The third and final season of Squid Game is now streaming on Netflix, with all six episodes available. Created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the series comes to a definitive close, tying up nearly all narrative arcs – though many fans may find the finale more bitter than sweet. ‘Squid Game’ Season 3 Review: Thrilling Set-Pieces, Strong Performances – and an Emotionally Numbing Finale. As the culmination of a brutal survival game in which contestants face increasingly gruesome challenges, Season 3 delivers numerous major character deaths – including one particularly devastating loss for those who have stuck through all three seasons. SPOILERS AHEAD – While several beloved characters meet their end this season, those hoping for poetic justice against the game’s vilest architects will be sorely disappointed. The orchestrators of this cruelty escape unscathed, free to indulge their sadistic pleasures elsewhere. What a dampener! Below, we rank the most significant deaths in Squid Game Season 3 from least to most impactful: 13. Unnamed Squid Game Officer Park Hee-soon in Squid Game S3 Played by: Park Hee-soon This unnamed officer serves as a secondary antagonist in the season’s weakest subplot, attempting to thwart No-eul’s rescue mission. His lack of development makes his demise – during a brief fight after indulging in villainous monologuing – feel nothing much impactful. 12. Captain Park Oh Dal-su in Squid Game S3 Played by: Oh Dal-su A minor antagonist on the Front Man’s payroll, Captain Park betrays Jun-ho’s team, gunning most of them down. A timely intervention from Woo-seok spares Jun-ho, who retaliates by killing Park with a spear gun. 11. Seon-nyeo (Player 044) Chae Kook-hee in Squid Game S3 Played by: Chae Kook-hee The fraudulent shaman meets a fitting end after unwittingly leading her followers to slaughter during the hide-and-seek game. After teaming with the self-serving Player 100 for keys, he betrays her, leaving her to be stabbed by a drug-addled Min-su. 10. Dae-ho (Player 388) Kang Ha-neul in Squid Game S3 Played by: Kang Ha-neul As the target of Gi-hun’s wrath for betraying the rebellion, Dae-ho found himself relentlessly pursued throughout the hide-and-seek game. While Gi-hun was undoubtedly furious with him, it’s unlikely he would have resorted to killing had Dae-ho not attempted to stab him first. In the ensuing chase, Gi-hun strangles Dae-ho to death – an act that ironically secures his passage to the next round. Though Gi-hun had taken lives before, this marked his first instance of killing someone with his bare hands. ‘Squid Game’ Season 2: Ranking Every Major Death From Least to Most Impactful in Lee Jung-jae’s Netflix Series. 9. Min-su (Player 125) Lee David in Squid Game S3 Played by: Lee David Min-su’s downward spiral began after witnessing Nam-gyu sadistically stab Se-mi to death. Throughout Season 3, he struggled with his mental faculties, particularly after becoming addicted to Thanos’s pills. While he exacts revenge by ensuring Nam-gyu’s demise in the jump rope game, his own story ends tragically when Myung-gi pushes him to his death in the final challenge. 8. Nam-gyu (Player 124) Roh Jae-won in Squid Game S3 Played by: Roh Jae-won The sadistic, drug-addicted Nam-gyu’s violent comeuppance was inevitable. Whether murdering the innocent Se-mi in the previous season or committing wanton killings during hide-and-seek, his bloodthirsty actions sealed his fate. The poetic justice of becoming the first victim in the rope jump game – at the hands of someone he had bullied relentlessly – made his demise particularly satisfying. 7. Players 336, 353, 203, 100 & 039 A Still From Squid Game S3 These remaining contestants sealed their fates through their ruthless gameplay – the most annoying being Player 100 (Song Young-chang) – who showed willingness to even kill a baby for financial gain. Their deaths – whether by Gi-hun’s or Myung-gi’s hand, or by Player 039’s suicide – feel deserved, though the latter’s death inadvertently complicates matters for the surviving players. 6. Yong-sik (Player 007) Yang Dong-geun in Squid Game S3 Played by: Yang Dong-geun Poor Yong-sik! His inherent inability to kill anyone leaves him desperate during the hide-and-seek round. In a tragic climax to his tale, he attempts to murder Jun-hee (who had just given birth) even as his own mother offers to die in her place. Forced into an impossible position, his mother stabs him, only for the VIPs – disguised as guards – to execute him for failing to kill within the allotted time, all while his mother watches helplessly. 5. Myung-gi (Player 333) Im Si-wan in Squid Game S3 Played by: Im Si-wan What a reprehensible character arc. Initially presented as sympathetic – a victim of Thanos’s relentless bullying – Myung-gi reveals himself as perhaps the season’s most morally bankrupt contestant. While his killing of Thanos could be argued as self-defence, his subsequent actions are indefensible. He joins Nam-gyu in wanton slaughter during hide-and-seek, and coldly murders the heroic Hyun-ju before her friends. His survival instinct manifests as ruthless manipulation, with no regard for collateral damage. The sole glimmer of humanity – his apparent care for Jun-hee and their baby – proves hollow when he attempts infanticide in the final game. His death, falling off the pillar during a struggle with Gi-hun, comes as grim satisfaction – though his idiotic failure to press the button beforehand results in the loss of another key character. 4. Hyun-ju (Player 120) Park Sung-hoon in Squid Game S3 Played by: Park Sung-hoon Hyun-ju remained one of the most heroic and likeable characters throughout Seasons 2 and 3. During the hide-and-seek round, she repeatedly risked herself to protect Jun-hee and Geum-ja. When presented with an opportunity to secure her own safety, she selflessly chose to save her friends as well – an act of courage that ultimately led to her being fatally stabbed by Myung-gi. Her tragic demise serves as a brutal reminder of the show’s merciless world. Did Park Sung Hoon Really Upload Explicit ‘Squid Game 2’ Poster on His IG by Mistake? BH Entertainment Offers Clarity on Actor’s Earlier Apology. 3. Jun-hee (Player 222) Jo Yu-ri in Squid Game S3 Played by: Jo Yu-ri Jun-hee’s fate was effectively sealed when she fractured her ankle during hide-and-seek, compounded by giving birth mid-game. These physical vulnerabilities made survival in the jump rope game impossible – a reality she herself recognised. Her heartbreaking decision to leap from the ledge, sacrificing herself so Gi-hun could better protect her baby, stands as one of the season’s most emotionally devastating moments. 2. Geum-ja (Player 149) Kang Ae-shim in Squid Game S3 Played by: Kang Ae-shim Geum-ja stands as one of the kindest characters not only in Seasons 2 and 3, but in the entire series – rivalling Season 1’s beloved Ali. Her sole purpose for joining the games was to protect her son, making her subsequent trauma all the more harrowing. Forced to stab him herself to prevent him killing an innocent girl, she then witnesses his execution by gunfire. In a poignant moment, she delivers an emotional speech urging Gi-hun to care for Jun-hee’s baby – though we only later understand she was transferring this responsibility while contemplating her own tragic end. When guards arrive with a coffin the next morning, revealing her body hanging from the scaffolds, our devastation is complete. 1. Gi-hun (Player 456) Lee Jung-jae in Squid Game S3 Played by: Lee Jung-jae Naturally, the most heartbreaking death belongs to the show’s protagonist, who perishes not only because he refuses to kill a baby for his own survival, but also because he rejects becoming a pawn for the sadistic billionaires orchestrating the games. Yet the true tragedy lies in his ultimate futility – despite returning to dismantle the system, he achieves little of what he set out to do. While the island is destroyed and several guards are eliminated, the Front Man and VIPs escape unscathed and the nexus remains intact. Worse still, the final scene – featuring none other than Cate Blanchett as an American recruiter – confirms the games’ expansion to new continents. In hindsight, Gi-hun might have been better off taking that flight when he still could. When you come to think of it, all the players in the second/third seasons of Squid Game end up dead across the two seasons. What a tragedy!