Death's Game ends with Choi Yee-jae finally understanding the value of his own life after experiencing twelve different lives and deaths. His final reincarnation is the biggest emotional twist of the series: his own mother.
After completing her life, Yee-jae is given one last chance to return to the moment before his suicide.
SPOILER WARNING: Major spoilers for the ending of Death's Game below.
Q1. Does Death's Game Have a Happy Ending?
Yes, but it is more of a hopeful open ending than a traditional happy ending.
After completing all twelve lives, Yee-jae returns to the moment before he originally jumped from the building.
His mother calls him.
This time, instead of ignoring the call, Yee-jae answers the phone.
The drama does not show what happens afterward, but the meaning is clear: he has been given another chance and chooses life.
Q2. Who Is Yee-jae's 12th Reincarnation?
Yee-jae's final reincarnation is his mother, Park Jeong-sim.
This is the biggest twist in the ending.
Until this point, Yee-jae believes that his death only ended his own suffering. But by living as his mother, he experiences the grief and loneliness she endured after losing her son.
For the first time, Yee-jae understands how deeply his death hurt someone who loved him.
He does not try to die quickly this time.
Instead, he lives 32 more years as his mother until she reaches the natural end of her life.
Q3. Does Choi Yee-jae Come Back to Life?
Yes.
After completing the twelve deaths, Yee-jae meets Death again.
But unlike before, he no longer asks for money, success or a better life.
He simply wants another chance to see and hug his mother.
Death gives him one final opportunity, and Yee-jae returns to his original body just before his suicide.
The final phone call from his mother suggests that Yee-jae will now make a completely different choice.
Q4. Is This Yee-jae's 13th Life?
In a way, yes.
Yee-jae's punishment involves experiencing twelve different deaths. TVING and Prime Video both describe the drama around this cycle of twelve lives and twelve deaths.
After completing them, he gets another chance to live as Choi Yee-jae himself.
The drama never officially calls this his “13th reincarnation,” but it can be interpreted as his 13th chance at life.
This time, however, he does not have to live as someone else.
He finally gets his own life back.
Q5. What Happens to Lee Ji-su?
Lee Ji-su dies in the original timeline after she and Jang Geon-u are hit by Park Tae-woo's car.
However, Yee-jae eventually returns to a point in time before those events happen.
Because he now chooses to live, the future may also change.
The drama never confirms Ji-su's new fate, so this part of the ending is intentionally left open.
Why Was His Mother the Final Reincarnation?
The final reincarnation changes the meaning of the entire series.
At first, Death's Game looks like a supernatural survival story about escaping twelve deaths.
But Yee-jae's real lesson is not about becoming better at surviving.
It is about understanding that his life was connected to other people.
By living as his mother, he experiences the consequences of his own death from the perspective of the person who loved him most.
That is what finally changes him.
Death's Game Webtoon
Death's Game is based on a Korean webtoon, and an official English version is available on WEBTOON under the same title. WEBTOON describes the original story as the source material for the Prime Video series.
▶ Read the original Death's Game webtoon
Quick Review
I expected Death's Game to be mostly a fast-paced reincarnation thriller, but the second half became much more emotional than I expected.
The changing cast was one of my favorite parts. Every new life had a different atmosphere, and actors such as Lee Do-hyun, Lee Jae-wook, Kim Jae-uck and Oh Jung-se made even shorter appearances memorable.
The biggest surprise was definitely Yee-jae's mother being the final reincarnation.
That twist completely changed the story from “How can he escape death?” to “What does one person's death leave behind?”
Some scenes are extremely violent and disturbing, so the drama may not be for everyone.
But if you can handle the graphic content, I think this is one of the stronger webtoon-based K-dramas.
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Drama Information
- Title: Death's Game
- Korean Title: 이재, 곧 죽습니다
- Episodes: 8
- Genre: Fantasy, Thriller, Action, Psychological Drama
- Main Cast: Seo In-guk, Park So-dam, Kim Ji-hun
- Director / Writer: Ha Byoung-hun
- Status: Completed
- Where to Watch: Prime Video availability varies by region
Prime Video currently lists the series as one season with eight episodes and Seo In-guk, Park So-dam and Kim Ji-hun among the main cast.
Prefer reading in Korean? [Read my Korean review here.]
