How Squid Sport Season 2’s Large Cliffhanger Units Up Season 3

Proceed fastidiously; spoilers for the top of “Squid Sport” season 2 lie forward.

The second season of writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s acclaimed — and unbelievably common — Netflix sequence “Squid Sport” is formally right here, and the third season, in response to Hwang, will premiere someday in 2025. Based mostly on the season finale, “Pal or Foe,” what can viewers count on … and what about that huge cliffhanger?

Let’s again up for a second. At the start of season 2, the winner of the video games seen on display in season 1, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), stays in South Korea regardless of the sport’s Entrance Man, Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun), urging him to decamp to America and depart his time within the sport behind. He does not — and because the sequence jumps two years forward, we study that Gi-hun has spent that complete time making an attempt to suss out the Entrance Man and cease the video games as soon as and for all (on account of all of the homicide concerned). After his plan involving a GPS tracker inside a false tooth goes awry, Gi-hun is simply caught within the video games, however has one benefit: he is carried out this earlier than.

Identical to in season 1, there’s loads of petty squabbling amongst the 456 contestants over the huge quantity of prize cash, however amidst that, Gi-hun is ready to corral a small and dependable group of fellow gamers to revolt towards the guards and, within the course of, the Entrance Man himself. Because the gamers cut up into two factions — those that wish to preserve enjoying and people who need the sport to finish — Gi-hun and some others assume they’ve overtaken a handful of guards, just for the complete mission to finish in utter catastrophe. So the place does Gi-hun find yourself, and the way does this arrange the present’s third season?

On the finish of season 2 of “Squid Sport” — which is comprised of seven episodes — pandemonium breaks out within the participant quarters between the “X” faction (who wish to depart the sport and which incorporates Gi-hun) and the “O” faction, who wish to keep and end … and right here, “pandemonium” signifies that all of them begin combating to the dying. (That is partly out of sheer rage and partly as a result of each participant is aware of that as you whittle down the variety of contestants, the prize pot grows.) Gi-hun and his small military all disguise beneath the bunks and principally let different gamers duke it out, all of the whereas ready for guards to return in and break up the huge struggle. When the guards arrive, Gi-hun and his buddies subdue a number of guards and steal their weapons, opening hearth on the pink suit-clad masked oppressors.

There’s one huge drawback with this plan, unbeknownst to Gi-hun. One among his “allies,” who’s masquerading as Participant 001, is truly In-ho, also referred to as the Entrance Man. (Followers of “Squid Sport” will recall that the present principally did this very same factor in Season 1, in order that’s … neat.) All through the struggle, In-ho acts like he is on Gi-hun’s facet, however when he elements methods with Gi-hun, In-ho fakes his personal dying, dons his masks once more, and kills Gi-hun’s closest good friend Jung-bae (Lee Search engine optimization-hwan) proper in entrance of Gi-hun. The present then cuts to black (other than a post-credits scene), so it is comparatively protected to imagine that season 3 will choose up proper the place season 2 left off.

It is cheap sufficient to imagine that, as season 3 of “Squid Sport” will get going, Gi-hun will study that the Entrance Man is definitely the man who’s been his ally within the sport itself up till this level. That would mimic the twist in season 1 fairly straight (though the present already repeated stated twist verbatim, so something goes, apparently), but it surely actually seems like season 2 was constructing as much as this huge reveal. Alternatively, perhaps the Entrance Man finds a distinct method to punish Gi-hun and retains him at the hours of darkness about his identification — other than Jung-bae, Gi-hun’s different buddies within the sport are nonetheless alive (so far as we all know) — so the Entrance Man might keep masked, not reveal that he is truly Hwang In-ho, and easily choose off the remainder of Gi-hun’s allies. (This could be actually merciless for audiences, however that is “Squid Sport,” in order that would not precisely be unprecedented.)

There’s additionally the matter of In-ho’s brother as Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon), a detective who’s looking for In-ho and the particular location of the video games. He is not precisely getting anyplace, however hopefully, his lackluster storyline will put him again within the motion in season 3. At this level, one factor feels considerably sure: Gi-hun will not be casually becoming a member of the video games as a brand new participant for a third time, and the sequence undoubtedly feels prefer it’ll shift its battle to a showdown between Gi-hun and the Entrance Man.

“Squid Sport” season 2 is streaming on Netflix now.