Squid Game star thought the season 2 brutal cliffhanger might make the audience "angry" and "curse" the ending: "How could you end the season at that point?"

Squid Game season 2 (2024)
(Image credit: Netflix)

Squid Game season 2 has finally arrived, and it's already a huge hit for Netflix, breaking a record previously held by Wednesday and becoming one of the most popular shows on the streamer.

But, as anyone who's seen all seven episodes will know, it ends on quite the brutal cliffhanger. If you were shouting at your TV when the credits rolled, you're not alone – even Gi-hun actor Lee Jung-jae was taken aback.

"My first reaction was, 'how could you end the season at that point?' 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," he told Entertainment Weekly. "But I realized that a lot of people nowadays actually love bold cliffhangers."

Now, consider this your spoiler warning for Squid Game season 2's ending. In the final moments of episode 7, after Gi-hun's revolt has failed, Gi-hun's best friend Jung-bae is killed right in front of him by the Front Man, who has donned his disguise once more after posing as an ally all season.

"It must have been a really big shock for him," Lee reflected of the moment's impact on Gi-hun. "Maybe he will feel a little bit lost, or he doesn't know what to do next, or maybe he will become more furious and vengeful and really hate the host behind the game. I think the viewers, also, will be curious how changed a person Gi-hun would be in season 3."

Squid Game season 3 is arriving this year, though there's no release date just yet. To tide you over in the meantime, though, the Squid Game season 2 post-credits scene teases a sinister twist on a classic game…

While you wait, fill out your watchlist with our guide to the best Netflix shows and the best Netflix movies to stream now.

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English. 

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