Gi-hun’s Plan To Take Down The Squid Game In Season 2 & Who’s Helping Him Explained

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Squid Game season 2 episodes 1 & 2.

Gi-hun tells In-ho that he plans to take down the Squid Game once and for all in Squid Game season 2. After becoming Netflix’s most-watched series of all time with its September 2021 premiere, Squid Game season 2 premiered on the giant streaming platform on December 26, 2024. Season 1 star Lee Jung-jae returns as Squid Game winner Seong Gi-hun who is determined to make the creators of the high-stakes survival game pay. The cast of Squid Game season 2 also features the return of Wi Ha-Joon as Hwang Jun-Ho and Lee Byung-hun’s Front Man Hwang In-ho.

Series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk returns to write and director Squid Game season 2 and has already confirmed that Squid Game season 3, which will be the final season of the celebrated thriller, is set to be released in 2025. Following season 1’s 9-episode stretch, Squid Game season 2 has a total of seven episodes. The end of Squid Game season 1 revealed that Seong Gi-hun tried to end the game early on the brink of victory to save his friend, Cho Sang-woo. In the end, Seong Gi-hun left the game with 45.6 billion won.

Gi-hun Decided To Take Down The Squid Game At The End Of Season 1

Gi-hun doesn’t get on the plane and tells In-ho that he is coming for him

At the end of season 1, Gi-hun makes it his life’s mission to end the Squid Game once and for all. He takes a business card from someone who was recruited by the Salesman and receives a call as he is about to board a plane and start a new life. On the other side of the phone is Hwang In-ho, who remembers Gi-hun as Player 456. In-ho tells Gi-hun to do the rational thing and live a comfortable life with the mass amount of money he had won from the Squid Game.

However, Gi-hun is beyond the point of reason and is fueled by a deep desire for revenge and justice. He announces that he is not just some horse as In-ho previously called him and makes it clear that he plans to take down the Squid Game. The first season ends on that note but season 2 picks up exactly where that final scene ended, as Gi-hun gets another call from In-ho asking him where he thinks he’s going. Gi-hun doubles down on his statement from season 1 and tells In-ho to stop hiding and face him. He takes a taxi to Seoul and removes the trackers from behind his ear.

Gi-hun Hired Loan Shark Mr. Kim And His Men To Track Down The Salesman

The Salesman recruits participants to play in the Squid Game

After the opening scene in Squid Game season 2, the series jumps ahead two years and finds Gi-hun still looking for a way to stop the Squid Game. Still haunted by nightmares of Cho-Sang-woo and Kang Sae-byeok, Gi-hun hires loan shark Mr. Kim and his men to track down the Squid Game recruiter known as the Salesman. They hold meetings and describe the Salesman as a tall man in a gray suit with a black briefcase. They try looking for him in subway stations playing a game called ddakji with desperate people he is trying to recruit to participate in the Squid Game.

Gi-hun Never Found Any Clues In Two Years Until The Salesman Was Spotted

Mr. Kim and Choi Woo-seok finally find the Salesman in episode 1

Even though two years have passed since Gi-hun won the Squid Game, he has hardly spent any of his $45.6 billion won fortune and has remained focused on trying to find the Salesman. This was the only way that Gi-hun could try to track down the location of the Squid Game because the Salesman was the only one who ever showed his face in public and left the location where the Squid Game was held. Gi-hun instructs Mr. Kim and his armed men to work harder to find the Salesman. Eventually, Mr. Kim and one of his men, Choi Woo-seok, locate the Salesman and follow him as he recruits contestants.

Jun-ho’s Investigation Eventually Leads Him To Gi-hun

He found his information after Gi-hun was pulled over for speeding

After being rescued by Captain Park out at sea after the end of Squid Game season 1, Jun-ho goes back to his job as a police officer but stays out of official detective work, resigning himself to being a traffic patrolman. That is until he discovers Gi-hun in Seoul and remembers that he did not help him when he was looking for his brother back in season 1. Jun-ho begins his own investigation to track down Jun-ho, which brings him to Gi-hun’s hidden residence in a sketchy motel. Jun-ho arrives to the motel just after Gi-hun bested the Salesman in a deadly game of Russian Roulette.

Once Jun-ho, Woo-seok, and Gi-hun are all on the same page, Gi-hun shows them his arsenal of weapons that he plans to bring to the Squid Game location. Gi-hun finds a business card with an invitation to talk to the Front Man in the pocket of the Salesman’s suit. Gi-hun tells the other two that if they help him, they can have as much of his fortune as they want. However, neither of them ar motivated by money. Gi-hun then shows them his hidden shooting range where they can practice firing assault rifles until it’s time to storm the Squid Game location.

Gi-hun & Jun-ho’s Mercenary Team To Take Down The Games Explained

Gi-hun puts a tracker in a fake tooth so Jun-ho can find the Squid Game location

Gi-hun boldly puts his life on the line once again and tells the Front Man that he wants to go back into the Squid Game. Gi-Hun wants to be pulled back into the Squid Game because he has a tracker installed in a fake tooth so Jun-ho can find the Squid Game location. Gi-hun even has his own back molar removed by a dentist in order to try and sneak in with the tracker undetected. Gi-hun plans to have Jun-ho, Woo-seok, and the rest of the armed mercenaries take over the island where the Squid Game is held.

As shown in Squid Game episode 2, the Front Man accepts Gi-hun’s proposal and enters him back into his Player 456 role. Gi-Hun uses the gold business card from the Salesman to be at a club at a specific time so that he can be taken to see the Front Man. Instead of meeting with him face to face, he speaks through an intercom in the back of a limousine. After Gi-hun reasserts his commitment to taking out the Squid Game, a strange gas fills the limo and G-hun passes out. The Front Man is revealed to be sitting in the front seat of the limo as he takes Player 456 back to the Squid Game.

Your changes have been saved

My List

My Favorite TV Shows
My Watchlist

In Squid Game, a mysterious invitation to join a competition is sent to people at risk who are in dire need of money. Four hundred fifty-six participants from all walks of life are locked into a secret location where they play games to win 45.6 billion won. Games are selected from traditional Korean children’s games, such as Red Light and Green Light, but the consequence of losing is death. To survive, competitors must choose their alliances carefully – but the further they go in the competition, the more likely betrayal will rear its ugly head.

Release Date

September 17, 2021

Cast

Wi Ha-joon
, Anupam Tripathi
, Oh Yeong-su
, Heo Sung-tae
, Park Hae-soo
, Jung Ho-yeon
, Lee Jung-jae
, Kim Joo-ryoung

Seasons

2

Writers

Hwang Dong-hyuk

Directors

Hwang Dong-hyuk

Showrunner

Hwang Dong-hyuk

Expand