A good K-drama will take you on an emotional roller coaster of tears, laughs, and heart-pounding moments. Then there’s Squid Game Season 1 — which ups the ante in more ways than one. Yet the drama’s hero, Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), finds a way to survive every savage twist the series’ bloody game throws at him. 

For those in need of a recap now that Squid Game’s Season 2 is streaming: Exactly 456 cash-strapped contestants sign up for the chance to win enough money to finally turn their lives around. They’re taken to a mysterious facility where they compete in a series of childhood games — but these aren’t exactly like the ones from their schoolyard days. With roughly $38 million (at the time) literally dangling over the contestants’ heads, their lives on the line, and only one possible winner, the games become a high-stakes arena of survival of the fittest. 

The South Korean thriller is a wild ride, keeping you on the edge of your seat until the very end. So, who survives? Who’s in charge of the game? Who gets to take home the life-changing amount of money? Keep reading for answers to all of those questions — and so many more, including how to dig even deeper into the sinister world of Squid Game.  

What is the prize for the winner of the Squid Game?

All 456 players are competing for a 45.6 billion won prize. However, this is no easy sum to win. As everyone learns after the first round, the pot only grows by 100,000,000 won once a player is “eliminated” (or, more accurately, killed). 

What was the name of the shop that Gi-hun’s friend runs?

Gi-hun’s friend (Lee Seo-hwan) owns Lucky Corner. In the first two episodes of Season 1, we get to know this childhood pal better. He enjoys gambling and smoking with Gi-hun — and has to hide those activities from his wife (Kim Young-sun), who greatly disapproves of her husband’s friendship with his gambling-obsessed pal.  

Who was the first player to lose Red Light, Green Light?

Player 324 (Han-sol Lee) is the first player to be eliminated in Red Light, Green Light. His loss can be blamed on an overly competitive spirit. Right before the first round begins, he makes a 1 million won bet that he’ll beat Player 250 (Park Ji-hoon) to the finish line. Sadly, neither player makes it. Player 250 is eliminated seconds after Player 324. 

Which shape is not on the pink guards’ masks? 

The pink guards do not have a star shape on their masks. Instead, star-shape-printed dalgona cookies appear in Episode 3 during the second round of the game. 

What year did In-ho compete in the Squid Game?

In-ho, the allegedly missing brother of Detective Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-jun), won the 2015 Squid Game. Jun-ho figures this out in Episode 5, when he breaks into a records room at the Squid Game facility. There, he finds a winners list with his brother’s name on it. 

But it’s only in Episode 8 that Jun-ho learns the full truth about his brother. Not only is In-ho alive and, as Player 132, was the victor of the 28th Squid Game — he’s also the ruthless Front Man (Lee Byung-hun). The person Jun-ho had been trying to save from the 33rd game has been leading it all along.  

Which animal masks are worn by the VIPs? 

In Episode 7, we are introduced to the “VIPs,” who are the wealthy on-lookers at the Squid Game facility. Their masks are inspired by animals, including lions, deer, and buffalo.  

Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo), Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) and Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon) await their fate in the dormitory.

Noh Juhan/Netflix

Who are the final three Squid Game Season 1 players?

After five terrifying and death-defying trials, Gi-hun, Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon), and Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo) make it to the end as the remaining three competitors. By this point, Gi-hun has found a greater sense of empathy and cares for Sae-byeok. But Sang-woo isn’t on the same page. After the trio’s celebratory dinner — at which they don tuxedos and eat a lavish meal — a steak knife is left for each of them. Sang-woo, we’ve learned, will do whatever it takes to win, including betraying those closest to him. When the lights go off in the dormitories, he stabs Sae-byeok, who’s already suffering from injuries from the glass bridge game, and she dies. 

Who wins Squid Game in Season 1? And what happens to the 45.6 billion won?

Sae-byeok’s death leaves the childhood friends to face off in the eponymous final game: Squid Game — a game of chicken in which players try to hop over into the opponent’s home base within a squid-like diagram. Gi-hun, angered by the turn of events, makes his move, but when he gains the upper hand, he’s not able to easily kill his friend. Instead, he decides to forfeit, giving up the winnings as long as he and Sang-woo can walk away. Sang-woo, who’s come this far, sacrificing his sense of decency and humanity in order to win, plunges the knife into his own neck, doing the deed for Gi-hun. His dying wish is for Gi-hun to take care of his mother. Gi-hun unwillingly becomes the winner of the games and all the money, though his triumph is hollow. The 45.6 billion won is put in a bank account for Gi-hun. 

During the ride back to the real world, the Front Man, who’s in charge of the games, informs Gi-hun that the games are a form of entertainment, just like the horses on which Gi-hun used to bet. 

Detective Hwang (Wi Ha-joon) attempts to alert the authorities.

Noh Juhan/Netflix

What happens to Detective Hwang? 

Jun-ho, who had infiltrated the games to find his brother, escapes to a nearby island to alert the authorities of this murderous operation. The Front Man reveals his true identity to his brother in their face-off and, remaining loyal to the game, shoots Jun-ho. Stunned, the detective stumbles backwards and falls off a cliff.

Who else dies at the end of Squid Game Season 1?

Despite his winnings, Gi-hun has lost too much, and he comes home to find that his mother has died. Drained, Gi-hun wanders aimlessly for a year until a business card with the Squid Game logo finds its way to him again with an address and signed by “gganbu,” meaning an old neighborhood buddy. Gi-hun arrives at a glossy, empty high-rise building, and on the seventh floor, he finds a hospital bed occupied by none other than Oh Il-nam (O Yeong-su) — the older contestant who Gi-hun had befriended and betrayed in the gut-wrenching marbles game in order to move on to the next level. Il-nam, we find out, isn’t someone we should’ve mourned; he’s one of the creators behind the games. As a man with means beyond what most people could ever comprehend, he and his friends started the games for their own entertainment. Il-nam broods about how there are two ways in which one cannot enjoy life: when you either have too little money or too much. However, the brain tumor he mentions to Gi-hun during the games is, in fact, real. After he explains why he decided to become a “participant” — to feel something before he dies — he dies, leaving Gi-hun to sit with the sickening revelation that his old friend was actually a stranger. 

Maybe in defiance, or rage, Gi-hun then makes a big change: cuts his hair and dyes it a shocking shade of red.

What was the favor Sae-byeok asked Gi-hun?

Before she dies, Sae-byeok has the foresight to make a deal with Gi-hun. They agree that if either of them makes it out of the Squid Game, they will look after each other’s loved ones. For Sae-byeok, that means her little brother (Pyo Dong-Jun), whom viewers meet in Episode 2.   

Gi-hun (and his new ’do) on the phone with the Front Man

How does Squid Game Season 1 end?

Gi-hun decides to continue on and takes care of Sae-byeok and Sang-woo’s other requests: He finds Sae-byeok’s brother, leaves him in the care of Sang-woo’s mother and gives her half his winnings. While the games are taking place, his daughter, his ex-wife, and her new husband immigrate to the United States. His relationship with his daughter is strained at best due to his debts (and maybe due to the fact that he gives her things like a gun-shaped lighter as a present), but perhaps with his new millions, he thinks, things can change. On the phone with his daughter, he lets her know he’s heading to the airport to see her. But as he’s about to hop on the train, he hears a familiar sound — a ddakji hitting the cold floor of the station. Gi-hun looks up to see the salesman (Gong Yoo) who had previously recruited him in the middle of a game with a new prospect. Knowing what fate is in store for this man, Gi-hun rushes over to stop it. The salesman coolly leaves and waves goodbye from a departing train, but he’s given the card to the prospect, which Gi-hun yanks away, yelling at him to never call. 

Gi-hun makes it to the airport, staring at the life-altering card in his hands. Just before boarding the plane, he makes a call to hear a voice once again prompting him for his name and birthdate. Angrily, Gi-hun bites back at the agent, saying that he’s not a racehorse and that he’s angry about the cruel games. Always alert, with his eyes and ears on the game, the Front Man intercepts the call and advises him to catch his flight. Well, Gi-hun’s had enough of listening to the Front Man, and he doesn’t get on the plane. He turns back. One thing’s for certain: For Gi-hun, the game isn’t over. 

Watch Squid Game Season 2 — now streaming — to see Gi-hun continue his fight against the competition. 

How do I learn even more about Squid Game Season 1? 

With Netflix’s Squid Game: The Official Podcast, of course. Hosted by Phil Yu, the weekly podcast will help you get back into the game with the highest possible stakes. Yu and special guests explore the twists and turns of Seasons 1 and 2 and illuminate the cultural symbolism throughout the series. Click here to learn more about the pod, which is now streaming.

Additional reporting by Ariana Romero. 

Watch the Squid Game Season 2 Trailer