Squid Game Season 3 Episode 3 Recap

Who's in the cast:
Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun (Player 456)
Lee Byung-hun as Hwang In-ho / the Front Man
Wi Ha-jun as Hwang Jun-ho
Park Gyu-young as Kang No-eul (Guard 011)
Park Hee-soon as the Masked Officer
Yim Si-wan as Lee Myung-gi (Player 333)
Jo Yu-ri as Kim Jun-hee (Player 222)
Kang Ae-sim as Jang Geum-ja (Player 149)
Roh Jae-won as Nam-gyu (Player 124)
Lee David as Park Min-su (Player 125)
Oh Dal-su as Captain Park Yeong-gil
Jeon Seok-ho as Choi Woo-seok

After hide-and-seek, the guards clear away the bodies. Nam-gyu (Player 124) panics when he realizes his pill necklace is missing, but he isn't allowed back into the maze to look for it. Only 25 players are left, and each share of the prize is now worth more than 1.7 billion won. At the next vote, Jang Geum-ja (Player 149), still devastated, begs everyone to stop so Kim Jun-hee (Player 222) and her newborn can go home, and even offers to give up her own share. It doesn't work. The vote ends 16 for O, 8 for X, with Seong Gi-hun (Player 456) abstaining once again.

Behind the scenes, the Masked Officer learns that several guards were killed in the operating room, and at first the missing doctor is the prime suspect. Kang No-eul (Guard 011) is confronted by a manager who was in on the organ scheme, and she uses what she knows as leverage. She demands that she and "the doctor" be put on outer patrol the next day, with a boat ready for them. The officer later discovers the truth: the doctor is dead, and the man hiding in his guard room is Park Gyeong-seok (Player 246).

At sea, Detective Hwang Jun-ho's drone picks up a stretch of coast he recognizes. It's the spot where he was shot and fell into the sea years earlier, so the island must be close. On shore, Choi Woo-seok phones to say nobody in the port town knows anything about Captain Park Yeong-gil, not even whether that's his real name. Woo-seok then breaks into the captain's house and digs up proof: a pink guard uniform and mask, buried cash, and a photo of Park with the suit-wearing ddakji recruiter who killed Woo-seok's old boss. But before he can tell anyone, the police burst in and arrest him for burglary.

That night, Geum-ja tells Gi-hun about her son, Park Yong-sik. She explains that he always blamed himself for everything, and that he once overdosed after she lost her temper and told him she wished she had never had him. Now, she says, she has killed her own child. She begs Gi-hun to promise he will help Jun-hee and the baby survive in place of her and her son. In the morning, Gi-hun finds that Geum-ja has hanged herself. Gi-hun then sits with Jun-hee, who blames herself for the deaths of Hyun-ju and Geum-ja. He tells her it isn't her fault, that everyone made their own choice, and talks about the joy of watching his own daughter grow up. He swears he will help her protect the baby.

The fifth game is Jump Rope. Players must cross a narrow bridge over a deep drop while a giant rope, swung by two huge dolls, sweeps across it. Anyone who trips or gets hit falls to their death, and anyone who doesn't reach the other side within 20 minutes is eliminated. When Jun-hee asks if she can leave her baby behind until it's over, the guards announce that everyone in the arena counts as a player.

Min-su (Player 125) has Nam-gyu's necklace. Nam-gyu, desperate and suffering, first insults him and then begs for the pills. Min-su finally stands up to him and tosses the necklace onto the bridge. Nam-gyu goes after it, gets caught by the rope and falls. Gi-hun agrees to carry the baby across first, since Jun-hee can't jump on her injured ankle, and promises to come back for her. He makes it to the other side and hands the baby to safety. Others follow, but as the episode ends, Player 096 crosses safely and then stays planted at the far end of the bridge, refusing to let anyone else past.

Player tracker

Eliminated this episode

• ❌ Geum-ja (Player 149): takes her own life
• ❌ Nam-gyu (Player 124): falls after the rope catches him
• ❌ Unnamed players who fail Jump Rope

Still standing

• ✅ Gi-hun (Player 456)
• ✅ Jun-hee (Player 222), with her baby
• ✅ Myung-gi (Player 333)
• ✅ Min-su (Player 125)
• ✅ Jeong-dae (Player 100)
• ✅ Player 096
• ✅ Gyeong-seok (Player 246)

Up next: Squid Game Season 3 Episode 4 Recap. Missed the last one? Read the Squid Game Season 3 Episode 2 Recap. See every episode in the Squid Game Season 3 episode guide or browse all Squid Game recaps.