Netflix's most-watched series of all time is finally back with its second season, and what a way to kick off the new installment! The first episode of Squid Game season 2 is titled "Bread and Lottery," and in it, we see a determined Gi-hun desperately seeking a way back into the deadly competition that he won in the first season. He wants to meet face-to-face with the game's overseer, aka the Front Man, and finally put a stop to him and his brutal games for good.
However, he has to find a way back in. How did he join the competition in season 1? The Recruiter invited him. But where can he find him? Meanwhile, police officer Jun-ho desperately wants to find the mysterious island where the competition is held. If you recall from season 1, Jun-ho's brother is the Front Man, and his brother betrayed him by shooting him in the shoulder. Fortunately, Jun-ho survived, but he still wants answers, and getting to the island will get him one step closer to the truth.
Here's all that happens in the premiere episode of Squid Game season 2.
Spoilers ahead from Squid Game season 2 episode 1!
The first episode picks up where the season 1 finale ended. After talking on the phone with the Front Man, Gi-hun changes his mind about getting on a plane to America to reunite with his daughter and instead stays in South Korea. He realizes that the games aren't over and that the Front Man is still taking advantage of vulnerable people. He refuses to let this continue and vows to get revenge.
After leaving the airport, Gi-hun heads to a convenience store to use the restroom. He begins taking off his clothes and then uses a box cutter to cut behind his ear. What he ends up finding is some sort of tracking device that was implanted in him. It looks like the Front Man was tracking his every move the entire time. The episode then cuts to an unconscious Jun-ho in the hospital who finally wakes up from his coma. The first words that come out of his mouth are "In-ho." In-ho is his brother, aka the Front Man. The show's title card appears next.
Once we're back to the episode, we find out that two years have passed. Jun-ho is well and healthy, working as a traffic police officer. His old boss at the major crimes division wants him back on the force, but Jun-ho is comfortable where he is. However, he's still haunted by the day he was shot by his brother.
Meanwhile, Gi-hun has dyed his hair back to its original color and cut it short. He now owns his own motel and is working with the loan shark (Mr. Kim) he owed money to in the first season. He's been searching for the Recruiter with the help of Mr. Kim and his crew for two years straight, but he can't seem to find him anywhere. After handing over a large sum of money to Mr. Kim, he demands that he and his crew continue searching every subway station for the crooked Recruiter. He promises him a one billion won award if he successfully tracks him down.
Elsewhere, Jun-ho heads out to sea with the person who rescued him after he fell off the cliff in season 1. Over the past year and a half, Jun-ho and his savior have been trying to find the mysterious island where the deadly games take place, but to no avail. After their latest search, Jun-ho decides to give up. Back at a random subway station, Mr. Kim and his right-hand man, Woo-seok, take a lunch break from looking for the Recruiter. During their discussion, they hear a loud noise nearby.
After looking in the direction where the noise is coming from, they spot the Recruiter, who is in the process of recruiting a new participant by playing ddakji with him. Mr. Kim calls Gi-hun immediately to inform him of what's going on. Gi-hun tells him he's on his way and that they should trail the Recruiter until he gets there. After listening to Gi-hun's orders, Mr. Kim and Woo-seok continue to follow the Recruiter everywhere. Meanwhile, the potential participant looks over the business card that the Recruiter gave him. His phone starts ringing, and it's an incoming call from a woman named Jun-hee.
The episode then cuts to Jun-hee at an OB/GYN. She hangs up the phone after her call goes to voicemail. She then takes out the same business card that only people who have met the Recruiter will have. As the nurse comes out of a patient's room to call her over, Jun-hee is nowhere to be found.
Now, we're back with Mr. Kim and Woo-seok following the Recruiter. The Recruiter first stops at a bakery to buy a bunch of bread, and then he goes to a convenience store to buy a hundred scratchers. He heads to a park and begins approaching different homeless people, asking them to play a game. They can either choose the bread or a scratcher. All of them choose scratcher tickets, but they lose. The Recruiter then walks to the center of the park and starts stepping all over the bread as the homeless people look in shock.
After all the bread is destroyed, the Recruiter leaves the park with Mr. Kim and Woo-seok trailing him. Elsewhere, Gi-hun speeds down the street to get to the park to meet the Recruiter, but he ends up getting pulled over by Jun-ho and his partner. After receiving his speeding ticket, Gi-hun drives off. Not knowing who was in the car, Jun-ho asks his partner if he got the person's ID. Jun-ho looks over the ID and realizes it's Gi-hun. He then goes on a search to locate him.
Mr. Kim and Woo-seok catch up to the Recruiter and find him about to turn a corner in an alleyway. They chase after him but end up getting beat up and taken hostage. Gi-hun eventually arrives in the alleyway to find blood and Woo-seok's knife on the ground. However, he's unable to actually find Woo-seok and Mr. Kim.
At the Recruiter's place, Woo-seok and Mr. Kim sit in chairs, staring at each other while tied up and bound. The Recruiter forces them to play a game called "Rock-Paper-Scissors Minus One," which ultimately ends with Mr. Kim's death. He then forces Woo-seok to tell him where Gi-hun is staying. Elsewhere at Sunshine Capital, Jun-ho finds one of the Recruiter's business cards and discovers that Gi-hun owns a motel. He heads there next.
Back at the motel, Gi-hun opens the door to his room and finds the Recruiter waiting there for him with a gun. During their conversation, Gi-hun pretty much learns that the Recruiter is just a mentally ill individual. He demands that he bring him to the Front Man, but the Recruiter ignores him and tells him they should play a game. The game is a special version of Russian Roulette, and one of them will end up dead. In the end, the Recruiter is the loser of the game, and he turns the gun on himself and pulls the trigger. That's how episode 1 ends, and we're still reeling from what happened.
Squid Game season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.