Squid Game season 2 marks the return of Netflix's global phenomenon.
Season 1 winner, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), may have proven victorious, but now he wants revenge. Despite the 45.6 billion won prize, he instead decides to track down the people behind the game in a bid to take them down and end the games forever. The cliffhanger ending of season 1 saw Gi-hun about to board a flight, but when he spots the businessman who recruited him at the airport, he decides he can't leave. And this is where Squid Game season 2 returns.
Here's a recap of everything that happened in Squid Game season 2 episode 3.
The third episode opens at the harbour. The team are loading onto the fisherman’s boat and use Gi-hun’s tracker to follow him to the island. Meanwhile, Gi-hun wakes up and he’s back in the game — the same room, the same bunk beds, the same green jumpsuit, and even the same number, 456.
The guards enter and announce that the players will complete in six games. The players are angry — they want their belongings, they feel like they’ve been kidnapped, they don’t want to be there. Player 333, the man they saw playing ddajki in the subway, is there. To silence the angry players, the guards start calling out all the debt the players have accumulated and what they’ve done to be recruited. Billions lost, one man even 10 billion alone. The guards say, it was you who called and volunteered to participate.
Suddenly, a golden piggy bank descends from the ceiling, the same as season 1. A man asks them what the total prize money is for the games. They're told they can win 45.6 billion won. When it comes to more details, the guards say they'll share how the prize money is to be divided after the first game is complete. This time round though, a special option that we’ve never offered before — after each game, the players will be given a chance to vote on whether they'd like to end the games there, or if they want to keep playing. If they want to stop, the games will be terminated and the accumulated prize fund will be split between the players and they can all leave.
An older woman, Player 149, runs forward from the group and hits a man, Player 007. It turns out to be his mother, but they're both there to pay off his debt. She begs him to leave and he says he’ll play one game then go. The guards ask the players to sign consent forms to participate. If they don’t want to play, then they're asked to let the guards know now. As stated, the guards say they will provide further opportunities to leave the game.
Player 333, from the subway, turns out to be an ex-YouTuber who has lost a lot of people’s money, as well as his own, in crypto investments. He's approached by Player 230 and Player 124. They both lost money from him. They threaten him and blame him for telling them to invest, but he says it was their choice. Player 230 says he better get rich because he wants his money back. Player 222, Jun-lee, the pregnant woman that Player 333 tried to call when she was at the clinic is there, too. Gi-hun reads the consent form, and signs.
Elsewhere, on the boat, the fisherman wants to know what’s happening. Jun-ho says he found someone who played the game on the island he's looking for and survived. But, they’ve dragged him back to play. Fortunately, they've fitted him with a tracker so they can find him.
Another player approaches Player 230 and recognises him as a famous rapper called Thanos. He says he’s a huge fan and suddenly lots of the players want photos with him as they're supposed to be checking into the game. They’re not allowed so he says he’ll do it when they all get out of there. Front Man watches as the players enter the game. They walk through the unusual staircases, interweaving and colourful.
Player 390 runs up to Gi-hun, he clearly recognises him and asks him what he's doing there. In reply, he asks why his friend is there, too. He says that Gi-hun has been MIA for three years and that he's sorry his mum passed away. He's confused why Gi-hun disappeared and worries it's because he wouldn't lend him money when he asked. He says his wife left him and he lost custody of his kid, so he's there to try and repay his debts. Gi-hun tells him it's very important to stay close to him for the first game.
The team out on the water row up to shore, following the tracker closely. They fly up a drone to see what they can find, as the first game begins. It’s Red Light, Green Light. At Green Light, players move forward. At Red Light, they stop. When it's Red Light, a giant robot girl turns to see if anyone is moving. Thanos (Player 230) approaches a woman, Player 196, and flirts with her.
Before the game starts, Gi-hun pulls out his tooth to see if he’s still being tracked. But, at the same time, the team have followed the tracker to a fisherman on the shore of an island, not to Gi-hun. They search frantically and find the tracker hidden in a bait box full of worms. At the same time, Gi-hun pulls the tooth out of his mouth and realises the tracker is gone. The fisherman tells the team that a guy gave him the bait at the dock earlier.
As the first game begins, Gi-hun runs to the front of the group. He yells that they need to listen to him. He reveals that if they move after a red light, they’re going to be shot. The players don’t believe him and say he’s just saying that to win all the money. The game commences.
Front Man sits down to watch — Jun-ho’s older brother, as revealed in season 1. Even though the players don’t believe Gi-hun, they listen when he tells them to stop. He instructs them, covering his mouth so that he’s not detected. As they're standing still, a bee lands on Player 196’s neck as she’s standing with Thanos (Player 230). He tells her it’s a bee and then she panics and starts moving. She becomes the first player who is shot and killed. Another player looks at the dead body and starts to scream and move. She is also shot. As the panicked players around her move and run, they’re all shot. The body count starts to grow. It's revealed that one of the guards on the guns, is the woman from the amusement park.
At this point, the players are afraid to move and only Gi-hun is moving forward. Thanos (Player 230) opens the cross necklace he’s wearing and pulls out a brightly-colored pill and swallows it. Gi-hun tells everyone that if they don’t cross the line in time, they’ll also be killed. He tells them to line up behind each other as the giant robot girl is only a motion sensor and can't see behind things. As the snipers are instructed to shoot, the amusement park woman zooms in on Player 246, she realizes it's the father who worked with her, the dad of the sick little girl.
As they're lined up, Jun-lee (Player 222) grabs her pregnant stomach and holds onto the mother (Player 149) who is in front of her. In the line, Thanos (Player 230), feeling the effects of the pill he's taken, shoves the players in front of him, knocking them over, and getting them killed. As they approach the finish line, a man is shot in the leg, but not killed. Gi-hun decides to head back onto the playing field to save him, despite finishing the game. Player 120, a woman, jumps in to help carry him. They get him across the line, but the woman from the amusement park kills him anyway.
After the first game is finished, the main room is silent. The guards arrives and reveal 91 players have been eliminated. The mother (Player 149) with her son (Player 007) begs for their release and more players join in. Gi-hun steps forward and says you said we could vote and if the majority agree to stop playing, the games will be terminated. The guard agrees, but says they’re going to show off the prize money first — 9.1 billion won, which would be split between 365 players if they left now resulting in 24 million won each.
Some of the players want more and want to play on to increase their prize money. The vote begins. Voting X to leave and O to stay. When a player votes, they're given a X or O patch to wear on their green jumpsuit. As Gi-hun approaches the buttons, a woman, Player 044, says it’s useless and that their deaths have already been decided from the day they were born. He votes X to stop the game and heads to the side of the room with a X on the floor. The players continue to vote. The voting seems, for a while at least, that the players wanting to stop the game are in the majority, but it’s close. But then, those voting for O, to stay and play, takes the majority.
Gi-hun tries to plead with the players and tell them they’re all going to die. The players start turning on him, they say he’s scaring them before they have a chance to play. They wonder how he knows how the game works. The mother (Player 149) defends him, but the room is clearly split. Gi-hun finally admits that he’s played the games before, three years ago, and everyone died but him. Player 100, the man with the 10 billion won debt, doesn’t believe him. He wonders why Gi-hun would come back if he won all that money?
Thanos (Player 230) says Gi-hun can help them by giving them tips on all the games and help every single one of them to get to the end. As he continues to try and convince them to vote to leave, the guards interrupt and say that from now onwards, no action is allowed to interfere with the voting process and that they must resume voting. When they’re down to the last few votes, it’s 180 on X to leave and 181 on O to continue the games.
The deciding vote comes down to Player 001. As he approaches the buttons, it's tense. Finally, he votes to continue, meaning they have to play on. As the vote ends, Player 001 turns round. It’s Front Man, Jun-ho's older brother and the ruler of the games. Unfortunately, Gi-hun does not know his real identity.
