over, the story flips the game board.
What seems like a victory at first, quickly turns into a deep moral dilemma. And in the final moments, the story shifts gears, trading a tidy ending for a new sense of mission and unresolved questions. Rather than just walking away, the survivor turns back, setting the stage not for peace, but for a fight against the twisted machine that created the games in the first place.
Squid Game Ending: Childhood Friends, Lifelong Consequences
When the dust settles, only two players remain: Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) – the kind-hearted gambler we’ve rooted for all season and Cho Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo) – the fallen financial prodigy who is willing to do anything to win. The traditional “Squid Game” they loved as kids becomes an all-out fight to the death.
There’s blood baths in each game, things take very unexpected and crazy turns. Gi-hun pins Sang-woo and instead of finishing him off he begs his friend to quit with him so neither has to die. Sang-woo who is drowning in shame and debt stabs himself in the neck and asks Gi-hun to look after his mother.
The Squid Game Season 1 ending drives home its harshest truth that sometimes, winning feels just as painful as losing.
The Mastermind Unmasked: Old Man II-Nam Pulls The Strings
A year later, a bearded, traumatized Gi-hun still hasn’t spent a dime and is traumatized with what really happened to him in the past. Then a gold-stamped card leads him to Oh Il-nam (Oh Young-soo), the Player 001 who is very much alive, wealthy and now dying of a brain tumor.
Il-nam confesses that he created the games as entertainment for bored billionaires. He even joined in for one last thrill. In a final wager, he bets Gi-hun no one will help a freezing man on the street below. Just before midnight, someone calls an ambulance; Gi-hun wins, but Il-nam dies without seeing humanity’s small act of kindness.
The ending of Squid Game Season 1 turns everything upside down with one jaw dropping reveal – the sweet old man wasn’t just a player, he was the mastermind pulling the strings the whole time.
Also, read Secrets We Keep Ending Explained: Piers, Privilege and a Pulse-Pounding Conscience
The Detective Twist: Brothers On Opposite Sides
While the main games unfold, Detective Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) sneaks onto the island searching for his missing brother. He is able to gather proof, escape but ends up being cornered on a cliff by the masked “Front Man.”
Removing his mask, the Front Man reveals himself as Jun-ho’s older brother, Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun).
One gunshot echoes and Jun-ho plunges into the ocean, leaving his fate shrouded in mystery. The Squid Game ending plants another juicy cliffhanger, hinting that the family drama is far from over in the next deadly round!
Gi-hun’s Transformation: From Sole Survivor to a Reluctant Hero
Gi-hun is shattered but determined and he finally uses the money. He honors Sang-woo’s last request by giving a fortune to Sang-woo’s mother and places Sae-byeok’s little brother in her care. Then he chops his hair, dyes it bright red and packs for the United States to see his daughter. At the airport, he spots the Salesman (Gong Yoo) recruiting another desperate soul with the slap-happy ddakji game. Gi-hun grabs the card from the new target and phones the number.
The voice of the Front Man warns him to board the plane and forget the past. Gi-hun turns away from the gate, eyes blazing. The Squid Game Season 1 ending recasts him not as a lucky winner, but as a man on a mission to bring the entire blood-soaked empire down.
Why the Squid Game Ending Sticks the Landing
The Squid Game ending delivers a whirlwind of emotions, victory laced with heartbreak, unexpected moral decisions and a finale that doesn’t just pull back the curtain rather it sets fire to it. Gi-hun may have won the game, but he walks away with more grief than glory, especially after losing a childhood friend and realizing the whole twisted setup was the brainchild of a dying billionaire in a hospital bed.
The show doesn’t whisper its message, it yells it out loud that inequality isn’t just part of the story, it is the game. And just when it seems like Gi-hun might ride off into the sunset, he pulls a bold U-turn, turning his back on freedom to confront the puppet masters behind it all. No cheap cliffhangers, just a clear promise, he’s coming for them, and next season, the stakes will be even bloodier.
Also, read Sirens Ending Explained: Power, Pain and Price of Perfection
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why didn’t Gi-hun get on the plane?
Gi-hun turned back at the airport because he couldn’t walk away from the horrors he survived. Instead of starting fresh, he chose to confront the people behind the games.
2. Was Oh Il-nam really the mastermind?
Yes. The old man, Player 001, was secretly the creator of the games. He joined in for one final thrill before dying, but kept his role hidden until the very end.
3. What was the point of the final bet with Il-nam?
It was a test of faith. Il-nam believed people are selfish to the end; Gi-hun believed there’s still good left in the world. That final bet wasn’t just about the man on the street, it was about humanity itself.
4. What does Gi-hun’s red hair mean?
The red hair symbolizes transformation. It marks Gi-hun’s shift from survivor to rebel, showing he’s no longer just playing the game, he’s preparing to fight back.