Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Squid Game season 3!After his rebellion against the games failed at the end of season 2, I was not prepared for Gi-hun’s shockingly dark turn in Squid Game season 3. Throughout season 2, Gi-hun led the other characters in Squid Game on a mission to try and survive the games while also finding some way to escape. This eventually culminated in his attempted rebellion against the Front Man, leading the show’s core characters on a quest to get to the main room and kill him, unaware he was among their ranks.
Because he’d planned for Gi-hun’s rebellion, Squid Game season 2 ended with the Front Man killing the main character’s best friend, Jung-bae, right in front of him. This laid the groundwork for a much darker Squid Game season 3, especially now that Gi-hun’s spirit has been broken by the lead antagonist. However, I wasn’t prepared for just how bleak events were going to become, especially the protagonist’s dark turn against one of his closest allies.
Gi-hun Killed Dae-ho Out Of Vengeance In Squid Game Season 3, Episode 2
He Was Angry That Dae-ho Didn’t Do His Part In The Rebellion
In season 3, episode 2, Gi-hun ended up killing Dae-ho during Hide-and-Seek out of revenge for what happened during the rebellion. As the players outside the dormitory are shooting at Guards, they begin to run out of bullets. Volunteering to go back, Dae-ho arrives in the main room, trying to gather as many magazines as he possibly can. It becomes clear not long after, though, that he’s incredibly nervous about leaving with them.
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Eventually, he suffers a panic attack and isolates himself in one corner of the room. When Hyun-ju returns to get more bullets, she finds him, wherein he starts to apologize. Before she can get the bullets back outside, guards enter the room, signaling that the rebellion has failed. This is what puts a target on his back during Hide-and-Seek, with Gi-hun’s dark turn seemingly being a consequence of the Front Man’s plan. Even though this was his motivation, the complete reason he killed Dae-ho was actually even more tragic.
The Real Reason Gi-hun Killed Dae-ho During Hide-And-Seek
At First, He Had Trouble Going Through With It
When Gi-hun first cornered Dae-ho in Hide-and-Seek, he was given ample opportunity to kill him for what he did. Instead, he hesitated, allowing Player 388 to escape for a short time. The tragedy of Gi-hun’s decision was that, when he was first given the chance to follow through with it, he had trouble committing to killing him. After all, the pair had been close allies for quite some time, and Dae-ho’s decision to stay was based on fear more than malice.
With his judgment clouded by grief, anger, and guilt, Gi-hun became his worst self.
Eventually, though, he and Dae-ho eventually come to blows with their blades, with Gi-hun fighting back, giving him the perfect excuse to kill him. It’s also an unfortunate reality that Gi-hun would have to kill someone in order to progress; since he was on the red team, if he failed to kill anyone within 30 minutes, he would be eliminated. Not only did he kill Dae-ho out of spite for what happened during the rebellion, but he also killed him so he could progress to the next game.
The most horrifying thing about Gi-hu’s decision was that, deep down, he didn’t really blame Dae-ho. Gi-hun blamed himself for what happened to Jung-bae and the other players who died that night, but he was projecting that guilt onto Dae-ho. The final scene of episode 2 made that clear, with Gi-hun telling himself, “It was my fault,” before attempting to take his own life. With his judgment clouded by grief, anger, and guilt, Gi-hun became his worst self.
Gi-hun Killing Dae-ho Was One Of Squid Game’s Most Heartbreaking Moments
He Turned Against One Of His Close Allies
Although killing Dae-ho was the first domino to get Gi-hun into the final game, I was heartbroken by just how brutally he killed him. Instead of using a blade, Gi-hun strangled him to death just before the timer ran out. This made his decision to kill him all the more personal, especially because of the violent nature through which it happened. It made me sad to see him do so in such a horrific way, especially after all they’d been through.
Dae-ho is also the first person Gi-hun has directly killed in the entirety of Squid Game.
But, having killed Dae-ho, Gi-hun was allowed to advance to the next game, Jump Rope, and eventually onto the final one, Sky Squid Game. The reality is that, had he not killed his former friend, he never would have made it to the end of the games. This added layer of survival makes what he did even darker, especially because he’s always been shown to put others before himself. It changed his character in a way that made me unprepared for the decision he made.
Dae-ho was one of the first people Gi-hun befriended in the second season of Squid Game, which made it all even more tragic. Dae-ho respected Player 456 and was one of the few characters who believed that Gi-hun was there to help them and was not just trying to trick everyone. Given Squid Game‘s track record of breaking our hearts, we should have seen this coming.
I Struggled To Root For Gi-hun After What He Did To Dae-ho
His Actions Made It Difficult To See Him In A Better Light
Although his anger was understandable given Jung-bae’s death, the fact Gi-hun killed Dae-ho so horrifically made it hard for me to root for him as the games progressed. While I still wanted to see him safely pass through all the challenges the Front Man put in his way, I felt like the darkness inside him had fundamentally changed who he was. This lasted for the majority of the games, with his protection of Jun-hee’s baby being the only sliver of his true self that peeked through his darkness.
Gi-hun’s decision to kill Dae-ho was a shocking turn of events that made it hard for me to fully root for him as Squid Game season 3 went on. Luckily, he still managed to find some redemption, even if killing one of his allies soured the journey. Even so, I found the brutality of what he did to be difficult to see past, especially because it revealed just how much he really did change inside after his rebellion failed.
All episodes of Squid Game season 3 are now streaming on Netflix.
Squid Game
8/10
- Release Date
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2021 – 2025-00-00
- 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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Jeon Young-soo
Game Guide
