Three seasons later, “Squid Game” has ended. Was protagonist Gi-Hun’s (Lee Jung-jae) fate spelled out in Season 1, Episode 1? The evidence is convincing, fans are saying online.
In the hit Netflix show out of South Korea, financially desperate people battle each other for a prize pot of 4.56 billion won, or just over $33 million.
After winning the first game in Season 1, Gi-hun returns, this time with the intention to take down the craven competition. He makes it to the end again. In the final moments, he chooses between sparing himself and taking the life of an infant born during the games, or leaving the infant as the sole winner.
The words he says are a clue into his journey in the show.
How do Gi-hun’s last words tie back to Episode 1?
In a dramatic, intense moment, Gi-hun turns to Front Man and the VIPs, who spectated the final game, and makes his thoughts clear.
โWe are not horses. We are humans. Humans areโฆโ Gi-hun says as his voice trails off.
He never finishes the sentence. Instead, he plunges to his death, leaving the infant as the winner of the game.
Some fans pointed out that this was a nod to the very first episode of the TV series, when viewers learned about Gi-hunโs life outside of the game.
Gi-hun is depicted as a financially struggling divorced dad who loves his daughter dearly. To celebrate his daughterโs birthday, he wanted to treat her to dinner and a nice present but didnโt have the money. He turns to horse betting to win money for his daughter.
The horse betting motif carries all throughout the show. Similar to horse races, the “Squid Game” players participate for the enjoyment of the bettors and VIPs. Despite mental torture and never-ending trauma, the bettors do not care; they simply want to be entertained.
This motif is mentioned by Front Man โ a former winner-turned “Squid Game” exec โ in the first season, moments before Gi-hun is dropped off on the street with the prize money on a debit card.
โYou bet on horses?โ Front Man asks Gi-hun, who is seen blindfolded.
โItโs the same here, but we bet on humans. Youโre our horses,โ Front Man continues.
Though it may not be what they wanted, fans say that Gi-hunโs fate is a full circle moment.
โItโs a way of saying that we shouldnโt forget that what weโre watching is disgusting, and that maybe we should think about why weโre watching this kind of entertainment,โ said one commenter on TikTok.
โHorses act on instinct. Theyโre forced into wars, into races, into someone elseโs game. They run because they donโt have a choice. And maybe thatโs what the Squid Game was, people running out of desperation,โ another X user said.
What do his last words mean?
Show director Hwang Dong-hyuk spoke to Variety about Gi-hunโs last words and why he never finishes the sentence.
โMore and more Iโve come to realize that itโs so difficult to define what humans are. We are very complex beings,โ Hwang said.
โSometimes weโre filled with hope and goodness of the heart. And then in an instant, weโre filled with greed and immense selfishness.โ
โI wanted that last sentence to be a question that I asked all of our audience members. I wanted everyone to ask that question and ask themselves to finish that sentence on their own,โ Hwang said.
