The second season of Netflix’s survival thriller series ‘Squid Game’ concludes with multiple cliffhangers. Seong Gi-hun is forced to surrender to the Front Man (Hwang In-ho) after the failure of his rebellion. His life ends up in the hands of the antagonist, who brutally murders one of his companions. Meanwhile, the surviving players face the soldiers who rush to their living chamber without knowing what is ahead for them. The abrupt end to the installment is followed by an ambiguous mid-credits scene that features two dolls. Although one of them is familiar, the other one is mysterious and fear-inducing! SPOILERS AHEAD.

Squid Game Season 2 Mid-Credits Scene Introduces Cheol-su

The mid-credits scene of the second season of ‘Squid Game’ features three players coming across Young-hee, the doll that detects motion during the “Red Light, Green Light” game. Surprisingly, she is not placed out in the open in front of a tree, which is where she is situated during the game. Furthermore, she faces a doll like her. He even appears to have her motion-detecting skill. This second doll is Cheol-su, the “boyfriend” of Young-hee. His appearance is not accidental since he will be part of a significant game in the third and final season of the show.

“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 3,” Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of the dystopian drama, told Entertainment Weekly. “And that’s also a hint at the most exciting game in season 3 as well. So, while it hasn’t been shared yet, I hope everyone will be excited to meet Cheol-su and the new game,” the writer-director further added. This mysterious game can be the creation of the Front Man, who may have wanted to get back at Seong Gi-hun.

Among the series of games that form the titular Squid Game, “Red Light, Green Light” holds immense value because it eliminates an enormous number of players all at once. However, this purpose is not fulfilled in the second season since Gi-hun uses a loophole in the rules of the game to ensure minimum elimination. The one-time winner asks his fellow players to hide behind one another, only for Young-hee to miss several individuals who move during the game. Cheol-su’s presence on the opposite end eliminates this loophole. If he has the same motion-detecting ability, the players will only be exposing themselves if they line up behind each other.

The Unrevealed Players Hints at Surprising Developments in Squid Game Season 3

The Front Man can use Young-hee and Cheol-su in several ways. Since the Squid Game is not completed in the second season, the antagonist can choose to resume the same in the third installment, especially since Gi-hun’s rebellion has outrightly failed. Considering that many surviving players are alive only because of the trick the protagonist has pulled during the “Red Light, Green Light” game, he may want to conduct a replay, but this time with two dolls to eliminate any advantage the contestants may have. The increased stakes are guaranteed to make this modified, innovative game exciting, as Hwang Dong-hyuk noted in his interview with EW.

If that’s the case, the three players we see in the scene, who are Player 096, Player 100, and Player 353, can be part of the survivors. We already know that Player 100 is none other than Im Jeong-dae, one of the de facto leaders of Team O. However, nothing is really that straightforward in ‘Squid Game.’ Since the faces of the three players are hidden, their identities can be assumed only with a pinch of salt. The three men can even be new players who are being introduced to the modified version of the opening game, “Red Light, Green Light.”

The specifics of the Squid Game in the second season add weight to this theory. This particular edition of the game is drastically different from the one that is played in the first installment. The involvement of the Front Man as a player, the option to end the game without losing the accumulated money, and the absence of the VIPs make the theory plausible. This edition of the Squid Game can be a compromised one particularly designed to tackle the threat of Gi-hun. Now that he is under the Front Man’s custody, the latter may want to kickstart a new edition without any loopholes. If this theory proves to be right, the three players have to be newly chosen ones rather than familiar individuals.