After the Recruiter's death at the end of episode 1, Seong Gi-hun now has to find another way to get to the Front Man. And it all comes down to a party where he'll be able to do so as we see in Squid Game season 2 episode 2, "Halloween Party." Let's get into the review! SPOILERS BELOW.
It's poor timing, but our fave detective, Hwang Jun-ho, comes in and finds the Recruiter shot dead. Gi-hun is definitely looking guilty right now. But Choi Woo-seok comes through and knocks him out. Right now all that's important is that Gi-hun has a way in. He got the key that almost cost him his life to be able to talk to the Front Man.
Just as I predicted after seeing the promotional images, Seong and the detective are going to be working together. Yay! This is what I wanted. After all, Woo-seok has been looking for a way back into the games for the past three years too. Ugh, but why did he have to lie about not seeing the Front Man's face? I know the he's his brother. But Woo-seok saw firsthand the things he's orchestrated in there. Now Gi-hun is going to go in not knowing what the Front Man looks like. That would have been useful information. I have a feeling this is going to come back and be a problem later.
Man does Gi-hun have a lot of weapons. But the ratty and beat up motel he bought isn't just for nothing. It's a good place for target practice too. And he's building a strong group of his own. It's Halloween night and Gi-hun has to go to the party that's the key to finding the Front Man. Smart since he can be in disguise. Though before we get into that, we need to talk about the Front Man's backstory a little bit.
So it turns out he and Woo-seok's mother is actually his stepmother. Though she loves him like a son, that much is clear. At one point, Woo-seok needed a kidney, and Front Man - aka In-ho - gave his to his brother. It looks like he was either in law enforcement or in the military. Something like that. Though remember in season 1 when the two brothers came face to face, he had very good knowledge of police procedures. So it could be law enforcement.
Anyway, In-ho had a wife who got sick and they couldn't pay for her treatment. He ended up taking bribes, and I'm assuming that lead to him getting fired, with his whole life turned upside down. Not everything is spelled out. But I think that's the gist. If they're trying to make me feel bad for him, I do not. But it is interesting to get more of his backstory.
This does also provide some clarity into Woo-seok's motives. In a way, he probably feels like he owes it to his brother, even after he did shoot him. And that's why he was protecting him and didn't reveal who the Front Man really is to him. At this point it's not even completely clear why he wants to find the games. Does he want to try and stop them as well, try and get his brother back, or a mix of both?
Alright, back to Gi-hun. He sort of makes preparations in case he doesn't come back after this confrontation. That includes hearing his daughter's voice. Why doesn't he talk to her though? Has he avoided speaking to her for the last three years? Maybe he feels guilty for not getting on that plane to be with her. This scene was so heartbreaking.
They cleverly think of putting a tracker in his tooth to keep tabs on him. Though as always, the Front Man is one step ahead and gets Player 456 in a car by himself. He asks the Front Man to put him back into the game, knowing full well what his intentions are. Though Gi-hun points out this would be a twist the "fat cats" he serves will find interesting.
Ugh, it's crazy that the Front Man was right there in the front seat the whole time! When he says "Player 456, welcome back to the game," I got literal chills, you guys. Now onto the pink bunny lady. Remember what I said about the small details in the episode 1 review? This was foreshadowing who she was going to be. The show tricked us into thinking that perhaps she would be recruited to play. That's what I thought!
I mean the Recruiter is now out of commission. I don't know if he's the only one on the job. But anyway, I thought maybe getting the card was another way of joining the game. And it is, just not the way we thought. She is recruited to be one of the Pink Soldiers! Hence why she was pink bunny before. You get it?
She has an interesting backstory as she was in the North Korean military, shot her superior, fled to South Korea, all while leaving her one-year-old behind. Now she's looking for her and can't find her. What happened to her husband? One thing is for sure - she has nothing left to lose and those are the scariest people.
Squid Game season 2 episode 2 is another great episode. Though I wasn't expecting us to go two full episodes without being the games yet. Hopefully episode 3 gets us in there because I'm on pins and needles. The set up is necessary, so I get it. Though I do feel like some of it could have been condensed a little bit. Overall, it's still an intriguing episode, and I look forward to what happens next. Episode grade level: B. Check out our Netflix page for more reviews, including the one for episode 3 today. Stay tuned as we review the rest of the season tomorrow and Saturday.
Squid Game season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.