There’s no denying that Squid Game season 2 introduced a whole new cast of fun characters to compete in a fresh series of challenges, forging new relationships and sparking exciting drama to keep the stakes high. However, many of the season’s biggest problems were to be found in the ending.

The ending of Squid Game season 2 was very controversial, particularly because it ended on a cliffhanger after several minutes of action. The earlier episodes were extremely tense and featured some exciting new games, but the finale took this show in a whole new direction that it’s never explored before. This weak ending is something that must be fixed in Squid Game’s third and final season later in 2025.

Squid Game Season 2's Ending Shootout Was Absurd

There Was No Need For Such An Action-Packed Ending

While Squid Game has always been a show about following the rules and competing in strict challenges, the finale of season two changed that entirely. With the contestants split into two distinct groups, those who wished to continue the games and those who wished to end them, the latter faction staged an uprising against the guards and tried to escape from the island of their own accord. What ensued was an action-packed shootout that was tonally distinct from every other episode of Squid Game up to that point.

Although Squid Game’s finale featured some memorable scenes, most notably the death of Gi-hun’s close friend Jeong-bae, the shootout was largely forgettable and lacked the tangible stakes of previous episodes. Not only were the characters draped in impenetrable plot armor, but Gi-hun’s decision to risk his friends’ lives in this uprising was totally out of character and felt cheap. The brutality of Squid Game is so effective because it’s used sparingly, which is something the finale didn’t quite understand.

Squid Game Season 2's Finale Was Made Worse By Being A Cliffhanger

Season 2 Teased Audiences With A Cliffhanger Ending

Additionally, Squid Game’s second season ended on an unnecessary cliffhanger that offered no reward for the emotional turmoil of the previous episodes. Cliffhangers can be extremely effective when they’re used correctly, but they have to give the audience something in return to make their investment worth it. Instead, Squid Game merely promised audiences something that it wasn’t prepared to give them, which is the worst kind of cliffhanger ending.

Squid Game's seasons 2 and 3 were produced back-to-back.

Thankfully, viewers won’t have to wait long to see what happened after season 2’s explosive ending, because Squid Game season 3 is officially coming in 2025 - just a few months after the second season’s release. This makes the show’s cliffhanger ending slightly more bearable, as everything about the Front Man and his deadly games will soon be revealed in its entirety. However, this also means that Squid Game season 3 will have to provide the satisfying conclusion that season 2 couldn’t. It will be the show’s final season, and there’s no room for ambiguity.

How Squid Game Season 3 Can Have A Better Finale

There Are Several Great Options For The Grand Finale

Squid Game could end in a variety of different ways. The show could have Gi-hun destroy the games from the inside, it could somehow redeem the Front Man after his actions in season 2, or it could even bring Gi-hun to the dark side and have him replace In-ho as the next leader of the games. The possibilities are endless, but the important thing is that it’s a satisfying, fulfilling ending that feels true to the characters and the spirit of the show; it can’t suddenly become an action movie and hinge everything on an over-the-top shootout like season 2.

Gi-hun’s victory felt earned and weighted, whereas his defeat in season 2’s finale felt like a result of complete recklessness.

Squid Game season 3’s ending has to focus more closely on the games and the character dynamics within them because that’s always been the centerpiece of the show. Season 1’s ending was so effective because it didn’t pull any tricks - the characters had been told they’d have to compete until there was a single survivor, and that’s exactly what happened. Gi-hun’s victory felt earned and weighted, whereas his defeat in season 2’s finale felt like a result of complete recklessness.