One Lucky Day
The sixth and final game is the Squid game, with Gi-hun on offense and Sang-woo on defense. Gi-hun easily completes the first few stages of the game, throwing sand into Sang-woo's eyes to distract him and crosses the squid's middle. As they're playing, Sang-woo claims that killing Sae-byeok was a mercy kill as she was already bleeding to death from her stomach wound, but Gi-hun sees through Sang-woo's lies. Eventually, Sang-woo admits he killed Sae-byeok to prevent her and Gi-hun from obtaining the majority vote to end the game, which would have prevented him from winning any money.
Before Gi-hun can reach the squid's head, the game devolves into a brutal and bloody fistfight in artificial rain between the two former friends. Gi-hun is able to get the upper hand on Sang-woo and mercilessly punches him repeatedly, but, to the surprise of the VIPs, refuses to complete the game. He invokes the third clause to end the game and offers Sang-woo a chance to go back home, but Sang-woo, knowing he can't live with his guilt and refusing to go out empty-handed, stabs himself in the neck and asks Gi-hun to take care of his mother in his dying moments. Gi-hun cradles a dying Sang-woo in his arms, distraught but helpless to do anything as Sang-woo bleeds to death, crying uncontrollably as he is declared the winner of the 2020 Squid Games by default.
Gi-hun is driven back home in a limousine accompanied by the Front Man, who congratulates him on his victory. Gi-hun, seething with rage, demands answers, but the Front Man simply advises him to think of his experiences as a dream. He's then dropped off on the side of a road with a blindfold over his eyes and a debit card for a checking account with the prize money. After a brief encounter with Sang-woo's mother, Gi-hun returns home, only to find that his own mother has already succumbed to her diabetes. Being so emotionally drained after his horrific experiences and racked with guilt at not being able to save his mother, Gi-hun is unable to even cry anymore, and can only lie down beside his mother and hug her close in grief.
A year later, Gi-hun is still traumatized by his experiences, so much so, that he has barely touched his prize money. He is invited to the bank to talk to a financial advisor about his account. The advisor becomes concerned with how Gi-hun looks and is behaving, asking him if he needs anything. Gi-hun simply asks for a ₩10,000 bill. Later that night, he goes to sit and drink beer by the riverside. A flower seller approaches him and begs him to buy one of the flowers on her bouquet. Gi-hun reluctantly agrees and the seller thanks him and leaves. It's then that he sees an invitation card with the game symbols attached to the rose with instructions to arrive at a specific address. He follows the address to a luxury apartment complex where he finds Player 001, Oh Il-nam, still alive but on the verge of death. Gi-hun is shocked and furious and demands answers but Il-nam insists on making a bet with Gi-hun about whether anyone will help an unconscious drunk man outside before midnight. Gi-hun reluctantly agrees to the wager to get the answers he wants.
Il-nam reveals that he is the "Host" who co-ran the game alongside the Front Man, and the mastermind behind the game's operation and creation. Il-nam explains that while he did lie about his financial situation, he was telling the truth about his tumor and he genuinely did appreciate Gi-hun's friendship. He further elaborates that over the years after becoming wealthy, he came to feel that both the impoverished and the ultra-wealthy suffered from a lack of joy in their lives, as he himself became deeply bored from being able to buy literally anything he could want, so he and a bunch of other rich people came up with the games to entertain themselves and alleviate their boredom. He also wanted to test whether humanity had any innate goodness left in it, reminding Gi-hun that despite witnessing the bloodshed in the initial game, he and the other participants still returned and risked their lives for the sake of earning the prize money for themselves. The specific games are based on Il-nam's childhood memories, and he decided to participate himself for nostalgia's sake, as his childhood where he would play games with his friends without a care in the world was the only time in his life he ever felt true happiness. Right before the clock strikes midnight, Gi-hun wins the wager when a passerby and a police officer pull up over the side of the road to help the drunk man, and Il-nam dies, though presumably not before he witnesses his loss.
With his faith restored, Gi-hun snaps out of his stupor and fulfills his promises, getting Sae-byeok's brother out of the orphanage and leaving him in the care of Sang-woo's mother, in addition to giving them a share of the prize money. Gi-hun is about to go on a flight to Los Angeles to reconnect with his daughter, but on the way, sees the same Salesman who had recruited him the year prior playing ddakji with another prospective recruit. Gi-hun takes the man's card and calls the number, demanding answers. The Front Man tells Gi-hun not to get any ideas, but Gi-hun disregards the warnings and declares that he won't let their cruel games continue and he will put a stop to it.
"One Lucky Day" provides examples of:
- And This Is for...: When Gi-hun manages to subdue Sang-woo, Gi-hun proceeds to repeatedly punch Sang-woo while screaming at him for killing the others.
- Back for the Finale: Oh Il-nam, Gi-hun and Sang-woo's mothers, Sae-byeok's brother, and the Salesman all reappear.
- Badass Boast: Gi-hun delivers one to the Front Man over the phone, promising revenge on the entire organization.Gi-hun: Listen carefully. I'm not a horse. I'm a person. That's why I wanna know... who you people are, and how you can do these horrible things to people.
Front Man: Player 456. (Sighs) Don’t get any absurd ideas.
Gi-hun: It wasn't a dream. I can't forgive you... for everything you're doing. - Batman Gambit: A small one. Gi-hun is led to Il-nam via a card he receives tied to a rose he purchases from a desperate-sounding woman. This likely means Il-nam was aware of Gi-hun's generous tendencies during the period, and knew he wouldn't turn down the woman's request.
- Battle in the Rain: It starts pouring rain on Gi-hun and Sang-woo the instant they're about to have their final showdown, mainly to prevent them from using the dirt to blind the other. One of the VIPs even lampshades the added drama brought about by the rain with a quote."'Good rain knows the best time to fall' — Du Fu."
- Beard of Sorrow: Shell-shocked and guilty over the game and the death of his mother, Gi-hun grows out his facial hair during the year-long Time Skip.
- Bittersweet Ending: Gi-hun wins the games and gets the promised cash, but he is too traumatized by the entire experience to enjoy it, spending hardly any for a year. What's more is that his mother died before he returned, making his victory meaningless, since one of his biggest reasons for playing was to get money to pay for her hospital bills. After a year passes, he eventually uses some of the money to provide for Sae-byeok's brother and Sang-woo's mother before setting to leave for the US to be with his daughter... until he sees the same man who invited him to the games trying to trick another to join it. Gi-hun manages to stop the potential victim from calling the number, and he then calls the Front Man, declaring his intention of taking the organizers down for their actions.
- Blatant Lies: Discovering that Il-nam is alive all along, and believing the old man is the mastermind behind the games, Gi-hun also suspects his backstory, including his family and condition, is all a lie. Il-nam defies this, saying that everything he said was true, especially his illness.
- Blindfolded Trip: Gi-hun is returned to the city sitting in a car, blindfolded (so he's able to talk to the Front Man), and is unceremoniously dumped out upon arrival.
- Bookends:
- Lampshaded. The final game, the squid game, takes place in the same arena as the first game, "Red Light, Green Light", as Sang-woo points out.
- The series started with Gi-hun stealing his mother's ATM card to try and get more money. This episode has him now owning an ATM card with more money than he ever dreamed of.
- The start of the series had Gi-hun begging others for money. Even after winning the games, he is too guilty to use the prize at first and decides to keep begging.
- Like Gi-hun and many others, another desperate man is playing ddakji for money and is offered a chance to play in the games for an even bigger prize.
- In the first episode, Gi-hun mistook the Salesman for a Christian evangelist, saying, "I don't believe in Jesus." After he's dropped off back on the mainland, the first person to greet him is a Christian fundamentalist doomsayer with The End Is Nigh signs asking Gi-hun if he believes in Jesus.
- The show started on Ga-yeong's birthday. Season one ends with Gi-hun planning to fly to Los Angeles to visit his daughter and give her a real present this time.
- Briefcase Full of Money: Gi-hun leaves Sang-woo's mother with a suitcase full of money, which doubles as Sang-woo's share and funds to raise Sae-byeok's brother with.
- Broken Pedestal: Il-nam becomes this to Gi-hun once the latter finds out about his identity as the Host, making him feel horrified and betrayed by him and no longer seeing him as a Cool Old Guy like when he first met him a year ago.
- Clothing Combat: Sang-woo uses his suit jacket as a weapon after losing his knife. With it, he restrains Gi-hun's arm and later tries to strangle him with it.
- Combat Breakdown: The final fight between Gi-hun and Sang-woo starts off as a knife fight before it degrades into them viciously grappling at and hitting each other, although the knives do ultimately play a decisive role in the outcome of the fight.
- Combat Pragmatist: Both Gi-hun and Sang-woo are absolutely merciless during the final game, using any dirty move they can to take down their opponent. Gi-hun throws sand in Sang-woo's face to blind him, and later bites him in the ankle, while Sang-woo uses his coat to restrain Gi-hun's arm and as an improvised garotte to strangle him.
- Death Equals Redemption: Gi-hun is one step away from winning the final game under the traditional rules, but instead tries to convince Sang-woo that they should forfeit and just go back home together. Sang-woo instead takes his own life to atone for his misdeeds, allowing Gi-hun to win the prize money.
- Despair Event Horizon: Traumatized with being the only survivor of the games, discovering his mother dead, and unable to contact his daughter, Gi-hun is hit hard by this, barely touching the money he won and living like a bum.
- Dies Wide Open: Il-nam dies with both eyes open; In-ho closes them.
- Distracted from Death: During Il-nam's wager, Gi-hun's attention is focused on the drunk man on the street outside the window. When someone finally arrives to help the man, Gi-hun looks back and realizes that Il-nam has flatlined. Despite this, Gi-hun is convinced that at least Il-nam saw that he had lost before the end.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Gi-hun's Heroic BSoD is visually evocative of a severely traumatized war veteran — he's quiet and despondent, barely responsive to people, wears an empty expression, has an all-around messy appearance, is shouldering a great deal of Survivor's Guilt, and generally spends his nights drowning his sorrows away with cheap booze.
- Dying Alone: This is the fate Gi-hun's mother faces, as unknown to her, Gi-hun chose to risk his life in the games, leaving her without a caretaker as she succumbs to her diabetes.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Twice.
- Following a one-year Time Skip, Gi-hun has longer Messy Hair and a Beard of Sorrow to emphasize his trauma and depression.
- Following his final encounter with Il-nam, Gi-hun decides to get it together and has a haircut. He dyes his hair bright red to symbolize his resolution and new lease in life.
- Evil All Along: Oh Il-nam was the host and one of the creators of the games.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:
- The VIPs are incredulous when Gi-hun refuses to kill Sang-woo or claim victory, opting instead to offer Sang-woo the chance to quit and go home together.
- Il-nam asks Gi-hun with genuine confusion about why Gi-hun hasn't spent the money. He seems to think Gi-hun should have used it to get over his trauma.
- Final Battle: The final game is basically a physical face-off between Gi-hun and Sang-woo. Gi-hun manages to overpower his childhood friend, but the latter commits suicide to ensure the victory prize goes to the former.
- Growing Up Sucks: Discussed twice.
- Sang-woo says as much before he commits suicide to leave the prize money to Gi-hun."When we were kids, we would play just like this, and our moms would call us in for dinner. But no one calls us anymore."
- Il-nam admits on his deathbed that his childhood, where he would play games with his friends without a care in the world, was the only time he ever truly felt pure and genuine happiness.
- Sang-woo says as much before he commits suicide to leave the prize money to Gi-hun.
- A Handful for an Eye: Gi-hun's first act in the final game is to toss sand into Sang-woo's eyes, though it's little more than a distraction and it immediately starts raining to prevent him from doing so again.
- Heroic BSoD: Gi-hun goes through one that lasts a whole year due to a mixture of trauma, Survivor's Guilt, and grief.
- He's Back!: After winning his final game with Il-nam and having his faith in humanity restored, Gi-hun breaks out of his funk and sets out to fulfill his promises the others.
- History Repeats: Near the end of the episode, Gi-hun spots an all-too-familiar scene: a desperate man playing ddakji with a salesman for money. Though he rushes to the scene from the other side of the train, the salesman leaves. However, Gi-hun warns the man not to take part and takes the card for good measure. He realizes that another series of games will take place soon, meaning many more people will die.
- Impaled Palm: Gi-hun gets pinned down and pierced through the hand by Sang-woo while struggling to stop him from stabbing him. After being freed from the games, the first person to see him is a preacher on the street yelling about Jesus, so the injury can be seen as symbolic.
- Interrupted Suicide: Gi-hun was going to spend Christmas Eve drinking away in the cold weather, not caring if he lived or died. Then a flower lady appears, begging him to buy her last bouquets. It turns out that Il-nam sent her before Gi-hun would succumb to the elements, and points out someone on the streets that didn't have someone looking out for him.
- Ironic Echo: A year after winning the prize money, Gi-hun is still begging for some like he did at the start of the series. Due to what that money represented, he would rather remain broke than even touch it.
- Knife Fight: For the Squid game, both Gi-hun and Sang-woo are still carrying the steak knife from their previous dinner, which they use to brutal effect.
- Literary Allusion Title: The episode title is a reference to the novel of the same name where a poor rickshaw driver earns an unexpectedly large amount of money after ten days of bad luck and can't wait to go home to see his ill wife, but when he returns home in the evening, he discovers she has died. Fittingly, Gi-hun wins the billions of prize money for his mother's hospital bills but returns home to find her corpse.
- Man Bites Man: Gi-hun bites Sang-woo's ankle during their fight in order to escape after being pinned down and stabbed through the hand.
- Morality Pet: For all his disdain for the lower classes (despite being implied to have come from an impoverished background himself), Il-nam genuinely did grow fond of Gi-hun and the way he tells Gi-hun to stop feeling guilty about his victory has the air of a father telling his child not to blame themselves for something bad that happened around them.
- More Expendable Than You: When Gi-hun hears that Sang-woo's mother is having financial trouble, he's about to give some of the 4 million won to her since his bank account can support them both now. She refuses, because his sick mother needs it more.
- Nonconformist Dyed Hair: Invoked. Having survived the games, Gi-hun dyes his hair red as a reminder of his fallen teammates to stop himself from going back to "normal".
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Sang-woo's mother is about to chide Gi-hun when he reappears after vanishing for days and looking he got beat up in a fight, or by loan sharks. Normally Gi-hun is gleeful about his winnings. Then she looks at his face, Thousand-Yard Stare, and all. Her attitude changes, asking if he's okay, and she reveals she has extra dried mackerel.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Gi-hun emerges victorious in the end, but had to pass through absolute hell, and watch a lot of people die (including his childhood friend) to get there. Worse, his biggest motivation was saving his mother's life, and she died while he was in the games. He's so traumatized and depressed that he takes no joy at all his his victory. One year later, he's a miserable, possibly suicidal, drifter with a fortune that he refuses to touch.
- The Reveal: A year after his victory in the games, Gi-hun discovers that Il-nam is still alive, though he's right at death's door, and it's revealed that he is an orchestrator of the games. The audience is given confirmation that Il-nam is indeed the Host via brief flashback.
- Rousseau Was Right: As he lies dying, Il-nam plays one more game with Gi-hun — they watch as a drunken man freezes to death outside their building, and Il-nam wagers that no one will come to his aid by the stroke of midnight. It seems as though Il-nam's cruel view of the world will be proven right when a passerby stops and checks on the man, but then just keeps walking. But at the last second, the passerby returns with a police officer, and Gi-hun wins the wager.
- Secret Test of Character: Il-nam reveals on his deathbed that the games were made to test the good in humanity while testing the other players over how far they would go for money.
- Sequel Hook: As Gi-hun is about to board the flight to Los Angeles to see his daughter, he finds the Salesman preying on another potential victim, intervenes, and calls the number for the games, demanding answers. He is told to board the flight for his own good, but instead turns around and leaves the jet bridge, determined to fight the organizers of the games and bring their operations down permanently.
- So Long, Suckers!: The Salesman gives a small wave to Gi-hun when the latter is too late to stop him from boarding a train.
- This Is Unforgivable!: In the last scene, Gi-hun tells In-ho over the phone that he won't forgive the game's organizers for their murderous actions and treating the players like animals to be slaughtered for their entertainment, and declares that he will come for them to stop the games.
- Time Skip: After Gi-hun finds his dead mother, the timeline jumps one year later, allowing us to see what's become of him since then.
- Vehicle Vanish: Subverted when Gi-Hun sees the salesman again at the subway station. As a train passes through, the salesman simply gets on the train in the time it takes Gi-Hun to run from one side of the station to the other. He waves good-bye to Gi-Hun as he leaves.
- Wham Line: Gi-hun buys a rose from a saleslady, and is shocked to see a card for the games attached to it. Even more shocking is the message on the back, with someone inviting him to a nearby tower that reveals himself with the final line:FROM YOUR GGANBU
- Wham Shot:
- Gi-hun stops at a nearby ATM to withdraw a bit of money. A balance of the won equal to the total prize money from the games is shown.
- Following the Wham Line, Gi-hun heads to the tower to see Il-nam still alive, but on his deathbed.
- Near the end of the episode, Gi-hun spots a familiar man playing ddakji with a desperate man.
- When the Clock Strikes Twelve: Il-nam's final game with Gi-hun has Il-nam betting that nobody will help a drunk man freezing to death outside by midnight. A police car drives up and a cop and an earlier passerby step out to attend to the man just as the minute hand hits 12, proving Il-nam wrong.
- Where It All Began: The area where the first game took place is the location of the last one.
- You Are in Command Now: In a flashback, it is shown that Il-nam put In-ho in charge as the Front Man when the former decided to relinquish his leadership so he could participate in the games rather than simply spectate.
- You Are Too Late: Gi-hun discovers that his mother has passed away while he was in the games, failing to save her from her diabetes.
- Worth It: Il-nam claims that playing the games instead of watching them was worth the risk on his own life. While he faked his death in the fourth game, there was always a chance he could have died in the prior three, as well as the Prison Riot.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Despite all his suffering, Gi-hun withdraws the 4 million won that his mother needs. He gets worried when Sang-woo's mother says that his own mother stopped answering her phone, and rushes home. Turns out he was too late by a few days.
