This post contains Major spoilers for The Squid Game Season 2.

The first season of The Squid Game ends on a pretty decisive note. Gi-hoon (Lee Jung-jae), who wins the title game in a pyrotechnic victory, chooses to stay behind and challenge the barbaric notion of pitting fighting, desperate people against each other. The death of his friends weighs heavily on Gi-hoon, paving the way for his re-entry as a contestant in "The Squid Game" season 2, in which he is willing to go through hell. one more time just to eradicate this vicious cycle. Gone is the cheerful naivety that Gi-hoon displayed in season 1: now, he's tired but still determined, taking a more cautious, pragmatic approach to the games. However, is that enough for him? to win the games a second time? Or will another player emerge victorious, with a tragic end to Gi-hoon's arc?

To quickly answer this question: nobody wins over Squid Games this time, as episode 7 — the final entry in season 2 of the series — ends on a massive cliffhanger. The catalyst that brings events to this conclusion is a vote that decides whether players can leave and split the prize money accumulated up to each round of the match, provided the X/LEAVE players win by a majority. These votes are a new addition to the games and we see the contestants vote after each match is over, but in episode 7, a bathroom fight that causes casualties leads to reduced players on both sides. As the O/STAY and X/LEAVE voters lose 3 and 2 players respectively, this triggers a re-vote the next day, with the unspoken expectation that the X/LEAVE voters will win, provided no one switches sides. However, all hell breaks loose before the night before the vote takes place.

Gi-hoon warns his allies that the O/STAY players will try to attack and kill the X/LEAVE group after the lights go out so they can stay and continue playing the games. He is right, as the guards are quietly ordered to prepare for the "special game" that is to take place later in the night. Player 001, revealed to be none other than The Man in Charge (Lee Byung-hoon) in episode 3, also foresees this move and works alongside Gi-hoon to lead a rebellion. How does this change the intended outcome of the games?

Not every contestant joins Gi-hoon's revolt, but those who do—such as Jung-bae/Player 390 (Lee Seo-hwan) and Gyeong-seok/Player 246 (Lee Jin-uk)—end up paying a heavy price. After overpowering some guards and taking their guns, Gi-hoon and his team move further into the mysterious complex where the games are being held. In the end, Gi-hoon and Jung-bae are pinned down by gunfire in the hallway.

The revolution ends in complete failure as the Man in Charge, now back in his usual black mask and costume, arrives with more guards. After killing Jung-bae/Player 390, The Front Man recorded Gi-hoon for his attempts to stop the games. brand new game.

The players played a total of only three games before the riot - Red Light, Green Light, Six-Legged Pentathlon and Mingle. There were, of course, more games to play - but the rebellion started before we got to them. Meaning, no one has won the games right now. But there I could be the winner of Season 3 of The Squid Game, which Series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk co-wrote the second season as one continuous story. This could also explain why this season only has seven episodes and ends with a ton of unresolved issues/arcs, allowing the upcoming final season to dive right into the aftermath. It is very likely that the surviving players will continue to play the remaining matches in Season 3.

Returning to the surviving players, it is crucial to note that Player 120 (Park Sung-hoon) is last seen hiding among the crowd, armed with a loaded weapon, as more guards arrive to quell the riot. Although Geum-ya/Player 149 (Kang Ae-shim) stops her from making a rash move against the guards, she may end up hiding the weapon or handing it in, depending on what happens.

Additionally, will the rest of the players other than Gi-hoon be allowed to vote the next day as originally intended, with severely depleted O/STAY and X/LEAVE players fighting for the win? Will Gi-hoon continue his quest to shut down the games, now that he is an angry man with more reasons to seek revenge? Regardless of whether he wins the competition in Season 3, his will to destroy such a pernicious cycle of corruption and injustice must prevail. Until then we'll just have to play a tense waiting game.

Squid Game Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix. The third season is due out sometime in 2025.