Warning: The following contains spoilers for Squid Game season 3 finale.Squid Game’s creator Hwang Dong-hyuk explains Pink Guard Kang No-eul’s (Park Gyu-young) sudden change of heart in the season 3 finale. In the final season of the South Korean dystopian thriller series, Pink Guard 011 went on a rebellious quest, faking identities and killing her superior to save Gyeong-seok (Lee Jin-uk), Player 246, the artist father she met through her previous job at the amusement park, who wanted to save his sick daughter.
After having successfully smuggled Gyeong-seok out and set the records room on fire, No-eul was at her lowest, under the impression that her husband and daughter had died after her escape from North Korea. However,she decided to choose life and walk away from the Gameafter witnessing Gi-hun’s selfless act inthe final Sky game.
In an interview withNetflix, Hwang shed some insight into Pink Guard 011’s change of heart in the season 3 finale. The creator explained thatGi-hun’s “ultimate act of self-sacrifice” was what pulled No-eul back from the edgeafter having nearly all hope for humanity and life. After everything No-eul had done, trying to find her daughter and saving Gyeong-seok, he wanted to “show her rising.” Read his comments below:
She’s someone whose inner light has all but faded, drifting deeper into the night. A flicker of hope and pull towards life reignites within No-eul. I wanted to show her rising again, reclaiming her will to live, and giving life another shot.
What This Means For Squid Game Season 3’s Finale
Gi-hun Didn’t Just Save Player 222’s Baby
Squid GameintroducedPink Guard 011’s backstoryin season 2. Before working for the games, No-eul was a soldier in the Korean People’s Army, but she defected after killing her superior. After she escaped to South Korea, she has been searching relentlessly for her daughter, who was left behind in North Korea.
No-eul was recruited by a Masked Officer to become a Pink Guard to execute failed players during the games, buther motivation has always been to raise money to continue the search for her daughter. In the record room, No-eul saw her own file, which suggested that her husband and daughter may have already died.
Hwang’s comment reveals how the news devastated her and dimmed her “inner light.” On the other hand,Gi-hun’s sacrificeserved as the “flicker of hope” that re-ignited the fight in her and her desire to live. The creator’s comments also suggest that whileSquid Gameexplores some of the darkest and ugliest aspects of people,the ending is about hope.
Our Take On No-eul’s Ending In Squid Game Season 3
No-eul Finally Made Peace With The Goodness In Her
Squid Gameseason 3’s finaledoesn’t offer a solid answer as to whether No-eul is able to find her daughter in China, but it does see herheal from the guilt she carried from causing the separation of her family. No-eul made the same decision at the end of the games by rebelling against the system and doing what she believes is right. Similarly, Gi-hun sacrificed himself to save a baby. Even though he didn’t get to see the baby grow up or mend what was broken between his relationship with her daughter, he saved a life.
It makes sense that his decision in the Sky Game was what gave No-eul hope to live, because in the next scene, she’s able to see how her action in the Game brought a happy ending for Gyeong-seok. Even without offering a definite answer,Squid Gamealready gave No-eul the perfect ending by seeing her making peace with her heroism.
Squid Game
Cast
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.
