What is The Recruiter's backstory in Squid Game Season 2? Details explored 

Squid Game season 2 is driven by Lee Jung-jae's Gi-hun spearheading a crusade against the game itself. While the first season of Squid Game ended with Gi-hun winning the brutal contest and almost emigrating to the United States to reunite with his daughter, the second season of the Netflix show follows him as he decides to stay back in Seoul in a desperate bid to expose the hosts of the games and put an end to the brutal contest.

One of the many connecting dots between the two seasons of Squid Game is the character of the the Salesman, or the Recruiter played by Gong Yoo. The Recruiter innocuously goes around recruiting different people to participate in the games. His mode of operation is quite unique, as he is a well-dressed man with an eye for spotting people who are prone to gambling and are crippled by massive debt.

The Recruiter's origins and background have been explained by the first episode of Squid Game season two. It was revealed in the premiere that the Recruiter had to once shoot his own father, who had participated in the games. The incident seemed to have stripped him of any sense of humanity.

Here's everything that we know about this character.

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Squid Game season 2: The Recruiter's origin and background explained

The Recruiter, played by Gong Yoo, is a fascinating character from Squid Game. In several ways, he is the first introduction the players have to the brutal games. Upon returning to Seoul in the second season of the Netflix show, Gi-hun is possessed by a desire to settle scores with the hosts of the game.

He decides on a course of action that begins with getting in touch with the organizers of the game, including the Front Man. Gi-hun eventually settles upon tracking the Recruiter as the first step.

After a long and protracted manhunt, Mr. Kim and Woo-seok are finally able to trace The Recruiter in a back alley. However, upon attacking the latter, things quickly go south, and Mr. Kim meets his end in a game of Russian roulette, while Woo-seok is tortured. The Recruiter then approaches Gi-hun himself and reveals his own backstory.

The Recruiter joined the games at an early age and worked dedicatedly burning the bodies of the fallen contestants. His hard work soon bore fruit when he was promoted to being a guard and was given a gun. However, he was soon faced with the prospect of shooting his own father in between the eyes, as the latter had participated in the games and lost.

Due to his unmatched loyalty to the organizers of the game, the Recruiter was subsequently given the responsibility of recruiting new players. He revealed all of this to Gi-hun before taking his own life in the same game of Russian Roulette.

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Director Hwang Dong-hyuk on Gong Yoo's The Recruiter

Squid Game director Hwang Dong-hyuk recently explained the idea behind the character played by actor Gong Yoo. In an interview with RadioTimes, he said:

"I believe that Gong Yoo's character is someone who lived a difficult, tough, rock-bottom life, just as much as those that are depicted as the homeless people in the series. And he is someone who is so filled with self-hatred, it is expressed in the hatred he harbors for other humans."

The showrunner further added,

"And by hating these people, he believes that he is different from them. (He is) showing and expressing his hatred for the people who choose lottery tickets instead of bread, almost as if he's trying to escape his own self-loathing nature."

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Squid Game season 2 is streaming exclusively on Netflix.