“Squid Game” Season 2 Recap

(This story contains spoilers from Squid game Season one.)

Three years after taking Netflix by storm and becoming the most popular streamer series of all time, Squid game returns on December 26th with the highly anticipated sequel. Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk’s thriller is set after the first final and delves deeper into the violent history of the titular competition, with Lee Jung-jae once again braving the games as Seong Gi-hun.

Before diving in Squid game 2you’re probably wondering if you have to remember every single detail of the original. This answer is complicated. You don’t have to remember everyone Character and beat, but there are definitely recurring characters and storylines that you should find out about before you start playing. If you don’t have time for the full review, here’s a pocket-sized primer of what you need to know beforehand Squid game 2 (Trailer, below).

Filmed and shot in South Korea, Squid game followed Gi-hun, a down-and-out gambler and dead father, despite his love for his child. He often acts and schemes alongside his best friend Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan), who will return in the second season. However, Jung-bae barely notices in the first season when Gi-hun, growing increasingly desperate, accepts an enigmatic salesman (Gong Yoo)’s offer to make real money playing the Squid Game and leaves his world behind. (This seller, by the way? Also is expected to return in the second season.)

After sleeping through a ride in a gas-filled limousine, Gi-hun wakes up in a giant bunk in a green jumpsuit next to a small army of similarly dressed people. They’re all here to compete for insane amounts of money, and they all signed up before fully understanding the rules of the game. They quickly figure out the rules, with a large number of competitors dying in the opening game of “Red Light, Green Light”, an instantly iconic sequence. A majority of survivors vote to quit the game and go home. But within a week, those same survivors decide to return, valuing their chances of fighting a series of death battles more than their chances of surviving at home.

So the games continue, all eyes are on Gi-hun and are accompanied by colleagues, allies and enemies alike. The eyes belong to a masked character called Front Man, played by Lee Byung-hun, whose undercover police officer Jun-ho (Wi Ha-Joon) has infiltrated the game in hopes of finding his long-lost brother. The frontman and Jun-ho have a brief but exciting reunion in the first season, which ends with Jun-ho being shot and presumed dead – but still alive, although not in the equation.

Both the frontman and Jun-ho will have roles in season two, but other returning players? Not so much, considering the first season ended with the death of every single one of Gi-hun’s allies. As the game’s only survivor, Gi-hun walks away with more money than he could ever spend in his life. But the cost far outweighs the reward, because a year after his victory, Gi-hun sets out to find the game’s architect, Oh Il-nam (Oh Yeong-su), a dying old man who pretends to be Gi-hun. to be hun’s ally in the game.

With “Player 001” dead, Gi-hun lacks any real clues on how to stop the game, so he does what anyone else would do in his position: dye his hair pink and travel to the United States, where his daughter now lives is life. But just before he boards the plane, Gi-hun receives a call from the frontman and the siren song of revenge sounds. The season ends with Gi-hun turning around and vowing revenge – and that’s exactly what we’ll begin when Squid game 2 drops all episodes on December 26th.

“He’s a very changed person,” Lee recently teased his Gi-hun Squid game returns for a season that has already been nominated for a Golden Globe. “The way he perceives the circumstances around him and engages with the world will almost seem like a different person to him. He’s determined more than anything – and he’s convinced he’ll bring the game to an end.”

The battle between Lee’s Player 456 and the Front Man will continue until the series finale with the third season already confirmed to arrive in 2025.