The Most Devastating Squid Game Deaths From S1 to 3, Ranked

It always hits hard when a beloved or major character gets taken out of a show you love. And Squid Game? It’s become a global phenomenon not just because of the brutal survival challenges, but because of the raw, heartbreaking stories behind its players and their subsequent demise. From gut-wrenching sacrifices to betrayals, it doesn’t hold back on the feels. With Season 3, the body count has risen and so has the emotional wreckage. As we bid goodbye to the survival thriller series (for now), here's a look back at all the Squid Game deaths from seasons one to three that left us gutted.

Spoilers ahead — you’ve been warned.

The Most Devastating Squid Game Deaths

10. Se-mi

Player 380, Season 2

We warmed up to Se-mi (Won Ji-an) as the spunky contestant who stood up for Min-su when others wrote him off as weak. However, Se-mi was murdered during an ambush in the dorm. When the lights were off during bedtime, Nam-gyu attacked Se-mi with a fork.

As Se-mi fought for her life, Min-su threw a glass bottle at Nam-gyu from a bunk above to save Se-mi, but missed. In a violent, visceral scene, Se-mi used the glass shards to fight back, but was eventually debilitated by Nam-gyu, who repeatedly stabbed her with the glass shards, all while Min-su sobbed in distress above. And so did we.

9. Jung-bae

Player 390, Season 3

The closest friend of protagonist Gi-hun, Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan), entered the games in Season 2 after plunging into a gambling debt. Throughout the games, they reflected on their friendship, and when Gi-hun decided to stage an uprising, Jung-bae had his back. But despite overcoming earlier challenges, Jung-bae tragically met his end when they were trapped at a dead end, and the Front Man shot Jung-bae to punish Gi-hun. The guilt and raw anguish hit Gi-hun hard, and honestly, we felt it too.

8. Geum-ja

Player 149, Season 3

Geum‑ja, together with her son, was not particularly well-liked during their introduction in Season 2, with speculations that she might be one of the VIPs. However, as the season unfolded, we gradually saw more of her nurturing, motherly side, and she also formed a heartwarming trio with Jun-hee and Hyun-ju. But of course, this is Squid Game, where happy moments (sort of) never last.

She ended up stabbing her son to stop him from killing Jun-hee during the Hide & Seek game, saw him shot by the guards, then tragically took her own life, presumably overcome with guilt.

7. Ji-yeong

Player 240, Season 1

Ji-yeong (Lee Yoo-mi) entered the game after being released from prison for killing her abusive father. She later bonded with fellow player Sae-byeok in the season's sixth episode when the contestants were paired up for the Marbles game, only to realise they had to eliminate their partner. Instead of competing, the two chose to spend their time sharing stories and dreams.

As the game was about to end, Ji-yeong deliberately lost and was shot, believing Sae-byeok had more to live for — especially with her family still out there. With the emotional build-up, followed by Ji-yeong's selfless sacrifice, it's hard not to shed a tear.

6. Sae-byeok

Player 067, Season 1

With Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon), it wasn't just the injustice of her death that hit us hard; it was her backstory. She wasn’t running from debt but a North Korean defector who was determined to get her younger brother out of an orphanage, and their mother to South Korea. After everything she’d been through — the hardships and the horrors of the games — she was critically injured by a shard from the rigged explosion of the glass bridge. And before she could even attempt the next and final game, she was cruelly and unfairly murdered by Sang-woo.

Our only consolation was that after Sae-byeok's death, Gi-hun ensured her brother Cheol was placed in the care of Sang-woo's mother. 

5. Young-mi

Player 095, Season 2

We couldn't help but feel for the shy, timid, but kind Young-mi, who struck up a friendship with Hyun-ju after everyone else rejected the latter. The two even made plans to have dinner together after the games.

In Season 2, Young-mi met her tragic end during the Mingle game. As the timer ran out, she was shoved out of the door by Player 333 (Myung-gi) and subsequently shot by the guards. Her death scene — crying and helplessly staring at her friends through the door — left us absolutely wrecked.

4. Jun-hee

Player 222, Season 3

Already pregnant (with Myung-gi's child) when she entered the games, Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri) hoped it would offer her a shot at a better life for herself and her unborn child (whom she later delivered during the Hide & Seek game with the help of Ga-jeum and Hyun-ju).

But in the end, during the Jump Rope game, she made the ultimate mother's sacrifice. With a fractured ankle and unable to cross the bridge, she knew she couldn't make it with her baby in tow. She pleaded with Gi-hun to protect her child and keep her alive, which he promised to do. But as he was about to return for her, she made the heartbreaking choice to jump off the bridge, knowing that Gi-hun was the only one who would and could save her child.

Besides her touching sacrifice as a mum, the fact that Jun-hee had so little time with her newborn only made the heartache more devastating.

3. Gi-hun

Player 456, Season 3

When director Hwang revealed that Squid Game Season 3 would not have a happy ending, we'd already braced ourselves for the fact that Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) might not make it out alive. What we did not expect was how he'd go — that he'd sacrifice his life for Jun-hee's baby, without ever making it back to his own daughter.

This, followed by how little he'd actually managed to accomplish by going back to the games and trying to put an end to the insanity, made it all the more gutting. Then there's his last words to the Front Man before he threw himself off the ledge: "We are not horses. We are humans. Humans are..." Double whammy.

2. Ali Abdul

Player 199, Season 1

In Season 1, Sang‑woo tricked Ali during the Marbles game, stealing his marbles and replacing them with pebbles, and sealing his fate. The look on Ali’s face when he realised the truth — total confusion followed by silent tears — was hard to watch. Moments later, he was executed by a guard, leaving behind his wife and kid waiting for him back home. It's especially devastating given that Ali’s innocence and loyalty (although some might say naivety) were met with betrayal from someone he'd trusted. Ali deserved better.

1. Hyun-ju

Player 120, Season 3

Of the Squid Game deaths, Cho Hyun-ju's (Park Sung-hoon) demise definitely hit the hardest. She may not be the main character, but that didn't stop Hyun-ju from stealing our hearts and admiration with her kindness and strong, independent nature. Left with no help to pay for gender-affirming surgery, the transgender player entered the games to make enough money for the procedure and move to Thailand to start a new life. She made it through Season 2 and to the middle of the third season, before getting knifed in the back by Player 333, Lee Myung-gi, during the Hide & Seek game.

We saw it coming, but her demise still broke us, especially when she nearly and quite literally had her foot in the door to safety, but selflessly decided to go back for her friends. Her death also felt abrupt and did not do the character justice. Not gonna lie, a bit of us died with her.