“We Are Not Horses, We Are Humans”: Humanity vs. Greed in Squid Game Season 3.
SPOILER ALERT!
What was the point of investing heavily in arms and planning to stop the Squid Game (in season 2) when Gi-hun (Player 456), the main protagonist of the series, ended up getting eliminated (in season 3)? Due to his collaborative efforts with the detective, it made sense in the very last episode and it served as a poignant vehicle to complete the plot. What Gi-hun said before the end is worth noting, in a deeper sense, he did win the game
"We are not horses, we are humans, and humans are..."
For those who have not seen this show yet, Before we get into Season 3, let’s recap what Squid Game is all about. The series revolves around a group of individuals who are buried in debt and decide to participate in a series of children’s games for a chance to win a life-changing cash prize. In this show, Gi-hun is the protagonist, and he is shown as a gambler and not a very good father. However, as his character develops in later episodes, it becomes clear that while he may be a gambler, he is a good human at heart, and he serves as a poignant vehicle to show that hope and humanity of humans persist despite all the evils. But, there’s a wild twist: losing means death. Games like Red Light, Green Light and Tug of War might seem straightforward, but they quickly turn into life-and-death situations. The majority of these games are rooted in traditional Korean childhood culture, as during the game, the background score complements the Korean games and their nostalgia. It starts with a mysterious game of ddakji, a game played with folded papers in different variants, slammed onto the ground under specific rules, where desperate individuals are approached and put to the test. If they pass, they receive an invitation to join the main games, getting into a brutal world where survival is the only goal.
The third and latest season of Squid Game left viewers filled with pain, nostalgia, and disappointment. But it also left behind something more meaningful: a clash of two opposing sides of human nature.
On one side is Gi-hun, who sets out on a journey to prove that humans are not just horses running in circles for entertainment. His mission is to show that human life has value, dignity, and the ability to choose empathy over cruelty. On the other side are the VIPs, wealthy and anonymous elites who sponsor and bet on the deadly games, cold and sadistic, who believe everything, including a human life, has a monetary value.
Throughout the season, these two ideologies continue to crash into each other. Repeatedly, humanism is killed literally, with players killing each other in various rounds. Consider the fates of Player 007, Player 149 (the mother and son), Player 222 (the pregnant lady), and Player 120 (the transgender woman). All of them chose to believe in the value of human life. Rather than killing innocents or showing cruelty in the lust of money, they chose to be killed.
In contrast, Player 333, cunning and heartless, baited his infant baby even to her death, just to win the game. He represents the extreme opposite: the belief that survival and profit are worth any sacrifice, even of one's own blood.
In the last episode, when Player 456 chooses to die and save the baby, the VIPs are left stunned and dissatisfied. His sacrifice shows a powerful callback to Season 1, when Player 001 (Oh Il-nam) challenged Gi-hun by saying that “no one would help a beggar dying on the street”. But someone did help him. That moment proved pivotal: while the innocent might be weaker and less equipped than the rich, who know nothing about money and their sadistic infatuations, the weaker ones always show that humanity always triumphs over monster turned evil humans.
Even though the Squid Game continues in the future, Gi-hun’s final scenes prove that humanity still exists. In losing the game, he killed it to an extent.
The ending is not bad. In fact, it matches perfectly with Gi-hun’s belief and his unshakable faith in humanity. He was human, too, so why didn’t he fear death?
Because he chose to be human and suppressed his survival instinct.
Gi-hun did not fear death; in fact, he had already endured a far more gruesome loss of emotions and purpose (the same reason he never smiles in season 3). The trauma he experienced in Season 1 led him to recognize that mere survival, a life stripped of humanity and meaning, is nothing but a mere ruined voided life. His willingness to face death in the very last moment wasn't simply an act of courage. Rather, it represented a pursuit of redemption, a means to redeem his love for innocence and human lives.
The difference between Player 456 and Player 333 is simple yet profound: one chose to remain human, while the other chose to become something else, a demon.
PS - Not every story ends happily. Sometimes, the most powerful endings are the ones that remain true to the soul and are remembered for decades.
Rayyan Rashid is a student pursuing English Literature at Jamia Millia Islamia
Edited by: Inaaya Haque
