Warning! This article contains spoilers for Squid Game season 3.
Gi-hun and the Front Man’s battle inSquid Gamefinally comes to an end in season 3 when the Front Man’s reaction gives away how he truly feels about Gi-hun’s climactic decision. Although Gi-hun has gone through significant catharsis since the beginning of Squid Game, his season 3 story was jam-packed with many defining decisions that ultimately changed his life.
Not only did his series of decisions in the show’s last few chapters change the direction of his narrative but they also impacted those around him in more ways than one. For long, it looked like the Front Man was the master puppeteer, gradually leading Gi-hun into his well-thought-out schemes.
However, towardSquid Gameseason 3’s ending, Gi-hun made one final decision, which left a profound impact on the Front Man. If it wasn’t for that one choice, Gi-hun might have become the next Front Man. Thankfully, he makes the right call before it is too late.
The Front Man Gave Gi-hun The Same Choice Il-nam Gave Him Years Ago
He Gives Him A Competitive Edge With A Massive Cost
Before the finalgame inSquid Gameseason 3, the Front Man invites Gi-hun to his room and finally reveals his identity to him. For obvious reasons, Gi-hun is both shocked and infuriated after learning how he entered the games in season 2 and betrayed him before killing Jung-bae.
Instead of further tormenting Gi-hun, the Front Man surprisingly gifts him a knife and offers him a choice:he can either risk putting his and Jun-hee’s baby’s life in danger in the final game or kill his competitors even before the final game begins. Realizing that using the knife could help him save Jun-hee’s baby, Gi-hun considers murdering other players.
The protagonist even walks up to one player’s bed and puts the knife against his throat while he sleeps. However, he struggles to do the deed and decides to back off instead of falling for the Front Man’s trap. This one decision eventually becomes a defining moment in his story and changes howSquid Game’s final chapter unfolds for him.
…In-ho decided to kill his opponents in their sleep and secure his win, which paved the way for him to become the Front Man.
While Gi-hun makes the crucial choice, a flashback also reveals that the Front Man, In-ho, was given a similar opportunity by Il-nam when he first competed in the games. Unlike Gi-hun, however, In-ho decided to kill his opponents in their sleep and secure his win, which paved the way for him to become the Front Man.
Why Gi-hun Didn’t Use The Front Man’s Knife To Kill The Other Contestants
Gi-hun’s Remaining Humanity Prevents Him From Killing The Players
When Gi-hun puts his knife against a player’s throat, he sees a vision ofSquid Gameseason 1’s Kang Sae-byeok (Player 067), who tells him that he is not the kind of person who would do something like that.The vision seems to serve as a visual representation of Gi-hun’s conscience, reminding him to hold on to his remnants of humanity.
If he had killed the other contestants, he would have completely surrendered to the darkness and violence that the games cultivate, becoming a product of the overarching system like In-ho.
After killingDae-ho inSquid Gameseason 3’s hide-and-seek game, Gi-hun was on the verge of losing all hope and becoming more and more like the Front Man. If he had killed the other contestants, he would have completely surrendered to the darkness and violence that the games cultivate, becoming a product of the overarching system like In-ho.
However, despite being tempted to follow his darker tendencies and accepting the Front Man’s offer, Gi-hun decides to hold on to his humanity. He listens to his conscience and puts the knife back into his pocket. With this, Gi-hun ensures that the Front Man learns a crucial lesson from him.
Gi-hun’s Refusal To Lose Hope In Humanity Means He Beat The Front Man
The Front Man Fails To Have Gi-hun Walk Down The Same Path As Him
InSquid Gameseason 2, the Front Man often questioned Gi-hun’s decision to stop the games and tried to justify their existence by arguing about how they gave people like them a fair choice. TheNetflix Korean show’s season 3 makes it obvious that the Front Man did this because he hoped Gi-hun would ultimately become like him.
By gradually taking away everything Gi-hun once cared about, the Front Man wanted to break him and force him to lose all hope in humanity. Although Gi-hun eventually finds himself at a moral crossroads, where he even ends up killing a fellow player, he refuses to give up on his humanity.
22
3
Budget
US $21.4 million in season 1 and ₩100 billion in seasons 2 & 3
Streaming On
Netflix
The fact that he treads his own path instead of falling into the same trap as the Front Man proves that he eventually wins. His decision triggers a chain reaction of events that lead to his tragic death. However, unlike the Front Man, he remains true to himself until the end instead of becoming a mere pawn in an exploitative system.
Squid Game Season 3 Was About The Front Man Seeing Himself In Player 456
The Front Man Was Trying To Justify His Own Decisions Through Gi-hun
Deep down, the Front Man seemingly carried the heavy burden of his past decisions and pondered over all the what-ifs that could have led him to a different path. Owing to this, when he saw himself in Player 456 and noticed how he, too, was somewhere at the intersection between losing all hope and retaining his humanity, he could not help but wonder what he would do.
By making Gi-hun face the same moral challenges as himself and forcing him to make similar decisions,the Front Man seemingly wanted to justify his own past actions. To his surprise, Gi-hun refused to budge and proved to him that humans were not mere horses one could bet on and exploit in the name of entertainment.
Gi-hun’s decision to spare his competitors and his final sacrifice helped the Front Man realize that he was wrong about humans. It made him understand that not everyone would abandon their morals for survival and self-preservation, which, inSquid Game’s ending, paved the way for him to do some good deeds.
Squid Game
Squid Game is a South Korean series released in 2021 that follows numerous financially struggling participants who are invited to partake in children’s games with deadly outcomes. As they compete, they vie for a substantial cash prize, all while navigating lethal challenges orchestrated by mysterious figures.
