Warning: Major spoilers for Squid Game season 2 ahead
The end is nigh in 2025, and not because mystics are prophecizing the end of the world.
Instead, Netflix's Squid Game is bowing out with one final run of episodes.
Although there was some frustration that Squid Game season 2 ended on a cliffhanger, only gave us three challenges, and was a shortened run of seven episodes compared to season 1's nine, it’s still a verified hit.
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There was plenty to love, and with Hwang Dong-hyuk delivering another record-breaking smash, it seems the three-year wait between seasons was worth it.
Even though we know Squid Game season 3 will end Seong Gi-hun's (Lee Jung-jae) story in 2025, the latest rumors are that we won't have long to wait to find out how it all goes down.
Ahead of season 3, it might be worth heading back to season 2 and giving a rewatch to make sure you're all up to date.
After all, with many of us binging the seven episodes in one go, chances are we missed a few things.
Posting on his YouTube channel, The Canadian Lad ran Squid Game season 2 at 0.25 x speed and spotted a 'cruel' detail we all likely missed.
In episode 2, we see our contestants thrown into the Mingle game.
It's here that the villainous Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) grabbed Park Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan), who is Gi-hun's best friend and runs his favorite watering hole.
The Canadian Lad spots how the Front Man tries to keep Gi-hun safe and looks back to check he's made it to safety. The Front Man even goes as far as killing other contestants to keep Jung-bae safe.
They explain: "Now, we know the Front Man was never gonna get killed, right? That means he made all of these efforts to keep Jung-bae alive."
Instead of this being a noble act, it's all part of the Front Man's evil schemes to 'break' Gi-hun. Jumping forward to the season finale, the Front Man executed Jung-bae in front of Gi-hun in cold blood.
As The Canadian Lad puts it: "Since the moment The Front Man stepped into the game, all he was trying to do was break Gi-hun from the inside."
The big reveal that Contestant 001/Oh Young-il is really the Front Man left jaws on the floor, but speaking to Variety about why he decided to end things here, Dong-hyuk said it's all part of his own plan.
When discussing what the final means for Gi-hun, Dong-hyuk expanded: "All of his failures lead to this heavy, heavy crisis of having to lose his very best friend, Jung-bae, at the hands of the Front Man.
“And when you think about Gi-hun’s journey, I thought that that was an adequate moment to put a stop and give him a little bit of closure along that long story arc."
Looking ahead at season 3, Dong-hyuk concluded, "From that moment on, in the third season, having that sense of huge guilt and sense of failure weighing heavily on him — how is Gi-hun going to carry on his mission? That’s the story that’ll further unfold."
While the Front Man twist was unfortunately ruined pretty quickly for those who didn't watch Squid Game season 2 as soon as it came out, it was up there with a big Game of Thrones twist for those who didn't see it coming.
Where Gi-hun's story is heading is anyone's guess, but unfortunately, Jung-bae won't be there by his side.