Squid Game's Front Man actor breaks down hit Netflix show's controversial final scene: "Maybe Gi-hun was right"

Front Man actor Lee Byung-hun has broken down the controversial final scene of Squid Game season 3.

Netflix's most popular show ever ends with Player 456 sacrificing himself to save Baby 222, while the Front Man initiates a self-destruct protocol for the island and its sadistic games when his brother Jun-ho and the coast guard get too close.

In the aftermath, the Front Man goes to LA to deliver what remains of Gi-hun's winnings to his daughter – then spots a recruiter, played by Cate Blanchett in a surprise cameo, playing ddakji in an alleyway with a homeless man.

"The director and I talked a lot about this scene as well. What's interesting is that when I first read the script, I had a different impression," Lee told The Hollywood Reporter of the moment. "I thought the Front Man had already known that there was another game – exactly the same – unfolding in another country. But I asked the director, just in case, and he told me, 'Please play the scene by imagining that you didn't know she was there.' This was really confusing for me, because I got a very different impression from the script and we were quite close to filming at that point.

"So we discussed it quite a lot, and here's the tone I decided to go for in that moment: As the series started, the Front Man had nearly no hope left in humanity – there was only a tiny little shred of goodness left in him, subconsciously," he continued. "But through his journey with Gi-hun, he was able to nurture that sliver of hope, and by the end, as his Game came to a close, he's trying to look at things differently, thinking, 'Maybe Gi-hun was right; maybe there's something still there.'

"And he's trying to reach this sense of closure, and the potential for a new beginning – and then he sees this other recruiter, pulling new players into the Game," Lee added. "And now he realizes that this never ends. It's all going to just keep going. So, that sense of bitterness is the main feeling he’s experiencing in that moment. I actually wondered whether what I was trying to communicate would be delivered to viewers, so thank you for the question."

Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has previously confirmed to THR that this moment isn't intended to set-up the rumored American spin-off – and he also revealed that, in another idea he had for the Squid Game season 3 ending, it would've been Gi-hun who survived to see the recruiter in LA.

Squid Game season 3 is streaming on Netflix now. For more, see our Squid Game season 3 review for our verdict on the show.

You can also fill out your watchlist with our guide to the best Netflix shows, or see our roundup of all the most exciting upcoming TV shows.