Squid Game Ending Explained: Does Gi-hun find out who the actual host of the deadly game is in Netflix K-Drama?

Squid Game is the same genre as that of Alice in Borderland. The lead characters of the show are trapped and fooled into taking part in a dangerous game. Each individual who was approached by the host of the Squid Game was in the depths of hell financially.

These people drowned in debts and they had signed the rights to ownership of their physical body away to the debt collectors. The man who had lent them the money used these poor people like rich men used horses to place bets and gamble during a race.

Gi-hun and his childhood friend Sang-woo coincidentally ended up in the game. Neither were aware that the other would be present during the game. Gi-hun, from the very beginning, was never expected to make it till the end of the game.

Why did Sang-woo die in the finale of Squid Game?

Sang-woo, on the other hand, was just the right candidate to take home the money that rich psychopaths had used to bet on them. He was manipulative and betrayed his own teammates in a matter of seconds. He was capable of worse if it meant victory.

He proved as much when he stabbed Sae-byeok before the final round of the game was held. He was worried that Gi-hun and Sae-byeok would team up and end the game before the final round and he'd lose all the money. So he stabbed Sae-byeok to death instead.

In fact, his death in the final episode of Squid Game was also a result of his greed. He did not want to give up on the billions that Gi-hun could win. Sang-woo’s friend had won the last round of the game. Yet, he decided to give up on the game because he did not want Sang-woo’s death in his hands.

Sang-woo was taken aback, yet he did not want to return to a life where he was treated as a con artist. So instead, he stabbed himself and ensured that Gi-hun won the prize money. He also asked Gi-hun for a favor, which was to take care of his old mother.

When did Gi-hun find the real host behind the Squid Game?

A year after the games, Gi-hun continued to live a poor man. When he was away playing games for money, his mother had died with no one around to help her. He had no one to live for as his daughter had also moved to the US. It was at this time that he was invited by the manager of the bank where his prize money had been deposited.

He hadn’t touched the money at all. He felt guilty and was sure that the money did not belong to him. At this time, Gi-hun received another invite from the men who organized the Squid Game.

This time in Squid Game, he received a time, date and address. What awaited Gi-hun at the address was a huge shock. He met the actual host of the game. This is not the brother of the detective, who happened to be just the frontman. This was the host of the show, and it was none other than the old man who was a part of the game.

Towards the end, Gi-hun believed that the old man had died because of him. However, this man was admitted to a fancy hospital where he had been receiving treatment. A betrayal such as this woke Gi-hun up from his daze that existed for over a year.

His interaction with the old man helped him come to terms with the events of the past. He was able to conclude that the best thing that he could do for both Sae-byeok and Sang-woo was to help them realize their dream. Gi-hun took Sae-byeok’s brother out of the children’s home and took him to Sang-woo’s mother.

The old woman who grieved her son’s loss was more than happy to take on the job of caring for a young boy. Gi-hun left a suitcase full of money to the old lady and left her a note that stated that the money was what he had owed Sang-woo in Squid Game.

He was on his way to the US to meet his daughter when he met Gong Yoo again. This was the same man who had tempted and trapped him into playing the Squid Game in the first place.

Before he could stop this man, Gong Yoo slipped past, and all that Gi-hun was left with was the phone number. Can he really stay away from the new host of the Squid Game? That is a question for another season of Squid Game.