Does Gi-Hun Die In Squid Game Season 2?

Contains spoilers for "Squid Game" Season 2

One of the most compelling aspects of the first "Squid Game" season is the fact that anyone could die at any second. We root for many of the 456 participants of the games to somehow make it out alive, but by the end, only Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) remains. Lee teased a far darker Gi-hun going into "Squid Game" Season 2, and that's precisely what we get: He's a broken man haunted by the billions he earned through hundreds of people's deaths. He practically has a death wish agreeing to go into the games once more. 

But Gi-hun doesn't receive the sweet release of death just yet. 

Gi-hun isn't dead by the Season 2 finale, but things don't exactly look great for him. After trying to get the main room to stop the Front Man and end the games for good, Gi-hun and the other rebels are stopped or killed. Most tragically, his friend, Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan), is shot right in front of him. It's safe to say he's very much dead at this point, but as Gi-hun cries out, the show cuts to the credits. 

Gi-hun's fate is left in the air until the show comes back for Season 3, which has already been confirmed – and could look a lot different from the previous seasons, if director Hwang Dong-hyuk has his way. Either way, it'll be the show's final season. Will Gi-hun make it out alive to the end, or are his days numbered?

Season 1 of "Squid Game" almost had a very different ending, where Gi-hun got on the plane and put the games behind him. Instead, he turns back, and as we see in Season 2, he tries to take the games down so that no one else has to suffer and die because of the inherent inequalities within capitalism. That plan is easier said than done, however, as Gi-hun competes in the games once more, and naturally, hundreds more die. The "Squid Game" Season 2 finale ends on a cliffhanger, with the rebellion getting squashed. 

What does this mean for Gi-hun? He's captured by the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), aka Hwang In-ho, who, unbeknownst to him, was Player 001 the whole time. One imagines the Front Man will reveal his identity to Gi-hun, showing how his friend was really an enemy the whole time. One pessimistic possibility for the "Squid Game" Season 3 ending for Gi-hun if he doesn't die is that he becomes the new Front Man. In-ho won the games previously and came to oversee them, so Gi-hun could realize there's no deconstructing this system. He could even think he can make the games better from the inside. 

Gi-hun has already compromised his morals. He initially didn't want anyone to die in the newest games, but before the rebellion occurs, he admits that some deaths are inevitable for the rest to live. Season 3 could see him compromise even more. Or who knows? Maybe it'll be a happy ending, and he'll destroy the games and dismantle the oppressive system that keeps so many people in debt. One can dream, right?

"Squid Game" Season 2 is now available on Netflix.