The Plane Theory That Would Change The Ending Of Squid Game

Netflix's popular survival drama "Squid Game" is a rollercoaster ride. If the core premise of desperate people competing on deadly versions of classic South Korean childhood games wasn't enough, every episode features enough nasty plot twists to carry a full-length movie. Even when you think everything's over, the very last episode drops a bomb when — spoilers ahoy – viewers find out that the old man who was playing as Player 001 (Oh Yeong-su) is still alive, and in fact the very man who created of the deadly games as a reality game show for rich people. 

This revelation comes as a shock to the viewer, and doubly so for poor Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), the viewpoint character and the reluctant winner of the games. Since walking away with the prize money, he has lived in a shell-shocked daze, but his last meeting with 001 motivates him to help the loved ones of some dead contestants and, ultimately, abandon his mission to reunite with his daughter in the U.S. Instead, he walks away from his flight at the last minute, seemingly determined to expose the shadowy entities behind the games, despite the fact that the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) implores him to board the plane and go live his life.  

It's a cool, final plot twist that sets up the formerly kind, yet cowardly Gi-hun as a determined protagonist for the likely inevitable "Squid Game" Season 2. According to one fan theory, however, there's another layer to the whole plane ending — and it might just change everything. 

According to Reddit user IActuallyKnowNothin, the people behind the games had rigged the plane to explode, which is why the Front Man is so keen to get Gi-hun on the plane during the phone call. "They were going to blow up the plane," they theorized. "This is foreshadowed earlier in the series when someone (can't remember who) says 'Rich or poor, in a plane crash you are all the same.'" The redditor further speculated that the show almost featured such a downer ending, but when it became apparent that "Squid Game" might be a hit, a quick rewrite spared Gi-hun and provided a sequel hook. "I'd say the original ending was him getting on that plane and it detonating and they realized the potential for a series and they had to rewrite it. That would explain how they seemed to gloss over a few people he promised to help, and that sickening false promise to his daughter. They were going to crash the plane 'for his own good'."

Indeed, the ending of "Squid Game" shows Gi-hun breaking his promise to reunite with his daughter (Cho Ah-in) when he neglects to board the plane — though, to be fair, that's hardly the first such breach of trust for the character. Regardless, other fans feel that there might be something to the theory. However, others still point out that the people behind the game don't exert force in the real world. "They don't interfere with people outside of the game," one redditor wrote. "It is the clear rule that players are just there to get a chance to win."

Regardless of whether you buy into this theory or not, it's an enticing possibility that potentially puts the ending of "Squid Game" in a completely different light.