Warning: this article contains spoilers for the final episode of Squid Game. Do not read on unless you have watched the Netflix show in full. 

It seems like an age ago since we frantically binge-watched every episode of Netflix’s hit Korean series Squid Game. The show, which landed on UK Netflix on 17 September, took the internet by storm and for good reason. 

With outstanding production design, thought-provoking ruminations on capitalist society and Hunger Games-esque scenarios, the nine-episode-long series continues to captivate audiences everywhere.

The series tells the story of 456 contestants who compete in mysterious games with deadly consequences for a huge financial reward. With each round based on a traditional Korean childhood game, it seems as though the money could easily be won. However, with in-fighting, psychological trauma and desperation spurring many on, numbers quickly dwindle. 

Now, a second series of the hit drama has been confirmed by the show’s writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk and it seems as though one of the main characters is about to go through a transformation of epic proportions.

Protagonist Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-Jae) may find himself having to make the difficult choice between good and evil, says the show’s creator. 

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Dong-hyuk likens the possible future plotline to the same one that the Front Man (played by Lee Byung-hun) had to go through: “[He was] also a past winner but became a Front Man, it’s like Darth Vader. Some end up Jedi and some become Darth Vader, right?”

He added: “I think that maybe Gi-hun will go through a certain critical point where he is put through a test as well.”

Although no further details were given away, Lee Jung-Jae did joke: “If I had to be a Front Man, I would be the most scary Front Man you would ever see.”

What do we know about Squid Game season 2 so far?

While watching the series was a rollercoaster ride, many people (myself included) have still been eagerly anticipating a second instalment of the hit series. Well now, we finally have confirmation that a second season will be going ahead.

Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has now revealed that we will “indeed” be getting a second season, with it currently being in the planning stages.

He told Associated Press that “there’s been so much pressure, so much demand and so much love for a second season… so I almost feel like you leave us no choice!

“But I will say there will indeed be a second season. It’s in my head right now. I’m in the planning process currently. But I do think it’s too early to say when and how that’s going to happen.

“So I will promise you this…” he added, before confirming: “Gi-Hun will come back, and he will do something for the world.”

With that Gi-hun cliff-hanger and the fact that we now know Squid Game is a worldwide game that has been happening for decades, the possibilities within the new series are endless.

As the South Korean thriller has dominated Netflix’s rankings – it hit 111 million views in just 28 days – it’s safe to say that all Squid Game fans will be rejoicing. But for now, we’re still reeling from what went down in that fatal final episode. 

Here are the questions that will be front and centre in our minds for the second season of Squid Game.

Is Seong Gi-hun rejoining Squid Game?

In the dramatic finale, we see Gi-hun win the final round of the show’s titular Squid Game against childhood friend Cho Sang-woo. 

For a year after winning though, Gi-hun doesn’t spend any of his prize money. Coming back home after the game, Gi-hun discovers his mother has died while he was gone and proceeds to live life as a recluse. After Il-nam’s emotional deathbed confession, Gi-hun’s drive is seemingly unlocked. 

We see him get a surprising red hairdo, give half of his prize money to Sang-woo’s mother and put Sae-byeok’s little brother in her care. Things seem to be finally looking up for Gi-hun until he’s on his way to the airport to catch a flight to see his daughter in Los Angeles.

Noticing the Game Recruiter playing that fateful introductory game of ddakji with another helpless stranger, Gi-hun runs over to stop the proceedings. Grabbing the business card from the new recruit, Gi-hun is about to board his plane when something overcomes him and he calls the number on the back of it. He tells the voice on the other end of the line that the Game should not continue, but being an all-seeing presence, the voice proceeds to tell him to board his plane. Instead, we see Gi-hun turn around and ignore the instruction. 

Fans have been quick to point out that he could be wanting to rejoin the game, either as a contestant, or like The Front Man (a previous Squid Game winner and Jun-ho’s brother), he could be interested in taking a leading role in the games. Perhaps as a way of infiltrating it from the inside – who knows?

All we do know, though, is that the cliff-hanger paves the way for a lot more to come.

Is police officer Hwang Jun-ho really dead?

In the shocking face-off that saw The Front Man finally being unveiled, we learnt that the intimidating character was none other than Jun-ho’s brother. Having previously won Squid Game in 2015, it seems as though the brother took a leading role in the event ever since. 

While Jun-ho frantically tried to call his fellow police officers, The Front Man and his squad eventually tracked him down to a cliff edge, where he shoots Jun-ho in the arm and watches as he falls into the sea.

Although it was a jaw-dropping revelation, the shot was not fatal and we already know that Jun-ho is a great swimmer. The possibility of Jun-ho being alive is a strong one and if a second season does happen, maybe the brothers will be making another appearance.

Il-nam was behind Squid Game all along?

The old man that tugged at everyone’s heartstrings was actually the bad guy all along.

It was the plot twist we didn’t see coming and the revelation came with an equally dramatic death bed scene where we learn he never got shot in that fateful marble game with Gi-hun. So why was he taking part in his own deadly game? Apparently, he wanted to create something fun for him and all his uber-rich friends in the 80s who were bored of … being rich? Betting on players, like betting on horse racing, seemed to fill that void in his life. 

The brain tumor was real though and having such a diagnosis spurred him onto joining the game so he could experience it for himself. Fans have been quick to highlight that in the games he took part in, death was never a real outcome for him.

In the first game of Red Light, Green Light, Il-nam can be seen excitedly running through, even after people started getting shot. We see the sniper viewfinder reveal that actually, Il-nam was never a target on their system and could have never been shot.

Images: courtesy of Netflix