Warning: spoilers ahead Squid Game 2 (Obviously).
You just finished the seventh episode of Squid Game 2 and you’re looking for the next episode, right? Sorry to give you bad news, but you’ll have to wait for season 3 to find out the consequences of Seong Gi-hun’s (played by actor Lee Jung-jae) failed rebellion. Fortunately, Squid Game 3 it’s just around the corner…
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But it won’t take three years to find out who will make it out alive (if anyone makes it) or whether Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-jun) and his merry band of militiamen will ever manage to reach the right island with a traitor among them.
So, what exactly happened in the season finale of Squid Game 2? Let’s examine this thoroughly.
What happened in the finale?
Unfortunately, Gi-hun’s plan to stop the games was more difficult to implement than he imagined. After several failed attempts to convince his teammates to vote out of the games, Gi-hun organized an armed rebellion by taking down a group of pink-clad soldiers with the help of the following players:
- Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan): Gi-hun’s childhood friend, with a military background and a kind nature. He initially voted to stay in the games after the Red Light, Green Light game, but later chose to leave the games.
- Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul): an eager-to-please military man who befriends Jung-bae and Gi-hun.
- Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon): a trans woman who was kicked out of the military and ostracized from her community. After initially voting to continue the games, Hyun-ju voted to leave when her friend Yong-mi (Kim Si-eun) was killed during the brutal game of Mingle.
- Gyeong-seok (Lee Jin-uk): a desperate father who plays the games to pay for his daughter’s cancer treatment. During the first game, Gyeong-seok was saved by a guard he encountered outside. For her part, No-eul (Park Gyu-young) is a North Korean defector with a missing daughter.
- Young-il (Lee Byung-hun): «Young-il» is the fake name that the Front Man uses during the games to play alongside Gi-hun. His real name is Hwang In-ho. In season 2, we learn that In-ho lost his pregnant wife when he couldn’t pay for her treatment, which is why he signed up for the games in 2015, ending up winning and becoming the organization’s Front Man. His brother is former detective Hwang Jun-ho.
How did they manage?
Let’s say it didn’t go well. Despite managing to catch the guards by surprise during a fierce fight between the players, Gi-hun’s gang didn’t have enough ammunition to keep the army of pink suits at bay. As they made their way to the control room with other volunteers, the rebels quickly ran out of ammunition.
Meanwhile, Gi-hun and Jung-bae got separated from «Young-il» and another player in search of the control room. It was then that the Front Man decided to stop being a “hero” and put his mask back on. After shooting his partner and faking his own death via radio, he captured Gi-hun and killed Jung-bae.
Which players died in the finale?
In addition to Jung-bae, Gyeong-seok was killed by guards taking out other rebels, not to mention the bloodshed at the base camp.
After the crypto influencers Myung-gi (played by K-pop star Yim Si-wan) stabbed YouTube rapper Thanos (played by K-pop rapper TOP) during the bathroom fight in the previous episode, we witnessed the killing of a other important player, Se-mi (Won Ji-an), by the rapper’s lackey, Nam-gyu (Roh Jae-won), during the final brawl between players.
Who survived?
Besides Front Man and Gi-hun, it looks like only two other Rebel fighters will make it to season three. Despite being tasked with returning to the player quarters to get more ammo, Dae-ho panicked and abandoned the fight. Hyun-ju eventually went back to look for him and it saved her life when the guards overpowered the fighters.
Here is the list of surviving players who remained near the bunk beds during the riot:
- The mother-son duo Geum-ja (Kang Ae-sim) And Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun).
- Myung-gi: a once-famous YouTuber who lost everything investing in cryptocurrencies and encouraging his followers to do the same. Many players of Squid Gameincluding his pregnant ex-girlfriend, got into debt following his advice.
- Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri): the pregnant player who dated the aforementioned crypto influencers.
- Seon-nyeo (Chae Kook-hee): a rather disturbing shaman who casts curses on other players.
- Min-su (Lee Da-wit): Thanos’ timid lackey who betrayed Se-mi during the Mingle, but later tried to protect her from Nam-gyu.
- Nam-gyu: the mean-spirited junkie who intimidates Min-su, targets Myung-gi, and brutally kills Se-mi.
And No-eul?
With all those pink suits dying in the finale, it’s hard to say if No-eul was among them. However, it is unlikely that series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk let her die offscreen. During the games, No-eul had been harassed by the other guards for making sure the players were dead before their vital organs were harvested. Clearly, his story is not over.
So, does Gi-hun know that «Young-il» is the Front Man?
As far as we know, the Front Man had no intention of revealing his true identity to Gi-hun, which is why he faked his own death over the radio and put his mask back on. Clearly the writers are keeping the reveal aside for season three. If only Jung-bae had told Gi-hun what happened during the Mingle…
Not-so-arbitrary question: Did the Front Man try to kill his brother in the Season 1 finale?
It seems the answer is no. While it’s possible that the Front Man accidentally hit Jun-ho’s shoulder while aiming for the heart, one of the major twists in the season 2 finale suggests otherwise.
In the second season, we learn that Jun-ho was saved by Captain Park (Oh Dal-su), an affable fisherman who has been helping him search for the island for three years. When Jun-ho teams up with Gi-hun to destroy the organization, he asks Captain Park to transport their team on a mission to storm the island once and for all.
So, what was the big twist in the season 2 finale?
While searching various islands, the team encounters several obstacles. Notably, during a fateful search, the team loses one of their men to a booby-trapped door, suggesting that the bad guys are aware of their plans. How? In the season 2 finale, we find out that Captain Park is working for the Front Man when he kills a member of the rescue team.
Does Jun-ho know the truth about Captain Park?
Not yet, but at least we know that the Front Man probably hired Captain Park to save his brother… that’s kind of cool, right? Unfortunately, In-ho likely ordered the captain to keep Jun-ho out of his way, which isn’t good news for Gi-hun.
So, what happens next?
Well, they’re all in a bit of a pickle. The surviving players are still at the mercy of the Front Man and his guards, and the rescue team isn’t faring much better. «Player 456, did you have fun being a hero?», the Front Man asked Gi-hun at the end. “Now see the consequences of your little revolt.”
Unfortunately for us, we will only discover the full consequences of Gi-hun’s “small revolt” in 2025.
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
