You know how you hear about an ending for a show the original creator was thinking of doing, and you’re just like, “God, how could you ever think that?” Yeah, that’s me with the Squid Game Season 3 ending.
We were waiting for the final season of Squid Game to come out as part of the 2025 TV schedule. When the second season premiered in December 2024, fans were champing at the bit for the games to continue after they were split into two parts this time around. Now, Season 3 came with the second half and the ultimate ending.
But, as the news cycle goes, the creator of the series, Hwang Dong-hyuk, sat down with The Hollywood Reporter in June 2025 to discuss how the show could have ended in his mind – and yeah, I have to say that this ending does not sit right with me.
The Idea Of Gi-hun Somehow Surviving Doesn't Sit Well With Me
For those who haven’t seen the Hollywood Reporter article, here is the quote about the ending the creator originally thought of:
In the beginning I had a vague idea about how I would end the story. And back then, it was having Gi-hun end the game, in one way or another, and leave alive and go see his daughter in America. So originally, I thought the person who witnesses the American recruiter woman would be Gi-hun.
Obviously, the creator said that as he was writing Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae) and the end of his story, the real ending began to take form. But even the idea of Gi-hun surviving this makes no sense.
At the beginning of Season 2, we really see Gi-hun at the end of his rope. He thrives on rage and other emotions to keep himself going. If he didn’t have that, he wouldn’t have done that epic face-off against the Recruiter, because a part of him honestly did not care if he lived or died, only if he took down the games.
In the original idea, Gi-hun somehow gets out of the games again and lives happily with his daughter? He would never be able to live with that guilt. His sacrificing himself in the end is really what made his story so impactful – that he would rather die than take the life of another innocent.
Also, His Daughter Never Knowing What He Truly Did Is Tragic Yet Beautiful
Another major thing is, yeah, Gi-hun going off to live with his daughter would have been sweet, but thematically and story-wise, it doesn’t make sense. There’s already plenty of tension between her and him at the beginning of Season 2, so unless her mother and new family somehow ended up in the games – or God forbid, her – then I can’t see a way where she and Gi-hun would live happily in America.
Plus, her not understanding what her father did for her, and thinking he was just a jerk who left their family, makes this story so much heavier. She’ll never quite get it, nor have the option to, since Gi-hun is dead, and all she has are the clothes that In-ho (The Front Man) leaves for her. That’s powerful stuff.
The Ending Is Fine The Way It Is -- Not Everything Needs To End With A Pretty Bow
Look, I’m also okay with happy endings. There’s a reason why the best rom-coms exist – because most of them have happy endings, and people love happy endings. But not everything has to have a happy ending. Squid Game is a series that didn’t need to have a happy ending.
This series had many highlights, including the introduction of Player 120, the emotional sequences between the players, the significant impact of Season 1, and its introduction of several new sections of the world to South Korean dramas. But just because there were a lot of high moments does not equate to a happy ending.
If anything, this is the kind of ending that is supposed to leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth. That's right, the games in South Korea are done, but corruption is everywhere, and anyone who has power will use it to their advantage. It’s no wonder the games were now used in America at the end, because that is precisely what would happen in reality.
It’s bleak, but raw, and the ending that Squid Game needed. Not every hero makes it out alive. And not every monarchy falls to dust once it’s toppled. Sometimes, it only takes a single spark for it to ignite somewhere anew and cause more catastrophe than ever before.
Well, now I need to check out the best shows to binge on Netflix to fill this Squid Game-sized hole in my heart. Be back when more news about David Fincher’s version comes out.
