*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 primarily follows Seong Gi-hun, player 456, but there are several key cast members who appear throughout including Hwang Jun-ho, a police officer who finds their way onto the island where the game takes place.
But just what is Hwang Jun-ho’s fate in Squid Game, does the cop die before the end of the series?
Release date and plot
Squid Game arrived on Netflix on September 17th and although it was initially released without much attention, the show has certainly caught the eye of fans.
The series follows Seong Gi-hun, a man down on his luck and in rising debt with loan sharks.
After playing a game 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 as the consequence for losing is death.
Who is Hwang Jun-ho?
Hwang Jun-ho is a police officer who first appears in Squid Game’s second episode after the players are given the option to vote to leave the game.
Player 456, Seong Gi-hun, is one of those who choose to leave and once back on the mainland he goes to the police after witnessing the horror of the Red Light, Green Light round.
However, none of the police officers he tells believe him, except for one, Hwang Jun-ho, whose own brother has one of the cards that Seong Gi-hun left at the station, suggesting that he is taking part in the game.
In response, Jun-ho decides to join Gi-hun in returning to the island and manages to stow away as one of the guards as their masks help to disguise him.
Does the cop die in Squid Game?
Hwang Jun-ho’s fate is unconfirmed in Squid Game but as his body is never seen, it’s likely that he managed to survive and could return in any potential future seasons.
During Jun-ho’s time on the island, he learns that the game has been going on since the 1990s and that his brother, Hwang In-ho, actually won the game in 2015.
In episode 8, as Jun-ho attempts to escape with the information he’s recovered, he’s captured by the Front Man and his guards and is left corner on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea.
It’s at this moment that it’s revealed that the Front Man is actually Jun-ho’s own brother and that he’s now running the game.
In-ho gives his brother a chance to surrender but Jun-ho refuses, resulting in him being shot by his own brother and falling into the sea below.
That’s the last time we see Jun-ho in season 1 and his body is never recovered.
Luckily, Jun-ho was shot in the shoulder, which in the world of TV gives him a good chance of survival, so there’s every possibility that he could return in any potential future seasons.
Season 1 ends with Seong Gi-hun wanting to take down those behind the deadly game and a good place for him to start would be to team up with Jun-ho as he has some key information about the game and the people running it.
Squid Game is available to stream now on Netflix after releasing on September 17th, 2021.
In other news, Will Love 101 return for season 3? Netflix renewal explored