Warning! Spoilers for Squid Game season 3 ahead!
Squid Gamecreator Hwang Dong-hyuk has revealed how he initially planned to end Gi-hun’s story, as well as why it was ultimately changed.Squid Gameseason 3brought Gi-hun’s story to a definitive close, as he sacrificed his own life so that a newborn baby could win the games. It was an impactful resolution, but not necessarily what Hwang had originally intended for this protagonist.
In an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter,Hwang explained thathe had originally imagined Gi-hun putting an end to the Korean games, only to spot the American recruiter woman while with his daughter in Los Angeles. However, Hwang instead decided that it was more impactful to the themes ofSquid Gamethat Gi-hun sacrifice his life. See theSquid Gamecreator’s full comment below:
“I don’t know if I can call it an original ending, but 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. But as I began writing the story, and as I began to think more and more about, ‘What do I want to deliver with the ending of this story?’ And also, ‘What should Gi-hun’s journey and what should his destination be?’ I was witnessing more and more what was happening around the world and I thought it was more fitting for Gi-hun to send this powerful and impactful message to the world [with his death] and that should be how the story comes to a close.”
What Gi-hun’s Original Ending Would Have Meant For Squid Game Season 3
Squid Game Needed A Major Sacrifice
Hwang’s comment above reveals that one thing he knew for certain about the ending ofSquid Gamewas that the games in Korea would be brought to an end, only for the American recruiter to show audiences that this was still a problem around the globe. This is an important message to end the series on, since it emphasizes that capitalistic greed is a Hydra—remove one head and two more take its place.
However, if it had been Gi-hun who saw theAmerican recruiter inSquid Game season 3, thenthe series wouldn’t have revealed the ultimate weapon against this many-headed monster. Gi-hun’s sacrifice for Jun-hee’s baby was a demonstration of what it would take to put a stop to humanity’s downward trajectory. Individual good acts only put a chip in the larger problem, but that’s all we can do.
Had the Squid Game creator skipped over this and reunited Gi-hun with his daughter in LA, the overarching lesson of the series wouldn’t have been as poignant.
This is the “powerful and impactful” message Hwang mentioned above. Had theSquid Gamecreatorskipped over this and reunited Gi-hun with his daughter in LA, the overarching lesson of the series wouldn’t have been as poignant.
Our Take On Gi-Hun’s Original Squid Game Ending
Squid Game’s Creator Made The Right Choice
Gi-hun was a fantastically complex protagonist forSquid Game. I would have loved to see a version of the story in which he survived and was reunited with his daughter. He would never have been the same after everything that happened to him, but his survival would have been hopeful. Still,I have to agree with Hwang and his decision to kill off Gi-hunin the end.
Gi-hun’s final message inSquid Gamewas exactly what was needed to end the series. This is a character who was wholly selfish and greedy at the start of the story. However, by the end, he was willing to die to save someone else. His final words, “humans are…” followed by his selfless deed, demonstrated what humanity needed to become to beat greed. Ultimately, Gi-hun’s death served a better purpose than his survival would have.
