Squid Game’s second season is finally here, with seven brand-new episodes hitting this Boxing Day.
This second edition of the smash-hit South Korean drama follows Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae) hatching a scheme to take down the nefarious games which awarded him 45.6 billion won after a brutal gauntlet three years ago.
With the help of police officer Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon), Gi-hun infiltrates the games with the aim of shutting it down but soon finds himself competing again when his plan to lead the police to the island is sabotaged.
Throughout the games, he makes allegiances with his old friend Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) and Oh Young-il, whom he has no idea is actually the mysterious Front Man Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun) from the previous tournament.
This season, the players are given the opportunity to vote on whether to continue the games after each round, which sows division between the ‘Xs’, participants who want to stop, and ‘Os’, players who want to carry on in the hopes of sharing the grand prize.
Squid Game season 2 ending explained including mid-credits teaser (Image: NETFLIX)
In the season finale, Friend or Foe, Gi-hun and several other Xs attempt an uprising against the guards, ambushing them after a fight breaks out the night after the third game and stealing their weapons.
Although Gi-hun and Jung-bae get close to breaching the upper levels, their rebellion ends in disaster when Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul), supposedly a former Marine, is sent to retrieve extra ammo and instead is found by Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon) cowering in the sleeping quarters.
Meanwhile, In-ho and two other players manage to circle around the guards who have Gi-hun and Jung-bae cornered, but he instead shoots his teammates and fakes his death over the walkie-talkies.
The climactic moments of episode seven saw Gi-hun approached by In-ho, now in his Front Man garb to hide his identity, for a final confrontation.
In-ho is back in control as the Front Man (Image: NETFLIX)
After asking Gi-hun if he enjoyed “playing the hero”, In-ho executes Jung-bae right in front of him, leaving him devastated. But Gi-hun is spared, for now, leaving his fate a mystery heading into the beginning of next season.
Back in the sleeping quarters, Hyun-ju is convinced by Jang Geum-ja (Kang Ae-shim) not to continue fighting for a lost cause.
The very last shot of the season is a teaser for the next outing, most likely taken straight from an episode in season three, which occurs after most of the credits have rolled.
Three players are seen entering another arena, where the robotic schoolgirl is standing opposite a similarly creepy robotic schoolboy.
Jung-bae is tragically executed in the season seven finale (Image: NETFLIX)
This game also involves red and green traffic lights, which suggests Gi-hun and the other players will take part in a modified Red Light, Green Light.
As his tactics enable a much larger pool of players through to the next game, two motion-detecting robots at either end of the arena could ensure the next game will be an absolute bloodbath.
It looks like the games will indeed continue when Squid Game returns next year, but will police officer Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) be able to track down Gi-hun before it’s too late?
Squid Game season 2 is available to stream on . Season 3 will be released in 2025.