Squid Game Season 2 Episode 5 Recap

Who's in the cast:
Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun (Player 456)
Lee Byung-hun as Hwang In-ho / "Oh Young-il" (Player 001)
Lee Seo-hwan as Park Jung-bae (Player 390)
Kang Ha-neul as Kang Dae-ho (Player 388)
Jo Yu-ri as Kim Jun-hee (Player 222)
Park Sung-hoon as Cho Hyun-ju (Player 120)
Kang Ae-sim as Jang Geum-ja (Player 149)
Yang Dong-geun as Park Yong-sik (Player 007)
Choi Seung-hyun (T.O.P) as Thanos (Player 230)
Lee David as Park Min-su (Player 125)
Won Ji-an as Se-mi (Player 380)
Park Gyu-young as Kang No-eul (Guard 011)
Wi Ha-jun as Hwang Jun-ho

Hyun-ju's team scrapes through. Young-mi can't flip the ddakji until Hyun-ju suggests using the other side. Yong-sik nails the flying stone by imagining it's the face of the crook who scammed him, and Geum-ja wins gonggi by picturing the face of her husband's old mistress. The shaman Seon-nyeo falls apart at the spinning top, convinced her gods have abandoned her, until Hyun-ju threatens her into finishing. For jegi, Hyun-ju asks everyone to look away, then lands all five kicks. Thanos's team passes too.

Gi-hun's team goes last, and the first three games go perfectly. Then In-ho, of all people, keeps missing the spinning top, slapping himself in frustration until Gi-hun calms him down. With seconds left, Gi-hun nearly flubs his fifth jegi kick, but In-ho lunges to help, and the team crosses the line with about one second to spare.

That night, No-eul is ambushed in her quarters by guards from the organ scheme, who hold a knife to her face and warn her to stay out of their way. In the dorm, Gi-hun's team swaps names. Dae-ho explains his name means big tiger, Jung-bae says his means righteous twice, and Player 001 introduces himself as Oh Young-il, a name that sounds like zero-one. The results are announced: 110 players were eliminated, 255 remain, and each share is now around 78.8 million won.

This time the vote starts with Player 001, and In-ho votes X, urging others to stop. But players argue that the money still won't touch their debts, and a chant of one more game spreads through the room. O wins, 139 to 116. Gi-hun's group discovers that Jung-bae quietly voted O because creditors are hounding his ex-wife and child. Hyun-ju also voted O. She opens up to Geum-ja about her life. She served in the army, but after coming out as a trans woman, she lost her job and her friends, and her family pulled away. She wants enough money to finish her transition in Thailand. Yong-sik voted O too and confesses that he owes another 100 million won to loan sharks who have threatened to take his organs.

Gi-hun warns everyone that killing other players at night will also raise the prize, so his group sleeps under the bunks and takes turns keeping watch. Geum-ja talks a guard into letting her and Hyun-ju take Jun-hee to the bathroom, and Jun-hee is clearly in pain. On watch, Jung-bae apologizes for his vote and for not lending Gi-hun money years ago when his mother was sick. The two old friends tease each other about the factory strike they lived through together and promise to get drunk on soju when they get out.

Out at sea, Jun-ho and Woo-seok now have two boats searching in different directions, and only a few days left. In the dorm, Min-su asks Thanos for a pill, and Se-mi quietly warns him to stay away from that crowd. Then the third game begins: Mingle. Players stand on a spinning platform while a cheerful song plays. When the music stops, a number is called, and they have 30 seconds to form a group of exactly that size, get into a room and shut the door.

Player tracker

Eliminated this episode

• ❌ 110 players are eliminated in the Six-Legged Pentathlon (255 remain)

Still standing

• ✅ Gi-hun (Player 456)
• ✅ In-ho / "Oh Young-il" (Player 001)
• ✅ Jung-bae (Player 390)
• ✅ Dae-ho (Player 388)
• ✅ Jun-hee (Player 222)
• ✅ Myung-gi (Player 333)
• ✅ Thanos (Player 230)
• ✅ Nam-gyu (Player 124)
• ✅ Se-mi (Player 380)
• ✅ Min-su (Player 125)
• ✅ Gyeong-su (Player 256)
• ✅ Hyun-ju (Player 120)
• ✅ Geum-ja (Player 149)
• ✅ Yong-sik (Player 007)
• ✅ Seon-nyeo (Player 044)
• ✅ Young-mi (Player 095)

Up next: Squid Game Season 2 Episode 6 Recap. Missed the last one? Read the Squid Game Season 2 Episode 4 Recap. See every episode in the Squid Game Season 2 episode guide or browse all Squid Game recaps.