Squid Game Season 3 Finale Explained: Do the Games Finally End — and What Does That Shocking Cameo Mean?

After three jaw-dropping seasons, Squid Game has come to an end.

The hit K-drama, and most-watched Netflix original series of all time, drew its final curtain on June 27 with a six-episode, thrilling final season that left a trail of questions, answers and, as anticipated, countless deaths in its wake.

Set in South Korea, Squid Game follows 456 players, each experiencing their own respective financial issues, who put their lives on the line to compete in a secret contest and the chance to win a multimillion-dollar cash prize.

Picking up right where season 2 left off, Squid Game season 3 begins with the players reeling from the aftermath of their failed rebellion and their painful return to the arena to play the competition’s final few games.

At the center of it all is Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), or player 456, who after a long battle faces an intense fate in the season’s finale, which sees some shocking twists, satisfying conclusions and a wild cameo that suggests the Squid Game universe is far from being closed.

So, how does Squid Game end? Here’s everything to know about the twisted conclusion of the hit Netflix series and what might come next.

Warning: Squid Game season 3 spoilers ahead!

What happens to Player 222 and her baby in Squid Game season 3?

While battling her way through hide-and-seek and enduring an ankle sprain, Kim Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri), or Player 222,’s water breaks, and she goes into labor.

With the help of Jang Geum-ja (Kang Ae-shim), or Player 149, and Cho Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon), or Player 120, Jun-hee is able to successfully deliver her baby girl as her closest friends in the game rally to protect them both. However, in a horrifying turn of events, Jun-hee’s baby becomes a player in the game at the behest of the VIPs who think it will make the stakes more interesting.

When Jun-hee realizes that her sprained ankle hinders her chances of completing the next game, jump rope, Gi-hun offers his help and carries her baby across to safety. Although he sets out to make his way back and help Jun-hee cross as well, the two realize that there isn’t enough time left, so she makes the decision to sacrifice herself for Gi-hun and the baby’s safety.

As Jun-hee prepares to jump to her death, she pleads for Gi-hun to win and make sure that her baby stays alive no matter what.

Front man Hwang In-ho then decides to make the baby an official player in the game by having her take her mother’s spot, effectively becoming the new Player 222. As the games ensue, Gi-hun and the baby’s father, Lee Myung-gi (Im Si-wan), or Player 333, team up to do whatever it takes to keep her alive.

How does Squid Game end?

After fending off the other remaining contests in the final pushing game, Gi-hun and Myung-gi are confronted with an unimaginable decision and need to choose which one of them is to die to ensure that the baby survives.

Myung-gi proceeds to threaten Gi-hun and following an intense fight — plus a threat to kill his own child — plummets to his death. Though one would think that means Gi-hun and the baby strapped to his chest have won the game, the players failed to press the button at the center of the platform to signal the start of their match, meaning that Myung-gi’s elimination didn’t count.

In his promise to keep the baby alive, Gi-hun sacrifices himself and dies, making the infant the sole survivor and winner of the Squid Games.

Following a six-month time jump that ties up several loose ends, the season finishes with a wild cameo from Cate Blanchett that affirms that the games have gone global and are in the midst of recruiting for a Los Angeles-based tournament.

What happens to Gi-hun at the end of Squid Game season 3?

When sacrificing himself in the final game, Gi-hun turns to face the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) and VIPs watching and mutters the words: “We are not horses. We are humans. Humans are…”

The statement alludes to betting on horses, which Gi-hun did in season 1, and reiterates that the players in the game aren’t animals to be bet on but people with their own aspirations. It harkens back to the countless conversations Gi-hun had with the Front Man in season 2, and even with the game’s founder in season 1, where he maintained his steadfast belief in humanity despite what may have happened in the games.

Following his death, Gi-hun’s remaining cash prize from his first Squid Game is transferred to a credit card, which is delivered to his daughter living in L.A., along with his tracksuit from the games, in an attempt to keep his memory alive.

What happens to the Front Man at the end of Squid Game season 3?

The night before the final game takes place, In-ho finally reveals his identity to Gi-hun.

As Gi-hun processes the revelation that his former friend in the games was not who he thought he was, In-ho tries to make him an offer by lending him a knife. He suggests that Gi-hun kill all other remaining contestants in their sleep to ensure that he and the baby survive. Gi-hun is unable to do it, however, so the final game ensues.

Following its conclusion and the declaration of the winner, In-ho presses the island’s self-destruct button and takes the baby to safety. To ensure that the child remains healthy, In-ho leaves her in his brother Detective Hwang Jun-ho’s (Wi Ha-joon) apartment along with a credit card linked to her cash prize.

In-ho is also the one who makes sure Gi-hun’s daughter gets her father’s previous Squid Game winnings.

Who dies in Squid Game season 3?

As anticipated, there are a lot of deaths in Squid Game’s final season.

The first round of lives are lost in the game’s version of hide-and-seek. Notable main characters who are killed during this game include: Hyun-ju, who entered the game to afford gender-affirming surgery; Seon-nyeo (Chae Gook-hee), or Player 044, who assumes the role of a shaman throughout the games; Park Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun), or Player 007, who plays the game with his mother; and Kang Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul), or Player 388, who faltered during season 2’s rebellion and failed to bring his comrades the supplies they needed to finish it off.

In between games, another notable life is lost when Geum-ja dies by suicide following the emotional implications of her son’s death in hide-and-seek. Meanwhile, during season 3’s second major game — jump rope — another two main characters are killed: Jun-hee and Nam-gyu (Roh Jae-won), or Player 124, who initially competed in the games alongside season 2’s Thanos (T.O.P.) and proved to be an unruly player.

Among the many deaths in season 3’s final game is Park Min-su (Lee David), or Player 125, who dies while experiencing a drug relapse, along with Myung-gi and Gi-hun.

What happens to Detective Hwang Jun-ho and the others searching for the island?

After a series of hurdles, Choi Woo-seok (Jeon Seok-ho) — one of the loan sharks Gi-hun employs in season 2 to help him find the game’s recruiter — is able to finally relay to Detective Jun-ho that Sea Captain Park (Oh Dal-su) isn’t actually helping them find the island where the games are hosted and is really on the opposing side instead.

Upon the recognition that he’s been outed, Captain Park proceeds to kill almost everyone on the boat, except for Jun-ho and one other operator who manage to defeat him. Jun-ho quickly makes his way to the area where the island is likely located, while one of Park’s accomplices warns the Front Man that he’s coming.

As they near the island, Jun-ho finds Park Gyeong-seok (Lee Jin-wook), or Player 246, in the middle of a shoot-out at sea and saves him. Jun-ho finally makes it to the island, but just as he finds his brother In-ho and prepares to have a confrontation, the game’s self-destruct mechanism kicks in, forcing him to cut things short and escape.

After six months, Jun-ho finds Player 222, the baby, in his apartment along with a credit card with her cash prize to presumably raise her as his own. Meanwhile, Woo-seok shares aspirations to turn the motel where the group was hiding in season 2 into a hotel.

Do Player 246 and Kang No-eul survive?

After saving Gyeong-seok during the rebellion, masked guard Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young) concocts a plan to get him off the island and reunited with his sick daughter.

The two manage to escape on a boat; however, No-eul soon returns to the island after a high-ranking officer threatens to kill Gyeong-seok’s daughter. After a series of life-threatening fights, No-eul is able to successfully quell any threats to Gyeong-seok and his daughter’s life by permanently removing any trace of him in the organizers’ files.

Meanwhile, Gyeong-seok, who’s still on the boat, engages in a shoot-out with masked guards who had been trailing him. As the guards close in, Gyeong-seok is rescued by Jun-ho, who was also at sea.

Gyeong-seok and No-eul finally manage to escape the island in the series finale and go back to their lives. A six-month time jump reveals that Gyeong-seok returns to his job at the theme park and that his daughter has healed. Meanwhile, No-eul reunites with her daughter, whom she had been looking for for years.

Do the Squid Games continue?

Squid Game’s last few minutes affirm that the games are still in motion and are, in fact, a global event.

When in L.A., In-ho passes by the games’ U.S.-based recruiter played by none other than Blanchett, who is playing ddakji, the card game from the first two seasons, with a prospective player. As In-ho watches from afar, the two exchange a glance, seemingly recognizing each other.

Though Blanchett’s cameo may at first seem surprising, it is potentially a set-up for David Fincher’s English-language Squid Game spinoff that Netflix is reportedly developing, per Deadline.