Diksha Sundriyal
The stakes get higher in the third season of Netflix’s ‘Squid Game,’ as all the characters try to survive the second leg of their six-day tryst, which could end with them becoming rich beyond their wildest dreams. The desire to win all that money brings all kinds of people to the game, including a pregnant woman named Jun-Hee (Player 222). It turns out that she lost everything because of her boyfriend, who is also at the games now, and with her baby due, she wants to win the money to ensure a good future for herself and the child. However, she underestimates the ruthlessness of the games and the players in it and is forced to make a difficult decision in the end. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Jun-hee Becomes Incapacitated During the Fourth Game
In the game where it is always a matter of life and death, no one wants to be held back by a physical disadvantage. Jun-hee’s pregnancy already puts her at a loss, where she is considered weak by almost everyone. It is the kindness of others, like Jang Geum-ja (Player 149), Seong Gi-hun (Player 456), and Cho Hyun-ju (Player 120), that forms a cocoon around her and protects her at a time when people who are physically stronger than her die. However, with each game, this cocoon starts to come apart, and by the end of the Keys and Knives game, she is at her worst point.
During Keys and Knives, she gives birth to her child, but at the same time, she falls from the stairs and breaks her ankle. It is no minor sprain that can be worked through, but a proper fracture that almost renders her unable to walk. By the end of the game, Hyun-ju is killed, and by the next morning, Geum-ja is dead too. With the two major pillars supporting her gone, there is no one left to help her, except Seong Gi-hun, who comes out of his depression just in time to help her with her baby in the next game.
Gi-hun is spurred into action by Geum-ja’s words and her subsequent death, and he sees Jun-hee and her child as the only people worth saving. As they walk out to the next arena to play the fifth game, Gi-hun takes over the child and assures her that he will help them get through this game and survive. He comes through on his word when he braves the danger of the jump rope game and makes it to the other side with the baby. He tries to go back and bring Jun-hee with him, but the circumstances change drastically, and she is forced to act on the only possible choice.
Jun-hee Accepts the Reality of Her Situation
The penultimate game has the players play jump rope with a catch. If they are caught in the rope, they will be pushed out of the way and down, where they will fall to their death. The only way to survive this game is to be quick on one’s feet, requiring them to jump every other second to keep from getting hit by the rope. On the first trip, Gi-hun takes the child to the other end, which is easier as the child is light and easy to carry. He plans to come back and take Jun-hee with him, but the clock is running out, and once he crosses over, other players gather courage to cross too. Because there is only one bridge, Gi-hun’s way is blocked. Still, he keeps reassuring Jun-hee that he will come for her.
Meanwhile, she tries to jump on her feet, but with one fractured leg, it is impossible for her to move the way the game requires her to. She is relieved that her baby has made it to the other side, but with each passing minute, she can see the odds of her survival decreasing. At one point, Myung-gi asks her to join him, but when she points out her broken leg, he abandons her and moves on. With the clock running out, Gi-hun becomes desperate to cross over, but by now, Jun-hee has accepted her doomed fate. She knows that Gi-hun will try his best to come back for her, but this means that he will have to leave the baby.
If he dies in an effort to save her, there will be no one left to take care of the child. While there is Myung-gi, she doesn’t trust him enough for anything, let alone to take responsibility for her child. Moreover, it is clear to her that even if she tries to cross over on her own, she will not make it. So, to keep Gi-hun from attempting anything stupid, she decides to end things by herself. She thanks Gi-hun for helping her baby and tells him to accept that there was no way he could have saved her. In the end, before the clock runs out, she steps forward, but not on the bridge, and falls to her death, bringing her arc to a tragic end.
