Squid Game – Ep09 – One Lucky Day
In the final eponymous Squid game, Gi-hun defeats Sang-woo after a brutal fight but refuses to kill him; instead begs him to stop the game using the third clause. Sang-woo declines, and asks Gi-hun to take care of his mother before stabbing himself, making Gi-hun automatically the winner by default. Gi-hun is returned to Seoul with a bank card to access the prize money, only to learn his mother died some time after he re-entered the games. A year later, still traumatized and unwilling to use the money out of guilt, Gi-hun receives an invitation card from “Gganbu” and is shocked to find a declining Il-nam on his deathbed. Il-nam reveals he created the game to entertain the bored and wealthy like himself, choosing childhood games and participating in Gi-hun’s group for nostalgia. As they talk, Il-nam wagers with Gi-hun on whether an unconscious man in the street will be helped before midnight. The man is helped just in time, but Il-nam dies shortly after. Gi-hun retrieves Sae-byeok’s brother and arranges for Sang-woo’s mother to care for him after giving them a share of the prize money. On the way to the airport to reconnect with his daughter in Los Angeles, Gi-hun sees the same game recruiter playing ddakji with a new player and manages to take the player’s invitation card. He calls the card’s number before boarding his plane, demanding to know who is behind the games. The Front Man answers, ordering Gi-hun to board his flight, but Gi-hun ends the call and returns to the terminal.