In the first season of Squid Game, viewers saw Gi-hun finally overcome the titular games and win the prize money that he so desperately needed to rebuild his life and family. Despite winning 45.6 billion won, the equivalent of 38 million USD, he had to deal with a significant amount of emotional turmoil, even seeing some of the friends he made during the games lose their lives.
At the end of the first season of Squid Game, Gi-hun struggles to return to normal society after winning the games, barely using his newfound fortune to improve his life. He also chooses not to get on the plane to be with his daughter in the United States, a shocking occurrence for many viewers. In the second season, he even returns to the games, much to many’s surprise. So, why exactly did he choose this route?
This article contains spoilers for season 2 of Squid Game and its ending.
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What Happens to Gi-hun at the End of Season 1?
The Games Continue On
- Loses his friend Sang-woo
- Tackles with Survivor Guilt
- Loses opportunity to be with his daughter
There’s a lot that goes into the Squid Games as a whole, and many participants join without the knowledge that the games have a deadly outcome. For those who aren’t the winner of the games, they will not make it out alive. In the final game of season 1, Gi-hun defeats his friend, Sang-woo, but is only successful after his friend chooses to end his own life to let Gi-hun win.
After he loses his childhood friend to the deadly games, Gi-hun returns to real life after obtaining a massive fortune. However, he feels an immense amount of survivor guilt, having been the only one to make it out of the games with his life. Despite having a large amount of money, he lives an almost homeless life just like before, due to his immense trauma. He mostly uses his fortune to help others, such as purchasing a fish shop for Sang-woo’s mother. He also eventually meets with Player 001, Oh Il-nam, who turns out to be the main man behind the games. He tells Gi-hun about the creation of the Squid Games, and that it was made to entertain himself and other elites, and see how far humanity will go to survive.
At the very end of the season, viewers see Gi-hun about to board a plane to see his daughter in the United States. However, he sees another person being recruited for the games just as he was, and cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening in front of him. He chooses not to board his flight, and instead, calls the number on The Recruiter’s card, and discovers that the games are continuing.
Choosing Everyone’s Future Over His Own Happiness
Returning to the Games to Save Future Prospective Participants
- Works together with Detective Jun-ho
- Finds The Recruiter and wins a game of Russian Roulette
- Rejoins the Games
Early on in the second season of Squid Game, Gi-hun comes together with Detective Jun-ho, who is also the Front Man’s younger brother. They unite soon after Gi-hun wins in an intense game of Russian Roulette against The Recruiter. The two are looking to find more answers behind the Squid Games and who exactly is running the competition. To keep track of Gi-hun and attempt to discover the location of the island, they place a tracker in a fake tooth on Gi-hun, but soon after Gi-hun rejoins the games, he discovers the tracker has been removed.
Despite losing his chance to escape with ease from the Games, Gi-hun continues on with his mission, which is to attempt to stop the games from continuing and save the future of those around him. Although he no longer has the chance to be with his daughter, he cannot turn away from the Games, knowing that they are still happening. He gives up his own happiness to take down the Games and the Front Man, who eventually joins the games himself, and any VIPs who keep the organization alive.
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Locating the Island
Jun-ho and Gi-hun Attempt to Pinpoint the Island’s Location
- Has tracker installed to help Jun-ho find the island
- Loses tracker upon arrival at the Game’s dorms
- Jun-ho continues his quest to find Gi-hun and the island
As mentioned previously, Jun-ho and Gi-hun agree to place a tracker in Gi-hun’s tooth to follow him to the Games. This is used as an attempt to locate the island where the games are occurring, after the Front Man agrees to let Gi-hun back in. But, as always, those running the games are always ahead of him and have already removed the tracker when he wakes up in the dorms.
After Gi-hun meets with the Front Man in a limo, Gi-hun’s request to rejoin the games is immediately suspicious to the Front Man. This is most likely the reason they were able to discover his tracker and leave him vulnerable as he was in the first season. Gi-hun also requests that the Front Man end the games, to which he blatantly denies the request. Although Gi-hun rejoins the games and loses his tracker, Jun-ho and his team still work to locate the island to rescue Gi-hun and any other participants, and officially put an end to the games.
Understanding The Game’s System
Gi-hun Attempts to Learn More About the Games
- Gi-hun is experienced in the Games and their deadly outcome
- Wants to gain insider info
- Grows closer to the Front Man, despite not knowing his identity
Although Gi-hun is left without protection from the police, he has at least been a participant in the games before and is prepared for the games to come. However, since he is only a player in the games, he doesn’t know the full intricacies behind the games and how the system works. His return to the games this time around is another attempt to find out exactly how the games work and learn more about the Front Man and his intentions.
As viewers are aware that Player 001 is secretly the Front Man, Gi-hun is unaware of this, but soon finds out that Player 001 is not to be trusted. However, having grown closer to the Front Man gives him a bit more detail about his backstory and his intentions for continuing the games. The second season ends with Gi-hun’s friend, Jung-bae, being murdered by the Front Man after starting an uprising, leaving viewers with a cliffhanger. The final season of Squid Game will be released later in 2025, most likely giving fans a look into whether Gi-hun will successfully end the games.
Squid Game is currently available to stream on Netflix.
- Release Date
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September 17, 2021
- Cast
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Wi Ha-joon
, Anupam Tripathi
, Oh Yeong-su
, Heo Sung-tae
, Park Hae-soo
, Jung Ho-yeon
, Lee Jung-jae
, Kim Joo-ryoung - Seasons
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2