Warning: the following contains spoilers for Squid Game season 3.Squid Game’s creator Hwang Dong-hyuk explains why Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) blames Player 388, Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul), for failing to rebel against the game. Picking up immediately after the failed rebellion that led to bloodshed between the guards and the players in the season 2 finale,Squid Gameseason 3sees Gi-hun being returned to the arena, defeated. As the protagonist struggles with guilt, he turns to Dae-ho, who failed to deliver the ammo during the rebellion, and aims to eliminate him during the Hide and Seek game.
In an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Hwang broke down what happened to Gi-hun that led to him hunting Dae-ho.The series' creator shed some light onGi-hun’s fragile mentality after the rebellion, and how he needed an escape from the “immense sense of guilt,” which led to an"irreconcilable original sin,“where he killed someone for the first time. Check out his comment below:
At the end of season two, he fails the rebellion. He loses the people that he had gone to rebellion with, including, of course, his best friend. But I wanted to dig even deeper than that in season three. The process of Gi-hun’s arc where that immense amount of guilt that he carries and all of that tragedy through the rebellion, it just completely consumes him and he cannot take it any longer.
So he projects that immense guilt onto this character Dae-ho [Player 388], who failed to return with the ammo [during the rebellion]. Gi-hun struggles to escape this immense sense of guilt and that leads him to, as you see in [episode two during Hide and Seek], kill someone for the first time, based on his guilt. This means that now there is blood in Gi-hun’s hands.He commits an irreconcilable original sin.
Hwang further explained that while he struggled with the character in the aftermath of Hide and Seek,the first kill served as a pivotal moment in Gi-hun’s arc. Read his comment below:
And so depicting and writing the process of that character arc where Gi-hun is in that state and how he comes back from that? That was the biggest challenge. That was what I struggled the most with. As for what I came what I came up with, hopefully after watching the entire show, the audience will understand and support the conclusion.
What This Means For Gi-hun In Squid Game Season 3
Gi-hun’s Most Controversial Decision Shows His Brokenness
Squid Gameseason 3’s Hide and Seek gameis the first time that Gi-hun didn’t make the moral decision, and instead, fell to execute extreme violence in hunting down and eventually killing Dae-ho, markingthe lowest point for the character. Before getting revenge, Gi-hun confronted Dae-ho, who explained that he had previously lied about his military background to be on Gi-hun’s team because he wanted to survive.
During the rebellion, he froze, which was why he failed to retrieve weapons. However, this confession didn’t stop Gi-hun from killing Dae-ho. He completed his dark mission by strangling his former ally to death instead of showing him mercy, a controversial decision that has attracted some hate in the fanbase.
Hwang’s comment clarifies Gi-hun’s twisted mentality after failing the rebellion and how guilt drove him to make the unthinkable decision. While the protagonist didn’t give a speech of remorse inSquid Gameseason 3 finale, the creator’s comment also indicates that Gi-hun’s choice to take on the responsibility of protectingPlayer 222 and her babyand eventually sacrificing his own life to save the baby ispart of his redemption, even though he might have past the point of redemption.
Our Take On Gi-hun’s Decisions In Squid Game Season 3
Gi-hun’s Decision Is Shocking, But It Shows That He’s Human
Squid Gameseason 3 has seen some of the most brutal acts in the series' history. From Gi-hun’s temporary lapse into violence to a father’s willingness to give up his own child for money, the final season exposessome of the worst things the Players are capable of doing. Even though what he did to Dae-ho is irredeemable and shocking, it also shows that he’s a flawed human being, just like any other player, not immune to the cruelty of Squid Game.
Gi-hun has always been a figure of hope inSquid Game, but he isn’t exempt from being consumed and corrupted by the Game, especially when it continues to weaponize his sympathy and morality and use them against him. The loss and the consequences of the rebellion almost broke Gi-hun’s spirit forever. Fortunately, Player 456 found a new purpose in the latter half of the season, which ultimately led to his redemption and brought back the old Gi-hun.
