Last words are hard. Ending a monster hit TV show satisfyingly is probably even harder. That's what makes "Humans are…," the final words of Lee Jung-jae's Seong Gi-hun, AKA Player 456, so particularly striking. Not only do those two words bring this iconic character's journey to an end, but they also perfectly – and poignantly – encapsulate the entire Netflix series.
In the final episode of Squid Game season 3, Gi-hun is put in an impossible position when the last game comes down to him, player Myung-gi, and Baby 222. For anyone to survive this final round, one of them must die. It's made even harder by Myung-gi, the baby's father, immediately going on the offensive. A fight ensues, and in the chaos, Myung-gi is killed – but in a breathtakingly brutal twist, nobody ever pressed the button to start the round, meaning his death was entirely in vain. That leaves Gi-hun with yet another unthinkable choice: sacrifice himself, or the newborn baby.
Of course, anyone who's been paying attention knew Gi-hun would never sacrifice the child. The shock instead comes when there's no last-minute reprieve, and the words no one wanted to hear are finally spoken: Player 456, eliminated.
Winner takes all
Gi-hun's death was always going to be seismic, and it was always going to be upsetting, too. But what adds so much weight to the moment is Gi-hun's choice of last words: "We are not horses. We are humans. Humans are…"
The line brings the whole show full circle. It harkens back to the season 1 finale, in which the Front Man told Gi-hun that the contestants in these sadistic games are merely horses to bet on. It also references the old, gambler-addict Seong Gi-hun we met in the very first episode, who transformed completely over the course of the show. Most importantly, it's an incredibly succinct summation of the show's entire ethos that all human beings are worthy of dignity and respect, and that all human beings are capable of being selfless, caring people, despite living in the ruthless capitalist structure the show critiques.
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In season 3, this central question about the nature of humanity – and whether it's worth having faith in humankind or not – is pushed to its absolute limit. Even Gi-hun, who is usually a shining light in this regard, falters when, in the aftermath of his ill-planned (and ill-fated) rebellion, he is so thoroughly broken he murders former friend Dae-ho with his bare hands.
Through the birth of Jun-hee's Baby 222, Gi-hun slowly regains some of his old spark. He protects the infant at all costs after Jun-hee is unable to cross the jump rope bridge, and he defends the newborn when the other players grotesquely want her killed so they can increase their share of the prize money. But by the finale, Gi-hun is surrounded only by enemies, with all of his allies eliminated. This should be the moment is faith in humanity completely breaks, and yet, when the Front Man offers him a deal – murder his fellow players in their sleep and escape with his life and the baby – Gi-hun refuses, because, as the memory of Sae-byeok emotionally reminds him, he's "not that kind of person."
Gi-hun goes into the final game with the knowledge this is probably where his luck runs out, along with the knowledge that everyone still alive wants him and the baby dead. Even the baby's own father tries to kill her for the money. Here, Gi-hun's faith in humanity really should have been thoroughly crushed. Glimmers of his old self crept through the latter half of the season, but how could anyone see what he sees in the final two episodes and still think humanity has a chance?
That's what makes his sacrifice, and his final words, so profoundly affecting. Despite everything, Gi-hun still believes in humankind. It's so shocking, and so moving, that even the VIPs are speechless, and the Front Man – under threat from the coast guard, granted – hits the self-destruct button on the whole game, completing Gi-hun's mission for him.
Time to say goodbye
None of this would be half as meaningful without the deeply impactful performance of Lee Jung-jae. His final words are delivered straight down the camera, and Lee embodies all of Gi-hun's furious defiance and tender-hearted compassion to deliver a moment that made me sob. Gi-hun has always been the heart and soul of Squid Game, and Lee has brought so much earnestness to the character that he feels like a real person, which makes his death all the more heartbreaking.
It's also fitting that the line is unfinished. In my interpretation, I thought Gi-hun's sacrifice was the beautifully eloquent ending to his half-sentence, expressing that humans are capable of this kind of selflessness even in the midst of so much horror. It turns out this is how series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk saw it, too, revealing in Netflix's Squid Game in Conversation show that he couldn't fit everything he wanted to say into one line, and that being too explicit would only "limit the message itself." So, instead, he "decided the rest of what [he] wanted to say would instead be expressed physically by Gi-hun through his actions, through his deeds, and the sacrifice he makes to save that child."
In the end, "Humans are…" is many things: the final words of Player 456, the thematic culmination of one of the biggest shows in the world, and a succinct, thought-provoking line that's wide open to interpretation. Humans are whatever you think they are, but Squid Game's final thoughts on the matter are clear – and that's why Seong Gi-hun's and Squid Game's goodbye is so moving.
Honorable mentions
- "Who are you?" Cassian Andor, Andor season 2 – Syril waged a one-man crusade against Cassian Andor that ended up destroying the corpo's life and leading him directly to his death, which made Cassian's genuine confusion when they finally came face to face utterly devastating.
- "And you must be out of your mind" Captain Bledsoe (Trammel Tillman), Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – Captain Bledsoe's entrance is a classic crowd pleaser, and Trammel Tillman delivers his witty one-liner with old school, movie star charisma.
- "I'm as human as anyone" Superman (David Corenswet), Superman – Superman finally lost his composure with Lex Luthor not to rage at him, but to deliver an impassioned speech about how our favorite Kryptonian is a person who is flawed but trying anyway, just like the rest of us.
- "A few small beers" Sensei Sergio (Benicio del Toro), One Battle After Another – Sensei Sergio is effortlessly cool, and this flippant cover for Leonardo DiCaprio's Bob Ferguson sealed the deal for making him our Character of the Year.
Squid Game season 3 is streaming on Netflix now. Fill out your watchlist with our guide to the best Netflix shows, or see our roundup of the other best TV shows of 2025.
