Squid Game features a hidden scene that teases what to expect when the show returns for season three.
The second instalment of Netflix’s most-watched TV show of all time arrived on Boxing Day (26 December), three years since it first took the world by storm.
However, while viewers have been mostly impressed by the follow-up and its new array of characters, they were left divided over the action-packed final episode, which ended with a cliffhanger teeing up what will be the third and final season in 2025.
But there was one scene in particular which Squid Game’s creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has called a “hint” at the fallout to come when the show returns.
*Spoilers follow – you have been warned*
In the final episode of the show, Gi-hun AKA Player 456 (Lee Jung-jae), who won the games in the first season, leads an uprising against the shadowy bosses in charge of the game by taking the weapons of the pink-costumed assassins who carry out the deadly challenges.
Unbeknownst to Gi-hun, his second time in the games has seen him make an ally of black-masked villain In-ho, known as The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), who himself won the games years before.
In the finale, In-ho – who Gi-hun knows as Young-il AKA Player 001 – fakes his own death before returning to his position behind-the-scenes.
When Gi-hun and his friend and fellow player Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) surrender after running out of ammo, In-ho, donning his black mask once again, executes the latter.
However, it’s after the episode ends that Dong-hyuk dropped a teaser of what to expect in season three: a mid-credits scene shows a new giant doll, much like the one seen during the show’s infamous Red Light, Green Light scene, which sees players gunned down if they’re caught moving when the doll is facing them.
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“That’s actually a [sneak peek] of Cheol-su, who, like Young-hee, is a new giant doll that we’re going to be showcasing in season three,” Dong-hyuk told Entertainment Weekly.
“And that’s also a hint at the most exciting game in season three as well. So, while it hasn’t been shared yet, I hope everyone will be excited to meet Cheol-su and the new game.”