Squid Game season 3 episode 6 recap: Officially game over for Player 456 (Finale)

Squid Game S3 Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in Squid Game S3 Cr. No Ju-han/Netflix © 2025
Squid Game S3 Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in Squid Game S3 Cr. No Ju-han/Netflix © 2025

Gi-hun (Player 456) and Myung-gi (Player 333) are in quite the dilemma now as they ended up killing all of the other remaining players in the previous episode. So now, it's down to the two of them. And the baby. We've officially reached the Squid Game season 3 finale, and you know that it breaks our hearts into many pieces. Even if we did see this ending coming. Here's a recap of season 3 episode 6, "Humans Are..." on Netflix. SPOILERS BELOW.

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Squid Game S3 Yim Si-wan as Myung-gi in Squid Game S3 Cr. No Ju-han/Netflix © 2025

Is Myung-gi (Player 333) crazy!?

I'll be honest, I'm still trying to wrap my head around Myung-gi's mindset. Like, this whole time he was working to save the baby, his baby. Though now when faced with either his life or his child's, he picks his own? I mean, we've seen how selfish he is throughout but still.

Well, it's Player 333 vs Player 456 left in Sky Squid Game. Myung-gi tells him to hand over the baby but Gi-hun is reluctant because he knows what that means. With only the two of them left, it'll either be Myung-gi or the baby. Gi-hun has to do something though because the bridge will collapse in five minutes if he doesn't cross.

Myung-gi sort of start to spiral, not believing that Gi-hun is willing to eliminate himself if he doesn't hurt the baby. He also starts to think that he made up winning the games before and wonders if he and Jun-hee were so close because there was something between them. For the love of god Player 333, shut up. Like Gi-hun says, snap out of it!

Ultimately, there's not much Player 456 can do as he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. He places the baby on the bridge like Myung-gi asked. And gosh that moment when he picked up his baby with the pole, I stopped breathing until she was safely back on the ground. Our Gi-hun is smart though, and quickly grabs the knife from the player he killed and jumps accross before the bridge can full retract.

The two start fighting before anyone can press the button to start the final round. And I knew the heartbreak and sacrifice was coming from here. Dang it, you guys. No one thought to press the button, ugh. Myung-gi is completely money crazed and selfish or something. Again, I don't understand his psyche completely. He grabs hold of this poor precious baby and literally hangs her over the edge, threatening to drop her. I just can't.

With some more scuffling, the two end up going over the edge. Player 456 is holding on to the ledge while Player 333 hangs on to his coat. Though it starts ripping and can't hold him, and Player 333 falls to his death and is officially eliminated. That's what should have happened but I don't know why I'm left with a feeling of being underwhelmed for some reason...

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Squid Game S3 Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in Squid Game S3 Cr. No Ju-han/Netflix © 2025

Player 456's ultimate sacrifice in Squid Game season 3 episode 6: "We are not horses, we are humans"

Player 456 climbs back up and you'd think we can be relieved for a moment. He won, right? WRONG. Remember the pesky start button that no one pressed to start the round? Player 333's death was not counted and so, now Gi-hun is faced with a choice. After everything he's been through and seeing the type of man he is, we knew the decision he was going to make. There's no way he was going to kill the baby to save himself.

Gi-hun just stands there for a moment holding the baby, and there's a moment of finality and goodbye we know is coming. He places her down, then turns to where the VIPs are watching and says "we are not horses. We are humans. Humans are..." He doesn't finish his sentence because there's a lot of definitions that could describe people. Though in his ultimate sacrifice, choosing the baby over himself, he proves what type of human he really is. It's goodbye to Player 456, and yes I'm still crying over here.

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Squid Game S3 Lee Byung-hun as Frontman in Squid Game S3 Cr. No Ju-han/Netflix © 2025

The Detective and Front Man come face to face one last time

The detective almost shoots Player 246 since he's dressed in pink guard uniform, though then is able to confirm that he's a player who escaped. He finally learns where the island is and has called the Coast Guard. He decides to head there alone. Unfortunately after all that hard work though, it's too late. He makes it there as the Front Man goes to pick up the new Squid Game winner, the baby.

The two come face to face in what seems to be the last time, with Jun-ho asking his brother why he's done everything that he's done. Frustratingly, even to this point, the Front Man doesn't answer. He just gets the baby and leaves. He's too far gone and I think the detective finally sees that nothing will bring his brother back and he needs to let him go.

As the Coast Guard is approaching, the evacuation plan is set in place. Everyone, including No-eul who is able to burn the files of all the players and finds out her daughter is dead in her file, ends up making it out. She was going to take her own life, though she then sees Player 456's sacrifice to save the baby instead of himself and stops. The whole arena explodes, that's part of the evacuation plan. And again, after everything and making it on the island, the detective leaves as quickly as he made it on.

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Squid Game season 3 on Netflix

How the Squid Game season 3 finale ends

After all of this, there's a six month time jump. We go back to the amusement park where Player 246 is working once again. No-eul is there, he's drawing her. Though of course he doesn't know she's the one who saved his life and helped him get out. His daughter is also there, looking healthy and there's at least a happy ending for someone in this show.

No-eul gets a call from the man who helps reunite people with their families in North Korea. Before it all burned down, she saw in her file that her daughter is dead. However, he calls and tells her she may have been spotted in China. And so, that's where she heads off to. Is she really there, that's left open-ended. But I guess there's a glimmer of hope.

One family he is able to reunite brings a full circle moment from season 1. If you remember one of the three finalists from the first season, Sae-byeok, had been in the games because she wanted to reunite herself and her brother with their mom who was stuck in North Korea. She wasn't able to make it happen, though it finally does in the Squid Game season 3 finale. Their mother makes it across and is reunited with her son, with Sang-woo's mother, who had been caring for the boy, at the airport and happy for the family as well.

Mr. Choi was in prison the last few months for breaking into Captain Park's home. He gets out and it's clear he and the detective are still friends. He wants to renovate the motel Gi-hun had them training in, and that alludes to what he's going to do next I guess. All of Gi-hun's remaining money that had been at the motel is gone, and no one knows why. Though we find out who took it.

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No Ju-han/Netflix © 2024

The Front Man goes to Los Angeles (and leaves his brother a gift)

It was the Front Man who went to get the rest of Gi-hun's money. It's very slim, but Squid Game season 3 episode 6 shows that there's still a small bit of humanity left in him. He takes the money and travels to Los Angeles where Gi-hun's daughter lives. He delivers her father's suit from the games, as well as a card where she can access the remaining money. Now she knows that her father isn't just ignoring her for the rest of her life. He's gone and she can sort of have closure.

Before he travelled, he left a little gift for his brother. The detective comes home to find Jun-hee's baby with the full prize money. Why he waited six months to do that, I don't know. But, ok. At least the baby will be in good hands.

Back to Los Angeles, there's one more surprise of sorts. The Front Man is in his car and rolls down the window when he hears something familiar. There's a recruiter playing Ddakji in an alley, and that recruiter is none other than actress Cate Blanchett. She and the Front Man lock eyes, clearly knowing each other.

This proves that unfortunately in this world, sometimes no matter how hard you try, there's always going to be more powerful people who can continue to do bad things. The American Squid Game tease is also pointing to the fact that the American spin-off is most likely coming as well. And, that's how the series ends!

Squid Game season 3 is now streaming on Netflix. Check out a list of all the season's recaps, here.

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