Squid Game Season 3 had plenty of heartbreaking moments that made us wonder why we inflict this pain on ourselves. From Gi-hun’s devastating choice at the end to the death of Hyun-ju just as she was about to survive, here are 10 of the most heartbreaking moments from the final season of the Netflix hit Squid Game.
WARNING: Bring your tissues. I cried while writing this. You probably will too.
1. Gi-hun begging to be killed in episode 1
After the disastrous ending of Squid Game Season 2, Gi-hun broke. And his desperate screams asking why they had spared him coupled up with begging to be killed were absolutely heartbreaking. It was made even worse by everyone watching, none knowing how to help or even what to say. So they just watched and listened to his shattered cries.
MORE: Want more pain? Here are 7 of the most heartbreaking moments from Squid Game Season 2!
2. Hyun-ju being killed by Myung-gi in episode 2
Hyun-ju was that girl. And even though I know Squid Game is pain, her death at the hands of Myung-gi was shocking. It’s made even worse by her having found the exit. Personally, I was screaming for her to go through that door and survive. But that’s not her. She wouldn’t let Jun-hee and Geum-ja die if she could help. And don’t even get me started on the tear that ran down her cheek in her final moments. Acting.
3. Geum-ja hugging her son Yong-sik in episode 2
Geum-ja stabbing her own son to protect Jun-hee was shocking, yes. But the real heartbreak came in when she hugged him and started sobbing. She didn’t want to do this. She had entered the games for Yong-sik. To help him. But she couldn’t let him hurt Jun-hee or the baby. Her cries spoke of the knowledge that she played a part in her sons death. And it was made worse by him repeatedly whispering, “I’m sorry.” to her.
4. Geum-ja killing herself in episode 3
Before taking her life, Geum-ja sat down with a practically comatose Gi-hun and spoke to him about her son. She recounted how he always blamed himself, the lead up to his attempt to take his life, and how she played a part in his death. And when she finally got Gi-hun’s attention she said, “Please will you help… Jun-hee and her baby?” We didn’t know at the time that she was tying up all her loose ends because she felt unbearable guilt at Yong-sik’s death. In the morning what she had done was revealed when the guards came in with the signature black box with a bow.
MORE: Squid Game Season 2 didn’t have a sophomore slump. Refresh your memory with our review!
5. Jun-hee jumping to her death in episode 4
Only having her baby for a couple of hours, Jun-hee proved a mother’s love is an unexplainably complex and beautiful thing. And if she had to die to protect her baby, she would do it. This moment was made worse too by Gi-hun yelling for her to wait for him, that he would come for her. But nothing was going to deter Jun-hee. Her child came first. So she jumped.
6. Gi-hun seeing a hallucination of Sae-byeok in episode 5
Gi-hun was in a familiar place in Squid Game Season 3 Episode 5. The difference was that he had a knife and the other players didn’t. Right when he was about to kill another contestant in their sleep, he had a hallucination of Sae-byeok. (Or remembered her words.) In Season 1 she stopped him from killing Sang-woo by saying, “Don’t do it. You’re not that kind of person.” She said the same thing here. And he stopped.
7. No-eul finding out that her daughter died in episode 6
Now, I know that later on in Squid Game Season 3, No-eul gets the surprising news that her daughter might be alive. But her reading that her daughter had “died” according to these files is still heartbreaking. After everything she’s done, all the lives she’d taken, it was jarring to discover that maybe it had been for nothing. Her daughter had died. And she had become this person.
8. The button not being pressed in episode 6
The entire time Gi-hun and Myung-gi were fighting, I kept screaming, “Push the button!” And I hoped that one of them had accidentally pressed it in their tussle. After Myung-gi was killed, it was heartbreaking to watch Gi-hun realize that this close to the end, they had never pressed the button.
9. Gi-hun choosing to save the baby in episode 6
In my Squid Game Season 3 review I spoke about how I thought Gi-hun deserved a better ending because this was predictable. Nevertheless, it’s still heartbreaking to watch Gi-hun realize that this is the end. He’ll never leave the games, know if the stopped them, or even get to see his daughter again. But still, he chose his humanity. And his sacrifice cements him as a man of his word.
10. Sae-byeok mom being reunited with the son in episode 6
In all of this pain and heartbreak, there was one moment of light. At the end of the series, Sae-byeok’s mom was reunited with her son Cheol. And Sang-woo’s mom was right there having taken care of him this entire time. Knowing her, she probably used the money Gi-hun gave her to make this happen.
Squid Game Season 3 is now on Netflix.
