WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Squid Game.
Player 199 in win 45.6 billion South Korean won by playing a series of children's games with deadly twists. Squid Game primarily focuses on just a handful of the players in the twisted games, with player 456/Seong Gi-Hun the main character of the series. As the game progresses, Gi-Hun forms alliances with many other players, including player 199/Abdul Ali.
Gi-Hun's allegiance to Ali comes right from the end of Squid Game's first episode. Gi-Hun stumbles while playing Red Light, Green Light and was destined to be caught by Squid Game's terrifying doll. Ali managed to catch Gi-Hun and hold him up until the green light section of the game resumed. He then partners up with Gi-Hun, player 218/Cho Sang-Woo, Squid Game player 067/Kang Sae-byeok, and others to form a strong team that makes it decently far into the competition. Ali's motivation for participating in Squid Game is getting enough money to successfully relocate with his wife and child. He is very trusting and loyal to the other of the team, and Tripathi Anupam's performance as Ali helped make him one of the show's best characters.
Viewers will certainly be rooting for Ali throughout Squid Game, but the Pakistan native suffers a heartbreaking conclusion to his story. Ali makes it decently far into the competition and partners up with Sang-Woo ahead of a new game with the thought that they'd make a strong team. However, it was revealed that they wouldn't be partners and instead compete against each other in a game that involves marbles. Ali quickly gets the upper hand on Sang-Woo, which is when Sang-Woo decides to betray him. He convinces Ali that they shouldn't finish the game and compete against any other teams who don't finish, and Sang-Woo secretly swipes Ali's marbles from him at this time. It isn't until later that Ali realizes what Sang-Woo did, but it was too late. Sang-Woo was declared the winner and one of the Squid Game workers shoots Ali. While the series doesn't show Ali's death right away, his body is later shown inside a casket right before it is about to be cremated.
While Squid Game cutting away from Ali's death may have led to fans hoping he was still alive, the shot of him in a casket should be seen as confirmation that he died. The only explanation for Ali still being alive after this that Squid Game could provide would require major retcons. Without the shot of him in the casket, there was the chance that Ali survived somehow. Squid Game already pulled a fake-out death with player 001/Oh Il-nam, so Ali's presumed death also could've been reversed if the show left his fate somewhat ambiguous.
Squid Game confirming that Ali died following the marble games likely means that he won't return in season 2. It seems as though a second season will focus on Gi-Hun trying to expose the entire Squid Game operation. Ali can't be involved in that story, and the only other opportunity for him to appear would be through flashbacks. However, Ali's time in the Squid Game was fairly well-explored and there isn't much more that could be revealed by going back to his story. As disappointing as it might be, Ali likely won't be in Squid Game season 2 since his story is already concluded. However, Gi-Hun can at least avenge his death and those of the other players in season 2.