Squid Game has quickly become one of the most popular and talked-about television series of all time, thanks to its incredible actors, its accessibility on Netflix, and its phenomenal worldbuilding. What makes shows like these succeed with fans is the presence of narrative ambiguity and unresolved issues, allowing for global discussions regarding theories. This includes both what has already transpired and what is yet to come.
While director and writer Hwang Dong-hyuk has enjoyed the attention and addressed some of these rumors and theories, they still continue to stack up, whether they use logic from the show or showcase the creativity of fans. There are many regarding dead characters still being alive that are more wishful thinking than being sensible At the same time, there are theories that, despite being bizarre and outlandish, could well be true and uncovered with Season 3.
Updated on February 18, 2025, by Ajay Aravind: Unlike Season 1, the second season of Squid Game ended on an extremely urgent cliffhanger and left Gi-hun’s fate open. Even more theories have surfaced in the last couple of months, whereas others have been disproven. As such, we have updated this list by removing refuted fan theories and including a few new ones.
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10
Oh Il-nam’s Original Exit Was Likely Improvised
Gi-hun’s Kindness Made Him Rethink the Previous Plan
After the reveal of Oh Il-nam’s role behind the death games, a re-watch of Squid Game can reveal several implications and clues, although these can certainly be blown out of proportion when hindsight is involved. With the revelation that the old man uses deception mixed with a hint of truth, it is difficult to know for certain which of these clues are legitimate and which are not. Gi-hun himself finds it impossible to parse Il-nam’s intentions after meeting him in the outside world.
On the day of the Marble Game, it is highly possible that Il-nam was intentionally trying to look weak in order to not have a partner for marbles. This would have resulted in him sitting out the next game and potentially even giving him an easy route out of the games without anyone suspecting anything. This seems especially likely, considering that it would be impossible to fake a death in the glass brigde game. However, Gi-hun’s kindheartedness in picking Il-nam as a partner meant that the old man had to improvise and fake his death after the Marble Game.
9
In-Ho Tried to Expose the Games During His Run
But His Defiance Failed and He Began Serving Il-nam
It was revealed that In-ho won the competition in a previous edition and later became the Front Man. By extension, it is not too farfetched or outside the realms of possibility to suggest that he may well have gone through the same stages of processing and self-pity as Gi-hun did during and after his victory. Fans already believe that In-ho has a heart beating somewhere in his body, but now perhaps hardened by his trauma.
A theory is that Gi-hun’s apparent act of defiance at the end of Season 1 could well be a mirror image of In-ho’s initial defiance, which would later lead him to become an integrated organizer of the games. Although there are certainly gaps in this theory, the ambiguity surrounding In-ho’s victory and transformation into the Front Man certainly needs some reasoning, and Gi-hun’s actions in Season 3 of Squid Game could well provide some insight.
8
Gi-hun Is the Son That Oh Il-nam Talked About
The Old Man Mentions a Son in Season 1
Gi-hun’s friendship with the kind old man during the rounds of Squid Game was a pleasant relationship for viewers to enjoy, at least until the show’s various heart-wrenching twists and turns. In addition to their endearing bond, the two seemed to have a lot in common, giving rise to the not-so-outlandish theory that Gi-gun may be the son Il-nam waxed nostalgic about.
While it might seem like a stretch, when Gi-hun asks the guards for chocolate milk, Il-nam says that his son was the same. It may well simply be circumstantial, as lactose intolerance is quite common among East Asians. However, theories surrounding the importance of their numbers and Il-nam giving Gi-hun his number one jacket also try to justify it as the passing of the torch from father to son. At the same time, fans are wondering why Gi-hun doesn’t remember his father.
7
Oh Il-nam Is also the Father of the Front Man and Jun-ho
In-ho Might Also Be Lactose Intolerant
Gi-hun being Il-nam’s son might be a promising Squid Game theory, but the Front Man In-ho makes more sense. The milk trope appears once again in Season 2, when In-ho gives his carton to Jun-hee. The obvious interpretation is that she’s pregnant, but the Front Man shouldn’t care about that when he routinely sends hundreds of people to their deaths. As such, fans believe that this is another link to Oh Il-nam’s lactose intolerance.
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The fact that In-ho joins the Squid Games with the 001 jacket has also been used as an argument in favor of him being the old man’s son. However, this theory becomes more interesting when considering the fact that Hwang Jun-ho is In-ho’s paternal half-brother, which makes the heroic policeman another son of Il-nam’s. By extension, it could be theorized that Gi-hun’s mother may have been Il-nam’s first wife and also the mother of In-ho. So many blood connections sound unlikely, but they fit into Squid Game‘s habit of surprising its viewers with plot twists.
6
Kang No-eul Shot Park Gyeong-sok Without Killing Him
Flashbacks Suggest That No-eul Will Save Gyeong-sok
Player 246, or Park Gyeong-sok, is one of the few Squid Game players shown in the outside world before his entry into the games. His small daughter suffers from a blood cancer that needs expensive treatments, explaining why her father took such an extreme step. However, the guard Kang No-eul is also shown meeting Gyeong-sok’s daughter and learning about his situation before the games begin, suggesting that she might help him in some way.
No-eul recognized Gyeong-sok during the games, but it’s unclear whether she’s keeping an eye on him. Gyeong-sok later participates in Gi-hun’s rebellion, only to surrender when the guards kill the rest of his allies. He begs for his life, but a guard corners him and seemingly shoots him dead. Since the location of the wound isn’t shown, fans believe that it was No-eul who shot him in a non-fatal area. If true, this means that there are at least two more characters on Gi-hun’s side than previously thought.
5
The Death Games Are International with Multiple Editions
There’s Also an American Squid Game Adaption in the Works
When the VIPs arrived on the scene to get a closer look at the games, it was ambiguously implied that the games were a South Korean edition of something bigger. Fans have deduced that this could well mean that the Squid Games are an international phenomenon, albeit an underground one due to the immorality and illegality of it all.
The fact that the VIPs have a collection of accents, with American English being a prominent one, heavily implies that there are other competitions like it all over the world, which is why they get global interest, support, and funding. Interestingly, director David Fincher is currently working on an American edition of Squid Game. If this upcoming adaptation is set in the same universe as the Korean series, then it’s even more certain that the Squid Games take place all around the world.
4
Park Min-su Isn’t as Helpless as He Appears
His Name and Behavior Send up Many Red Flags
Ever since Il-nam’s participation in Season 1, fans have been scanning Squid Game players for signs that they may also be VIPs in disguise. One of the Season 2 suspects is Player 100 Im Jeong-dae, an arrogant older man who clearly wants to finish the game. However, the far more likely character to be a potential VIP is Park Min-su, largely because he’s the most timid player fans have ever seen in the series.
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Se-mi’s death left Min-su effectively vulnerable against far more vicious players, but some fans think that this is all fun and games for him. Season 3 promos revealed a new doll named Cheol-su, identical to the doll Young-hee seen in Red Light, Green Light. In old Korean textbooks, three characters are used to teach children — and their names are Chul-soo, Young-hee, and Min-su. If Min-su’s VIP status is ultimately revealed, he could theoretically end up being a game host.
3
Oh Il-Nam Is Still Alive and Overseeing the Games
His Season 1 Finale Death Was Meant to Motivate Gi-hun
The old man contestant in Squid Game Season 1 was one of the most beloved fan favorites, with his “death” reducing viewers worldwide to tears. As a consequence, the eventual exposure of his true self and intentions shattered this perception and with it, any trust in anything Il-nam said. Therefore, the theory that Il-nam once again faked his death when he met up with Gi-hun after the games cannot be completely dismissed.
From the fact that he was in a hospital bed in an abandoned building, to the water he requested and the focus on the time, it is within the realms of possibility that something else may have been planned. Il-nam could have repeated the same stunt another time as a ruse to reignite and motivate Gi-hun to participate in another set of Squid Games. This theory is further supported by Gi-hun being Il-nam’s son, as it explains quite a lot about the old man’s motivations.
2
Gi-hun Will Take the Place of the Front Man
His Character Arc Is Already Taking a Dark Turn
One of the most impossible Squid Game theories claims that Gi-hun will ultimately take In-ho’s place as the Front Man and keep the games running. At this point in the story, however, Gi-hun is exclusively focused on saving innocent lives and neutralizing the Squid Games permanently. He even spent two years looking for clues that would let him participate again, with the hope that he could somehow bring the collective nightmare to an end.
However, Jung-bae’s actor Lee Seo-hwan teased a dark turn for Gi-hun in the upcoming and final Season 3. Gi-hun has already transformed into a gloomy version of his formerly whimsical self, so it’s easy to imagine going further down the path of darkness. With his utter defeat at the hands of the Front Man in the Season 2 finale, Gi-hun might resort to even more violent atrocities and lose sight of his empathetic goals.
1
Kim Jun-hee’s Unborn Baby Will Be the Only Survivor
Only True Innocence Can Defeat True Wickedness
This is arguably the strangest theory that the Squid Games fandom has to offer, as it requires multiple well-timed events for it to be proven true. It revolves around Kim Jun-hee, who was in a relationship with Lee Myung-gi long before the events of Season 2 began. She became pregnant at some point, but refused to listen to Myung-gi when he suggested an abortion. It was after this that Myung-gi disappeared for at least half a year, only to be reunited with Jun-hee in the Squid Games.
Considering the timeline, Jun-hee is at least six months pregnant, perhaps more. However, her decision to hide her pregnancy by binding her abdomen makes it impossible to ascertain a potential due date. Jun-hee could (prematurely) give birth during Season 3, making her baby the only truly innocent human being in the arena. As such, saving the baby at the end of the story could symbolize the ultimate collapse of the Squid Games, even if it means the death of fan-favorites like Gi-hun.
Squid Game
- Release Date
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2021 – 2024
- Network
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Hwang Dong-hyuk
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Lee Jung-jae
Seong Gi-hun / ‘No. 456’
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