Lingering Questions After the Season 2 Finale

The second season of the massively popular Korean thriller series Squid Game ended on much more of a cliffhanger than the first, which largely told a complete story with an open-ended conclusion. By contrast, season two felt more like the first part of a two-part finale. It left many big questions unanswered, which will hopefully be cleared up when the third and final season drops later this year.

For now, though, there’s plenty for Squid Game fans to ponder and speculate about until season three arrives to save everyone from their own wild theories. Here are a few lingering questions after the season two finale.

The following contains spoilers for Squid Game season two.

What’s With Captain Park?

At first glance, Captain Park seemed like a pretty nice guy. The small-time squid boat captain saved Jun-ho from drowning after his own brother shot him and let him fall off a cliff into the water in season one. By season two, he’s helping Jun-ho in his quest to uncover the location of the games’ secret island. Saving Jun-ho’s life left him with some sense of obligation to help him, allowing him the use of his boat with seemingly no advance notice required.

At least, that’s what he said. But as Jun-ho mounts a more organized campaign to find and infiltrate the island with a whole team of ex-military guys paid for by series protagonist Gi-hun, Park’s behavior becomes more and more suspicious as the team draws nearer to their destination. He plays a pretty convincing clueless old man, marveling over the team’s drone technology and even mispronouncing the word. It’s easy to assume he’s just a helpful man who’s a little out of his depth.

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That is, until the finale, when one of the team finds Park trying to sabotage the drone under cover of a violent storm. Park tries to play it off as mere curiosity, but ends up stabbing his teammate to death and pushing his body over the side as the rest of the team tries to sleep below deck. It seems all but inevitable that Captain Park is connected to the games somehow, sent to keep an eye on Jun-ho and prevent him from finding who’s responsible. Season three will no doubt reveal the truth of Park’s deception.

What Will No-eul Do Next?

One of season two’s most intriguing new characters is Kang No-eul, first introduced in her off-season job as an animal mascot. Much like season one’s Kang Sae-byok, she’s a defector from North Korea, struggling to eke out an existence in the South while also searching for her lost son who remained north of the border. However, it’s soon revealed that the seemingly normal (if a little distant) woman is actually one of the “triangles,” the mid-level soldiers in the games’ bizarre hierarchy of shapes.

Unlike the other triangles, No-eul isn’t willing to follow orders from her superiors to the letter. During the first game of “red light, green light,” she’s tasked with shooting the players who aren’t able to stay still, but goes the extra mile of making sure that injured players are fully dead. As it turns out, this isn’t part of the job description. The higher-ups are trying to keep some players alive until they can harvest their organs for the games’ lucrative side hustle.

No-eul refuses to participate in this extra layer of brutality, even after a lecture from her superior officer. Two fellow triangles attack and threaten her to comply, and it seems like she’s willing to fall in line for now. It’s possible that No-eul’s discontentment and willingness to defy authority will come in handy for Gi-hun and his fellow rebel contestants in season three. Their uprising was handily defeated at the end of the season, but No-eul might emerge as an unlikely ally if they’re able to mount another attack.

What Happens Now?

Season two ends with what feels like a pretty major shift in the dynamic between the contestants and the game organizers, one where it’s going to be very difficult, if not impossible, to go back to normal afterward. Gi-hun’s armed rebellion seems to have failed for now, as his fellow rebels are forced to fall back when their ammo runs out and more supplies are blocked by soldiers. His imaginary ally Young-il, actually the games’ Front Man in disguise (or out of it, depending on which is the true disguise), is believed to be dead, as the Front Man gives up his charade and puts his mask back on. Gi-hun’s friend Jung-bae is executed, leaving Gi-hun devastated and racked with guilt.

It remains to be seen what will happen to Gi-hun and his fellow rebels like former soldier Hyun-ju and fake Marine Dae-ho. Will they also be executed by the Front Man and his soldiers, or will they be given some kind of opportunity to continue the games? Many players refused to take part in the rebellion; will they be allowed to continue if they turn on their mutinous teammates? It seems unlikely that things will return to normal with no more consequences for the rebels, but the games rarely unfold exactly as viewers might expect. It wouldn’t be a surprise if creator Hwang Dong-hyuk had a couple more twists up his sleeve.

Gi-hun isn’t likely to give up his quest to bring down the games, so he’ll probably find a way to mount another offensive. He also still has outside support from Jun-ho and his forces, who seem closer than ever to finding the island. While they have a mole in their midst with Captain Park, they’re not likely to give up any time soon either. It’s a good thing season three will premiere sometime this year, because fans will have a hard time waiting for answers to these and other questions.

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Release Date

September 17, 2021

Cast

Wi Ha-joon
, Anupam Tripathi
, Oh Yeong-su
, Heo Sung-tae
, Park Hae-soo
, Jung Ho-yeon
, Lee Jung-jae
, Kim Joo-ryoung

Seasons

2

Showrunner

Hwang Dong-hyuk