After taking the world by storm in 2021, the curtain is about to shut on Hwang Dong-hyuk’s “Squid Recreation.”
The place Season 2 premiered over three years after its predecessor, “Squid Recreation 3” hits Netflix barely six months on the heels of that. Season 2’s characters, stakes, and cliffhanger is likely to be contemporary within the minds of many, but it surely’s price revisiting particulars all of “Squid Recreation” forward of its remaining hurrah.
In case you haven’t made the time to re-binge all of Season 1 and a pair of (and even you probably have!), right here’s a refresher on what occurred in “Squid Recreation” and what is likely to be vital to Season 3. Whereas many of the characters from Season 1 are useless, Season 2’s key gamers are nonetheless at massive — however in horrible hazard except Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) succeeds in his grasp plan.
The New Gi-hun
In Season 1, our protagonist was just a little egocentric, a bit bumbling, however a candy man who needed to supply for his mom and daughter. However after per week within the Video games and watching a whole bunch of individuals die violently earlier than him because of the whims of the rich — to not point out his mom’s sudden loss of life throughout that point — Gi-hun become a grave, hardened, and barely recognizable particular person (and never simply due to that drastic dye job).
Within the years between his first and second time within the Recreation, Gi-hun seems to have barely stored in contact together with his daughter, who moved to America along with her mom and stepfather, or with Jung-bae (Lee Search engine optimization-hwan), certainly one of his remaining associates. He spent the prize cash solely on his seek for the Video games, a part of a higher mission to finish them for good. And the smile from his outdated participant ID? Gone, in all probability eternally.
Each Vote Counts
In Season 1, Gi-hun and the opposite gamers took a vote on whether or not or to not keep within the recreation after Crimson Gentle, Inexperienced Gentle — a vote which resulted in them going house and returning to their lives. However shortly after, many took the chance to return to the video games, risking their lives reasonably than hold those that they had.
This voting returned in Season 2 as a perverse ritual; after an preliminary vote to remain, gamers have been required to vote once more after each recreation; and each time to this point, they’ve stayed. Every particular person acquired a patch to put on on their tracksuit indicating how they voted — basically creating two factions throughout the dorms. Gamers have tried to attraction to these on opposing sides, or resorted to extra violent means when that doesn’t work.
The Brothers Hwang
In Season 1, Gi-hun filed a police report about every thing he noticed within the video games, which prompted police officer Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) to sneak in as a guard — and be taught that his lacking brother In-ho (Lee Byung-hun) is none aside from Entrance Man, the highest-ranking authority throughout the recreation and a former winner. The brothers confronted off within the Season 1 finale, with Jun-ho taking a bullet and falling off a cliff… however his quest to reveal the video games didn’t finish there.
In-ho had a pregnant spouse earlier than he entered the Video games, however she died whereas ready for him to safe funds for her surgical procedure. With nothing left to struggle for, he joined the Video games and have become the Entrance Man. In Season 2, he joins the video games undercover, casting the primary decisive vote to maintain taking part in earlier than switching sides and gaining Gi-hun’s belief (however finally shedding Jung-bae’s when he kills somebody in the course of the recreation “Mingle”).
Gi-hun and Jun-ho teamed up in Season 2, earlier than Gi-hun determined to reenter the video games and misplaced all contact with the skin world. Whereas he dangers his life within the competitors and tries to avoid wasting particular person gamers, Jun-ho is on a ship with a staff of mercenaries decided to seek out the island. However because the Season 2 finale revealed, their largest menace is the boat captain, who is just not what he appears.
Gi-hun’s Kill Depend
Loads of gamers are content material to dispense with societal decorum and begin absolutely murdering one another within the Video games — however not Gi-hun. He by no means partook of dormitory violence, sacrificed different gamers, and even pushed them to create an obstacle. He gained the Video games on a technicality, as a result of Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo) stabbed himself after all of the loss of life and ache he wrought.
And till taking pictures on the masked guards in Season 2, Gi-hun hadn’t killed or tried to hurt anybody, even when he felt the need — however he stands as proof that violence leaves a mark even upon those that survive and witness it. He feels blood on his arms from what he’s seen, if not something he’s performed. However now that he shot at these guards, waged a failed insurrection, and misplaced his final pal, what new lengths may our hero go to ultimately?
The Ones Who Stay
As of the Season 2 finale, surviving gamers embody ex-military members Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon) and Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul), mom and son duo Geum-ja (Kang Ae-shim) and Younger-sik (Yang Dong-geun), anticipating mom Jun-hee (Jo Yuri), and a number of other others of observe (R.I.P. Thanos). In-ho is again in his function as Entrance Man after the psychological experiment of getting into the video games and befriending Gi-hun, whereas No-eul (Park Gyuyoung) will proceed to supply viewers a glance contained in the guards’ lives.
Many of those supported Gi-hun’s insurrection even when they didn’t participate actively (or in some instances, each — you, Dae-ho), which suggests they relied on him to get them out of the Video games. That belief could also be shaken now, together with Gi-hun’s precise skill to avoid wasting them.
The One Who Died
Earlier than he enters the sport, Gi-hun is seen making an attempt to make ends meet in his day by day life, together with daytime playing with outdated pal Jung-bae. In Season 2, they met within the recreation, instantly giving Gi-hun one thing to struggle for, but additionally one thing to lose. Within the Season 2 finale, the Entrance Man killed Jung-bae proper in entrance of him, one other devastating loss of life on Gi-hun’s conscience.
“Squid Recreation 3” premieres June 27 on Netflix.