Squid Game actor addresses season 2 ending following backlash

31 December 2024, 16:18 | Updated: 31 December 2024, 16:20

By Katie Louise Smith

Some fans have called the Squid Game season 2 ending "boring" and have labelled it a "let down". Now, Lee Jung-jae has responded...

Squid Game season 2's ending? A lot of viewers are mad about it! Leaving everyone on such a massive cliffhanger like that? After only 7 episodes? What do you mean we now have to wait months until Squid Game season 3 comes out to see the second half?

Yep, the second season of the Netflix K-drama ended with a shocking twist involving Seong Gi-hun and the Front Man, bringing the season's biggest storyline to a head in an absolutely brutal way.

But after waiting three years to finally dive into season 2, viewers were left frustrated and disappointed when episode 7 ended with seemingly no real explanations.

That kind of reaction was expected by creator Hwang Dong-hyuk. Now, the series stars Lee Jung-jae (Gi-hun) and Lee Seo-hwan (Jung-bae) have addressed the shock ending amid the backlash from fans on social media.

• Read more: Is there more episodes of Squid Game? Here's why season 2 is so short
• Read more: Squid Game season 3 release date window confirmed by creator

WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Squid Game season 2's ending!

Squid Game season 2 ending explained: What happened?

In the final episode, Gi-hun and a group of players stage a coup by overpowering the armed red workers. After an intense shootout, Gi-hun and Jung-bae manage to get within touching distance of the Front Man's quarters.

However, what they don't know is that they're actually being tricked by the Front Man (In-ho) who has been posing as their friend Young-il, Player 001.

In the final moments, In-ho fakes his death as Young-il and returns to his role as Front Man. Once Gi-hun and Jung-bae surrender, Front Man walks down the stairs, kills Jung-bae and takes Gi-hun captive.

The episode ends there, leaving viewers on a massive cliffhanger about Gi-hun's fate. On top of that, only three games have been played, there's still around 70(ish) players left in the game and several big storylines and questions have been left unanswered.

Some viewers have been left feeling let down by season 2's final episode. Comparing it to season 1's perfect narrative and expertly crafted payoffs, they're claiming it was "boring" and "anti-climactic" while others went as far to say it was a "waste of time".

One user wrote: "Just finished watching #SquidGame2 and to sum it up everything was really predictable, no plot twists or anything [...] messy writing, characters and sigh... i expected more after waiting for so long and now we prob have to wait another 3 years? hmm"

"Everything just fell apart in the final ep & entire season is just a bridge to season 3," another added, while someone else complained: "You should have finished the story, idc how long it would take because what was that? Spent 7 hours and there's not a single resolution? there's no need for a season 3 tbh"

However, there is a reason why Squid Game season 2 ended at such a pivotal point.

If you were expecting some kind of satisfying ending for Gi-hun, you came to the wrong place. After all, the games are not set up for players to win.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk said he thought it was “just the right moment to end the story.”

"Of course, those watching would feel like, 'Oh, no. What’s going to happen next? Give us the next episode right now.' But I think that because, at that moment, Gi-hun loses everything, he fails all of his attempts, that is when he goes through yet another character transition. So, I thought that was the best place to end the season,” he added.

In an interview with Variety, Hwang also revealed that he originally wrote season 2 and 3 as one long story, but split it because it was too long for one season. As a result, he decided to end season 2 at a point where "I could give closure as a second season and then move on with the third."

Lee Jung-jae and Lee Seo-hwan also had faith in the boss' decision.

"My first reaction was, 'how could you end the season at that point?'," Lee Jung-jae said. "I think the audience would be dying to know what’s going to happen next and some may be very angry, actually. Some may even curse that it’s ending on such a cliffhanger. But I realised that a lot of people nowadays actually love bold cliffhangers."

Lee Seo-hwan added, laughing: "I actually really, really love that cliffhanger ending."

Read more about Squid Game here:

• Is there more episodes of Squid Game? Here's why season 2 is so short
• Who is 001 in Squid Game season 2? His real identity explained
• Who plays Player 120 in Squid Game season 2? Why Park Sung-hoon plays the transgender character
• Who plays Thanos in Squid Game season 2? Boss defends T.O.P. casting following scandal
• Squid Game prize money converted from Won to USD: How much is 45.6 billion won?

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