Does The Cop Die in Squid Game?

Writer-director Dong-hyuk Hwang masterfully employs suspense and mystery to develop the narrative in ‘Squid Game.’ While most members of the ensemble cast of the show are involved in playing the game, Hwang uses Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) — a police officer who infiltrates the gaming island to look for his missing brother — to reveal to the audience some of the game’s mysteries. If you are wondering whether the South Korean cop survives in ‘Squid Game,’ this is what you need to know.

Does the Cop Die in Squid Game?

No, the cop or Hwang Jun-ho most likely doesn’t die in ‘Squid Game.’ When the first season ends, his fate is left uncertain, but given that the audience doesn’t actually see his body, we can presume that he has survived and will reappear if there are future seasons. Jun-ho first learns about the Squid Game when he notices Seong Gi-hun rambling about it at the police station. After learning from his mother that his older brother Hwang In-ho hasn’t contacted her in a while, he visits his brother’s apartment and finds a card similar to the one Gi-hun left at the police station earlier. He deduces that his brother has joined this game because he was facing financial difficulties.

Jun-ho sneaks onto the ship that is supposed to take the unconscious contestants to the gaming island and steals the clothes from one of the administrators. As the administrators are always supposed to wear masks to maintain their anonymity, Jun-ho successfully hides among them. He acquires the clothes of the administrators belonging to other groups and even gains access to the office of the Front Man, the mysterious masked individual running the game.

Jun-ho learns that the game is being held since the 1990s and that his brother won the game in 2015. One of the VIPs who arrive on the island to watch the game in person becomes enamored with a masked Jun-ho. When Jun-ho is alone with the older man, he holds him at gunpoint to force him to reveal everything he knows about the game. Jun-ho records the confession on his phone and subsequently gets off the island using the diving gear. He reaches one of the islands nearby and contacts his superior officer.

While trying to send the footage and photos he has gathered through his phone, Jun-ho notices that the Front Man has arrived on the island with his subordinates. Jun-ho attempts to escape but is eventually trapped between them and a cliff overlooking the sea. The Front Man asks him to surrender, but Jun-ho refuses and shoots the other man in the shoulder. Suddenly, it seems that Jun-ho recognizes something familiar about the Front Man. And when the latter finally takes his mask off, he is revealed to be Jun-ho’s missing brother, In-ho (Lee Byung-hun).

Once more, In-ho tries to convince his brother to surrender, but Jun-ho refuses again. In-ho shoots Jun-ho, and the latter falls from the cliff and into the sea. That’s the last time the audience sees the police officer this season. The files he attempted to send out probably didn’t reach his boss because of the poor connection. This is perhaps why another rendition of the game is hosted the following year. Another reason could be that the files did reach their destination, but Jun-ho’s boss was already on the payroll of the game’s creator. As for Jun-ho, he is most likely alive and biding his time until he can make a move against In-ho and his influential backers.

Read More: Is Squid Game a True Story?