Squid Game season 2 just got the green light so if you’re looking for a Squid Game Season 1 Recap then you’ve come to the right place. Shortly after airing, Squid Game became Netflix’s most popular show, having attracted more than 140+ million member households and obtaining roughly 1.65 billion viewing hours in its first four weeks from its debut, becoming the most-watched program in 93+ countries.

Before we dive into the Squid Game Season 1 recap we’ll give you a brief overview of the show. The series’ name is derived from a similarly named Korean children’s game. The show revolves around a competition in which 456 individuals, all of whom are extremely cash poor, put their lives on the line to play a set of deadly children’s games for a serious amount of life-changing cash.  Hwang had the notion based on his own economic difficulties in early life, as well as the class gap in South Korea and capitalism. Despite having originally created it in 2009, he was unable to find a production company to back it until Netflix became interested around 2019 as part of their expansion into Korean content. Squid Game was released worldwide on September 17, 2021, to critical acclaim and international attention.

 

Squid Game Season 1 Recap – All Episodes

Ep. 1 Red Light, Green Light

In the premiere episode, we are introduced to the concept of the Squid Game and meet our first group of participants. The rules are simple: 456 people start off in a designated area and when the light turns green, they have to run towards the finish line. However, if they are caught moving after the light turns red then the player is eliminated. When we say eliminated it, we mean shot and killed. Episod 1 does a great job at showcasing the main character’s story and headspace.

Ep. 2 Hell

The second episode of Squid Game, “Hell,” puts the remaining players in the position of deciding their own fates and makes viewers question if the characters truly have a choice. Still shaken from the deaths of their opponents,  the players are faced with a moral dilemma – do they continue to play or do they choose to walk away? Over half of the players were eliminated in the first episode, so the show got intense pretty quickly.

Ep. 3 The Man with the Umbrella

Jun-ho, a fan favorite character of the series, successfully disguises himself as a masked employee and penetrates the games, which is revealed to be taking place on a remote island. The players begin forming friendships and alliances to increase there chance of survival . Player 067 discovers the second game which turns out to be Ppopgi. In this game music carve out a shape from a honeycomb candy in under 10 minutes. Sang-woo discovers that Player 067 knows the second game and chooses not to warn his teammates so that he can choose the easiest shape for himself.

Ep. 4 Stick To The Team

A disgraced doctor, unknown to other players, collaborates with a small number of guards to harvest organs from dead players and sell on the black market in return for data on future games. When Deok-su murders an individual who accused him of taking more food, no actions are taken by the guards, and the prize money ends up increasing. Soon after, players realize they can freely kill their surrounding players whether it’s during a game or in the dorm room.

Ep. 5 A Fair World

This episode features a tug-of-ward match at the highest level. Gi-hun’s team emerges victorious in their tug-of-war competition by relying on Player 001’s plan and Sang-woo’s thought process. Jun-ho learns that the game has been running for over 30 years and that his elder brother Hwang In-ho was the winner in 2015. This was one of our favorites to write about in this Squid Game Season 1 recap.

Ep. 6 Gganbu

The players witness the corpses of Player 111 and his accomplices being strung up for cheating. The remaining players are then assured the games are intended to provide every player a fair chance without discrimination. The fourth game is then revealed. In the fourth game, players are instructed to pair up, but they realize they will be competing against their partner in a marble game of their choosing. The winner and remaining player will survive if he or she collects all of his or her partner’s marbles within 30 minutes.

Ep. 7 VIPS

The VIP spectators from around the globe, who had been betting on the games remotely, arrived to watch and bet on the next rounds in person. Jun-ho attacks one of the VIP’s in a private room after being sexually propositioned by one of them. The fifth game is then revealed and has players crossing a two-panel wide bridge, where the panels are each made of two types of glass. The bridge is made of tempered and regular glass, with the regular glass not being able to hold a players weight. As the players in front of the line test the panels, they fall to their deaths.

Ep. 8 Front Man

The finalists are revealed are are given a change of cloths so they can dress formally. As finalists, Gi-hun, Sang-woo, and Sae-byeok are given a change of outfit to formal clothes. The glass bridge explosion has left Sae-byeok with a deep gash on her shoulder and it worsens throughout the episode. While Gi-hun isn’t present, Sang-woo murders Sae-byeok and the guards arrive to take her body. Jun-ho discovers who The Front Man is and finds out that it’s his brother. When Jun-ho refuses to join him, his brother shoots him which causes him to fall off the edge of a cliff.

Ep. 9 One Lucky Day

A fight between Gi-hun and Sang-woo is intense, with both men being driven to the brink of their endurance by the game. After a long struggle, Gi-hun emerges victorious but refuses to kill Sang-woo; he pleads Sang-Woo to stop the game using the third clause. Sang-woo instructs Gi-hun to take care of his mother after stabbing himself in the neck. Gi-hun is flown back to Seoul with a bank card to access the cash, only to find out that his lovely mother has passed away. The episode the fastforwards by a year to show that Gi-hun has not touched his prize money. Shortly after, he meets the creator of the game and discovers he’s on his deathbed. The final epiosde was intense and one we were excited to share more details about in our Squid Games Season 1 recap.

Final Thoughts on Squid Game Season 1 Recap

It was just announced, in June 2022, that the series had been renewed for a second season, which is expected to premiere in late 2023 or early 2024 on Netflix. Netflix also announced that it’s putting together a reality competition based on Squid Game will feature 456 players competing for a large prize pool. There’s no doubt that the show was incredibly successful. The Squid Game series won various awards including two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Golden Globe Award. If you enjoyed this Squid Game Season 1 recap please be sure to share it on social media and keep up with more of your favorite TV shows by reading some of our other articles.