The cliff-hanger finale of The second season of Squid Game it ended with a bang. The episode Friend or Foe set the stage for the final conflict, which will play out in the series' third and final season. Staying true to its reputation, the Korean thriller kept raising the stakes throughout the seven episodes of Season 2, until a surprising shift in power unfolded before our eyes.
South Korean thriller on Netflix knows how to keep the audience on their toes, and did just that until the Season 2 finale credits rolled. The last time the program ended, audiences had to wait more than three years to return to these bloody childhood games. It sounds like the wait won't be long for season three to arrive.
Until then, let's dig into The Squid Game Season 2 finale. Where will things go for Gi-hoon (Lee Jung-jae), Frontman (Lee Byung-hoon) and the rest? And what's the deal with that post-credits scene?
Before I go on, you should know there are spoilers ahead. If you haven't finished Squid Game Season 2 or don't want to be reminded of what happened, tread lightly.
Read on more: Stream these 17 sci-fi TV shows on Netflix for out-of-this-world entertainment
Lee Jung-jae returns as player 456 in Season 2 of Netflix's The Squid Game.
The battle of the Xs and Os
Once they added that election component to the mix, it seemed the writing was on the wall for a civil war to break out between the contenders. And that's exactly what happened. Thanks to the hilarious hype of hip hop musician/villain Thanos, a fight between Xs and Os takes place in the bathroom.
Squid Game has built a reputation for being a brutal series, but this scene really highlighted the visceral nature of the match. This was some kind of up close and personal brawl that reached new heights when the rap star himself got a fork to the throat.
If you think this fight was unplanned, you have one more thing coming. Since when did they supply contestants with cutlery that could be used as a weapon? This was part of the front's plan. Several players were eliminated after the fight (meaning they died), leading to an uneven number between the two factions – meaning the next vote could potentially end up with the majority voting to go home.
Wi Ha-joon returns as Hwang Joon-ho in Season 2 of Netflix's Squid Game.
The hunt for the mysterious island runs into a trap
Since episode 1, detective Hwang Yun-ho has been on a constant mission to find the island where the games are played. As you'll recall, he got there in the first season to save his brother. Getting back to the island turned out to be more of a problem than he had originally anticipated.
That doesn't mean he hasn't been able to attract a skilled group to join him on the hunt. He has. The ship's captain, who has joined Joon-ho on his search for the island, is impressed by their new drone equipment. However, the failures continued.
A key detail was revealed in the finale that may indicate why Joon-ho keeps coming up empty-handed. After the captain is discovered tampering with the drone in question, he kills one of Jun-ho's crew and throws him overboard. It seems that all this time, in some way, he was at stake with the bloody operation at the front.
Gi-hoon's plan for revenge takes shape
Gi-hoon was able to take the money he won from the contest and travel to a far away tropical place to live the good life. He didn't. Instead, each episode of Season 2 finds Player 456 on a disciplined path to save as many lives as possible and dismantle the games forever. So instead of jumping on a plane and disappearing forever, he decided to push himself back into these violent childhood games.
It was all about revenge. After the battle in the restroom, Gi-hoon told his crew that the other side would come for the heads once the lights went out. They did just that. However, instead of fighting back, he had them all wait under their beds until the guards came in. Even if his teammate Oh Young-il expressed some disapproval of the idea.
The attack took place in the dark, and several players were eliminated. However, player 456's side was quietly waiting. After the doors opened and frontline henchmen moved in to stop the violence, they stood up, fought back, and acquired enough guns to bring down the entire operation.
Lee Byung-hun is the leading man in Season 2 of Netflix's Squid Game.
Close, but no cigar
It was obvious that Gi-hoon was not going to completely succeed in this strike. But it was cool to watch the prisoners pretend with the common mission of regaining their power and escaping this hellhole once and for all. There were even a few moments when I thought they would make it.
However, the frontman is a sly kind of sociopath. Or should I say Oh Young-il?
All along, Young-il has been cosplaying as one of the competitors in these games when, in fact, he was the evil one in charge. When he first entered the games and talked to Gi-hoon, Young-il emotionally revealed his reasons for playing the games: his sick wife was pregnant and in desperate need of medical care they couldn't afford.
Was this a lie? Or could there be some truth to this story, potentially revealing Young-il's origin story before he took on the role of frontman? Regardless, it was a delicious narrative tool that certainly added extra fuel to Gi-hoon's fire.
Lee Jung-jae is Seong Gi-hoon and Lee Seo-hwan is Park Jung-bae in Season 2 of Squid Game on Netflix.
Gi-hoon didn't find out the front's identity. Not yet. After getting close to taking out the control room, Young-il reveals over the walkie-talkie that he and his men have been taken out. Soon after, Ji-hoon and his old friend Park Jung-bae were captured by the evil black masked man and his hooded henchmen. To pay for his insolence, Gi-hoon watched as Jung-bae was killed.
That's it. That's the end. There was no closure and barely a hint of what was to come. But there was definitely a hint.
The post-credits scene of the Squid Game season 2 finale teased a new mystery game.
This brings me to the post-credits scene I mentioned earlier. After a few seconds, the audience saw a giant statue of a boy facing the iconic Red Light, Green Light girl. This was a peek at a new game for the contestants. But what was that? I first thought that Red Light, Green Light could be gendered, with men and women fighting for supremacy.
But perhaps this will be a twist on the classic childhood game Red Rover, in which two opposing teams try to break through each other's linked arms by taking turns sending one of their own. It's all speculation, but it's nice to see a new game on the horizon.
As we await the final round of episodes, some big questions remain: Will detective Hwang Joon-ho find the island? How will Gi-hoon's time in the gauntlet change going forward? In fact, how will everyone involved be punished? That remains to be seen, but something tells me these games are about to get a lot more sinister.