Who is player 149 in Squid Game 3? Jang Geum-ja’s death and sacrifice leaves internet heartbroken

Squid Game returned for its third and final season on June 27, 2025. With many of his allies now gone, Seong Gi-hun, the main character, is left with five remaining allies from the previous season. Among them are the mother-son duo Jang Geum-ja (player 149) and her son, Park Yong-sik (player 007), a pregnant woman identified as Player 122 named Jun-hee, and a transgender woman named Cho Hyun-ju, aka player 120.

In this context, one of the most heartbreaking moments came with the death of the mother, Geum-ja. In Squid Game 3's episode 2, titled “The Starry Night,” Geum-ja ends her life by hanging herself. This is due to the guilt she feels after having killed her own son in the previous episode.

The shocking twist devastated Squid Game fans, as few expected such a dark and emotional turn.

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Detailed sequence of what happens in episodes 2 & 3 of Squid Game 3

Episode 2 of Squid Game season 3 kicks off with a deadly game of hide and seek. In this round, the players are divided into two teams: red and blue. The blue team is given the task of hiding, with each member handed a key that allows them to access different doors within the game venue in order to escape.

The red team, meanwhile, takes on the role of seekers and is equipped with knives to hunt down and eliminate the blue team players.

In a cruel twist, the mother-son duo, Player 149 aka Geum-ja, and her son aka Player 007, are split into opposite teams. Geum-ja joins the blue team, while her son ends up on the red team. According to the rules, each red team member must eliminate at least one blue player to advance.

However, Geum-ja isn’t entirely alone, she’s joined by her allies, Jun-hee and Hyun-ju. As they attempt to escape, the situation quickly spirals. Jun-hee injures her leg and unexpectedly goes into labor.

Geum-ja, who had earlier revealed experience with childbirth, helps her deliver the baby amid the chaos. Meanwhile, Hyun-ju successfully locates the exit door, but is killed before she can make it out. Fortunately, she manages to relay the escape route to her allies just before her death.

With Hyun-ju's directions, Geum-ja and Jun-hee make it to the exit. However, at the final moment, Geum-ja’s son finds them. In a tense confrontation, he attempts to kill Jun-hee and the newborn.

Desperate to protect them, Geum-ja uses a concealed weapon hidden in her hairpin to stab her own son. Stunned and heartbroken, Player 007 is then shot by the guards, and episode 2 comes to a close.

Continuing in episode 3, shaken, Geum-ja returns to the players’ living quarters and gives Jun-hee heartfelt advice on how to care for her baby. She then seeks out Gi-hun for an emotional conversation, reminiscing about her life and memories with her son, and asks him to help protect Jun-hee and the newborn going forward. After pouring out her heart, she quietly retreats.

Her death is only discovered when the guards arrive to carry her body away in a coffin. Jun-hee and Gi-hun are left devastated, shocked by her sudden passing.

Although her suicide shocked fans, it felt like a haunting but inevitable decision. Her unbearable guilt from killing her son ultimately pushed her over the edge.

With her death, Gi-hun loses yet another ally, and viewers are left heartbroken by the emotional weight of these Squid Game episodes.