*WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Squid Game*
When it arrived on Netflix, few could have predicted just how popular the Korean drama Squid Game would become, but the brutal series has since found itself topping Netflix’s top 10 lists around the world.
The bloody competition at Squid Game’s heart sees 456 players compete for ₩45.6 billion (US$38.6 million) with any losers forfeiting their lives.
Squid Game focuses mainly on Seong Gi-hun (player 456). But what happens to him? And does he die before the series ends?
Release date and plot
Squid Game premiered on Netflix on September 17. Although it was initially not much of a hit, the show has since gained much attention.
Seong Gi-hun is a poor man who falls prey to loan sharks and becomes increasingly indebted.
After playing a game of ddakji with a mysterious man at the train station, Gi-hun is invited alongside 455 other players to take part in a series of childhood games with a prize pot of ₩45.6 billion (US$38.6 million).
However, the childhood games in question aren’t as simple as they were on the school playground because losing is death.
Who is Seong Gihun?
Seong Gihun, also known by player 456, is the main character on Squid Game. We follow the story of his life through all nine episodes.
Gi-hun starts the series as a chauffeur, but he is suffering from a gambling addiction. He is also under increasing pressure from loan sharks.
Gi-hun, played by Korean actor Lee Jung Jae, lives with his mother when we meet him. He struggles to pay his bills and support his daughter. It is this that tempts him to enter the Squid Game competition.
Does 456 die in Squid Game?
Seong Gi-hun, the only player who did not die among the 456 entrants, is crowned the winner of episode 9.
However, it was a long and dangerous journey to get there, and Gi-hun very nearly didn’t make it through.
After seeing the horrors of the initial game, ‘Red Light, Green Light’Gi-hun voted to eliminate the competition, but no one believed him when he went to the police.
Eventually, he elects to rejoin the game and attempt to win the ₩45.6 billion prize money.
Gi-hun meets many unlikely friends on the road, including player 067, Kang Saebyeok, and player 001.
In the end, however, there is only one winner. Cho Sang-woo (player 218) was defeated by player 456 in the final game.
However, Gi-hun is left traumatized by the experience and hardly touches his ₩45.6 billion prize money.
Squid Game’s last scene features Gi-hun boarding a plane to be with his daughter. But he ultimately decides that he will turn around and find out who the people behind it are.
Squid Game can be streamed now on Netflix After releasing September 17, 2021.
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