The wait is almost over, VIPs! After three-plus years since that twist-filled season 1 finale, "Squid Game" season 2 will hit Netflix on Thursday, Dec. 26. And in the weeks leading up to the second season premiere, fans are finally getting some much-anticipated intel on what to expect from the new episodes — including what the official title for episode 1 will be.
Social media posts from the verified "Squid Game" account revealed earlier this week that the first episode of season 2 will ominously be called "Bread and Lottery." The season 2 premiere will drop in one fell swoop with the rest of the new episodes on Dec. 26; per the Hollywood Reporter, there will be seven episodes in total this season, down two from season 1's total of nine.
So even though Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), a.k.a. Player 456, is no longer hurting for cash this time around — spoiler alert! he ended up winning the deadly competition at the end of the first season after Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo) sacrificed himself — that "Bread and Lottery" episode title seemingly suggests that the capitalistic horrors we've come to expect from season 1 will continue in the second season; after all, "bread" can refer to food in general or could be slang for money.
Season 2 sees the former winner re-enter the competition not to win more cash but to expose the forces behind the corruption. Per Netflix, the official synopsis for season 2 reads: "Three years after winning Squid Game, Player 456 remains determined to find the people behind the game and put an end to their vicious sport. Using this fortune to fund his search, Seong Gi-hun starts with the most obvious of places: look for the man in a sharp suit playing ddakji in the subway. But when his efforts finally yield results, the path toward taking down the organization proves to be deadlier than he imagined: to end the game, he needs to re-enter it."
But Player 456 won't be the same man you met last season, the actor revealed during Netflix’s Fall Edit event in November. Per Tudum, Lee Jung-jae said that although Gi-hun yearns for a "normal life" and to reconnect with his daughter, “he understands … that he has changed in a way where [that’s] no longer possible."
Even the way he approached the character had to change this time around, the Emmy-winning performer told the outlet: “I had many opportunities where I was able to express that goodness of heart in the character [in Season 1]. However, in Season 2, while there are certain circumstances that allow for that [quality] to peek out of him … I didn’t have that many opportunities.”
You'll see exactly how Gi-hun and the rest of the competitors have changed when "Squid Game" season 2 premieres on Thursday, Dec. 26. Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all new information surrounding the second season of the hit Netflix drama, including fresh plot points, character details, behind-the-scenes info, and any teaser clips and trailers.
