Squid Game – Season 2 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Bread and Lottery

Episode 1 of Squid Game season 2 starts with Gi-hun at the airport. The Front Man warns that he has nowhere to go and that he’ll regret this, but Gi-hun doesn’t care. He immediately races off to Seoul, picking up a blade in the process. Turns out there’s actually a tracker in the back of his ear, explaining how the Front Man knew he wasn’t leaving.

Meanwhile, detective searching for his missing brother, Jun-ho, is actually still alive! Turns out he was picked up off the coastline by a boat Captain whom he’s now befriended and works with to try and track down the island. So far, his search has been futile. Still, we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. For now, he wakes up in hospital and faintly whispers the name of his brother, In-ho.

We then cut forward 2 years later where we see that Hwang Jun-ho is still working. He’s recently left the Major Crimes Division and unfortunately, all that evidence he gained was for nothing. His phone is gone and there’s no evidence of the Squid Game, the VIPs or anything else. If Jun-ho wants to put his brother away, he may need to return to the game once more.

Meanwhile, Gi-hun is holding out in a motel. He’s paranoid and suffering from bad nightmares after the games. He’s desperate to find The Recruiter, and even has a gangster called Mr Kim and his associate Woo-Seok scour the subway for him. After two years, there’s been no sign of the guy.

Gi-hun is not giving up and believes they need to expand their search. He wants more men and of course, given money isn’t an issue, Gi-hun happily pays. In fact, he even offers out a one billion won reward for finding him, which is ironic given how Gi-hun is using money in this way given what he went through.

The thugs get to work and launch a huge operation, getting everybody they can on it, to find the Recruiter. The search eventually bears fruit, and both Mr Kim and Woo-seok find him at the subway station playing Ddakji. Mr Kim himself finds him on the other side of the subway and after gaining a location, they follow him.

The Recruiter shows up at a homeless park where he goads numerous people into choosing between a bread roll or a lottery ticket. Most pick the ticket, and as a result, he destroys the remaining rolls in front of them.

While Gi-hun races to the station, he’s pulled over by traffic cops who issue him a ticket. And one of the officers? Yep, it’s Jun-ho. Of course, they crossed paths in the games, and he soon finds the motel Gi-hun is staying at.

Meanwhile, Gi-hun finds Mr Kim and Woo-seok knocked out in an alleyway, thanks to the Recruiter getting the jump on them. Turns out he has them both tied up and kept hostage. Unfortunately, he plays a sadistic game of Rock, Paper Scissors. The loser? Well, they have to play Russian Roulette and unfortunately, Mr Kim ends up killed as a result. Woo-seok spills all, which brings the Recruiter over to Gi-hun’s pad.

Gi-hun wants to send a message to his superiors, believing the Recruiter doesn’t understand nor would he, given what he’s been through. However, the Recruiter reveals his story, including how he was faced with an impossible choice; his family or his job. The Recruiter had to kill his own dad but Gi-hun is having none of it. He bitterly retorts how horrific the games were.

The Recruiter smirks and decides they too should play a game – Russian Roulette. However, neither are aware that Jun-ho is outside. Still, the game takes place and eventually the Recruiter loses. He smirks before shooting himself.

The Episode Review

Squid Game is back and after a time jump, we see how the games have affected our different characters. Specifically, Jun-ho and Gi-hun. Seeing their contrasting fates is a nice way of adding drama to the fold, and Gi-hun, despite winning so much money, is now determined to use this to stop the games once and for all.

It’s a fitting end for the Recruiter here too, given he ends up outplayed at his own game. Seeing the Recruiter’s demeanour slip, even ever-so-slightly when faced with his own death, is such a good way of showing that this guy is human but the games have twisted him to such a degree that there’s just no coming back from that.

Whether the second season can match the first is anyone’s guess, but it’s fair to say that this episode, despite being a little slow, gets things off to a great start.