'Squid Game': Which characters will return in S03
What's the story
The second season of the globally popular Netflix series Squid Game has lived up to its reputation for unpredictability and suspense.
The show's latest installment saw several unexpected character deaths, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats.
Despite a cliffhanger ending, the fate of most characters is largely sealed.
Take a look at who's dead and who'll return in the third season, premiering later this year.
Character deaths
These characters met their end in 'Squid Game' S02
The second season saw the death of a few major characters.
Mr. Kim (Kim Pub-lae), a loan shark, was killed brutally by The Salesman in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Minus One.
The Salesman (Gong Yoo) himself died in a game of Russian Roulette with Seong Gi-hun in one of the earliest episodes.
Kang Mi-na (Song Ji-woo), Player 196, was the first victim of the game despite following Gi-hun's advice to survive Red Light, Green Light.
Additional fatalities
More characters who didn't survive the deadly games
Young-mi (Kim Si-eun), Player 095, was eliminated in a game of Mingle.
Thanos (T.O.P.), Player 230, was murdered by Myung-gi after he taunted him about his ex-girlfriend Jun-hee.
Se-mi (Won Ji-an), Player 380, was cornered and stabbed by Nam-gyu during a fight in the dorm.
The most heart-wrenching death was that of Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan), Player 390, Gi-hun's best friend who was brutally shot by the Front Man.
Season survivors
These characters survived the deadly games
Several characters survived the brutal games and will return in Season 3.
Gi-hun (Player 456) was captured by Front Man after staging a coup at the end of Season 2.
Dae-ho (Player 388) survived by avoiding rejoining the fight due to fear.
Hyun-ju (Player 120), who led a rebellion with her soldier skills, also survived.
The Front Man (In-ho), who posed as Young-il (Player 001) will certainly return, as will Hwang Jun-ho, who plays a detective.
Uncertain fate
The uncertain fate of Gyeong-seok (Player 246)
The fate of Gyeong-seok (Player 246) remains uncertain.
He joined the rebellion but was shot in the chest by a guard while begging for mercy for his sick daughter.
However, he's never shown as a corpse in a close-up, leading to speculations about his survival.
It is speculated that No-eul (011) may have intentionally spared his life by shooting him at a non-fatal body part or with a blank bullet.
What really happened?
We'll find out in Season three.