Squid Game Season 2 Ending Explained: Why Does Gi-hun’s Plan Fail? What About Jun-ho and Captain Park?
How does Squid Game Season 2 end? After talking about what happens in the first episode of Squid Game Season 2, we jump directly to the finale of the highly anticipated second season of the TV-cultural phenomenon series of the streaming platform Netflix. In the final episode of the second season of Squid Game, titled “Friend or Foe”, chaos breaks out in the tournament after a violent fight in the men’s restrooms, leaving five participants dead. Among them, is Thanos (played by T.O.P.), who is one of the most shocking casualties. With tensions higher than ever, players face a crucial decision: survive the next attack or try something much more ambitious. Gi-hun, now more determined than ever to stop the Games, devises a plan to use the inevitable night chaos as a distraction and revolt against the organizers. However, this rebellion attempt turns out to be as ambitious as it is catastrophic.
Squid Game Season 2 Ending Explained: Why Does Gi-hun’s Plan Fail? What About Jun-ho and Captain Park?
In the last episode of the season, Squid Game Season 2 raises the stakes and once again overturns fans’ expectations (the screenplay created by the creator and director of the series, Hwang Dong-hyuk, as in all the best sequels is both a remake and a reinterpretation of the original, taking all the opposite narrative turns where possible) and begins a real sequence of open war: pretending to be among the dead left victims of the ‘special game’, that of the ‘off lights’ which allows competitors to kill each other overnight in the dormitory, Gi-hun and his allies manage to overwhelm the armed guards, take possession of the rifles, leave the competitors’ quarters and wage war against the game organizers.
Their goal is to get to the control room, but it will not be easy: in addition to the labyrinthine multicolored structure to cross, full of corridors all the same, blind spots, and fake doors, ours will find an entire army ready to kill them. Although they manage to move forward a lot, going up to the corridor of the control room, the situation soon becomes desperate and the group is forced to divide: Front Man, who still acts undercover on the good side, offers Gi-hun one last chance when he entrusts him with his last magazine, asking him if he is sure he wants to continue (as if the villain was playing a game of his own which the protagonist has not yet noticed), and when Gin-hun tells him to go on Front Man secretly kills the last two allies left with him, and then contact Gi-hun with the walkie talkie telling him that he was defeated and pretending to be dead. Eventually, while the soldiers kill the other rebel players and break into the dormitory, definitively quelling the revolt, Front Man (this time back with the mask) defeats Gi-hun, forcing him to surrender as punishment, however, he does not kill him but his best friend, curbing him with a heart stroke in front of him. The season ends with Gi-hun’s desperate cry, with Front Man returning to his duties in the control room.
What About Gi-hun’s plan?
Gi-hun proposes to his allies to hide under the bunks during the usual night bloodbath. His idea is simple: When the masked men enter to stop the fight, they will ambush them, steal their weapons, and head to the control center to try to take command. Although at first, the plan seems viable, it quickly falls apart. The masked men arrive armed and organized, and although the players manage to seize some weapons, their lack of experience and organization plays against them. Most of Gi-hun’s allies die trying, including Jung-bae, his closest friend. The Game Front, who had pretended to be among the dead to deceive Gi-hun, reveals his true identity and, in a devastating turn, executes Jung-bae in front of him. The season closes with Gi-hun crying heartbroken next to his friend’s body, while he is captured again.
Why Does Gi-hun’s Plan Fail?
The failure of Gi-hun’s plan is due to several factors:
- Lack of preparation: Although they had weapons, the group was clearly at a disadvantage compared to the masked men, both in number and skill.
- Treason of the Game Front: By infiltrating and manipulating Gi-hun, the Game Front was always one step ahead. Their performance further demoralizes the group.
- Power imbalance: The organizers, always in control of the situation, transform the rebellion attempt into a spectacle to entertain the VIPs.
The Game Front deliberately leaves Gi-hun alive, in what appears to be an attempt to break him emotionally, making it clear that no matter what he does, the powerful always win.
What About Jun-ho and Captain Park?
Meanwhile, Jun-ho, the policeman who survived the Game Front shot in the first season, tirelessly searches for the whereabouts of the Games with the help of Woo-seok and Captain Park. However, it is revealed that Park is secretly working for the organizers. During the season, he sabotages Jun-ho’s progress, deliberately guiding him in the wrong direction. In the final episode, Park kills one of Jun-ho’s allies to keep his betrayal a secret. This twist leaves Jun-ho and Woo-seok in a dangerous situation, which will probably be explored in the third season.
Who is Player 001?
After Gi-hun meddles, Front Man decides to participate in games like Player 001 and begins to gain the trust of the protagonist of “Squid Game” by sharing his supposed name, Young-il, and telling his true story. After donating a kidney to his brother, his wife became ill and needed a transplant (she was also pregnant). A client offered to lend him money, but his superiors believed it was a bribe and fired them. When players discover that Gi-hun is a previous winner, they ask him to help them overcome the next challenge. However, they stop believing him when Pentathlon replaces the Dalgona game with six legs. After each member of a team passes a mini-test, they move on to the third stage of the competition. Although they have the opportunity to retire with what they have earned, they want to continue participating because it seems insufficient. Gi-hun no longer knows what else to do to persuade them to leave that place before it is too late. Voting divides players into two groups, those who want to leave and those who prefer to continue competing. Meanwhile, Jun‑Ho and his team prepare to infiltrate a suspicious island. However, they cannot find what they were looking for. Do they have a traitor?
What Happened to Gi-hun?
When survivors prepare to survive overnight, Gi ‑ Hun proposes a risky plan. After hiding under the beds to avoid slaughter, the team of the protagonist of “Squid Game” is positioned among the bodies of his companions waiting for the pink guards to ambush them and snatch their weapons. They succeed and the rebellion breaks out, but not all finalists support the movement. Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon), a trans woman, is in charge of teaching them to handle this type of weaponry, but it is not enough to overcome the pink guards who come to stop the rebellion. Victory is impossible, above all, because they have a traitor in their ranks, “Young-il ” is in charge of reducing one of his colleagues and resumes the role of Front Man to give the order to end the matter. Gi-hun and his friend Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) surrender in the presence of Front Man, who mocks Player 456 for trying to be the hero and murders Jung-bae as punishment. Will Gi-hun’s convictions change after watching his best friend die?
Who is a Traitor on the Jun-ho Team?
Jun-ho survived thanks to a ship captain rescuing him. After recovering, the detective turns to that man to try to find the island where the games are played. When he joins Gi ‑ Hun, he searches for Captain Park to take them on their mission. Without imagining, that he is a traitor, who, when discovered, murders the crew.
Who Survives and What Can We Expect From the Third Season?
Although many main characters die in the last episode, some key players manage to survive. Dae-ho and Hyun-ju, who return to the bedroom during the confrontation, are among the few who still remain in the tournament. On the other hand, the fate of other characters, such as Geum-ja and her son Yong-sik, seems to be linked to the next game: Red Light, and Green Light. The post-credits scene shows players returning to the space where Red Light is played, green light, but with a twist: this time, a male figure joins the iconic doll. This anticipates new surprises and challenges at the Games, as well as an immediate continuation of the final events.
Conclusion of Squid Game Season 2
The second season of Squid Game offers a darker and more chaotic ending than the first, leaving the characters in a state of despair and defeat. Gi-hun, far from being the triumphant hero, ends up emotionally broken and trapped in the same system he tried to overthrow. The return of the game Red Light, Green Light, and the revealed betrayals prepare the ground for a third season full of tensions and confrontations, where the final confrontation between Gi-hun and the Game Front seems inevitable.
