The Salesman's Story in Squid Game Revealed and Explained

WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Squid Game Season 2, Episode 1.

squid game Season 2 Episode 1 reveals the Salesman's backstory and offers a lot of insight into Gong Yoo's character. Gong Yoo stole the show squid game Season 1, despite only having a few scenes. A man in a suit carrying a briefcase and challenging people to play Ddakji in exchange for money, the “Seller” was the first indicator of how sinister Lula’s Games would be. squid gameThe first season didn't offer any context about the Salesman, with Gong Yoo's character not even having a name.

Casting Gong Yoo, one of the most successful Korean actors of his generation, in a small role in squid game showed how much faith Netflix had in the project from the beginning. However, once squid game was renewed for season 2, it seemed logical that the show would now focus on some of its main stars who didn't get to do much in the first season. This included the character of Gong Yoo, who, despite being killed off at the end of squid game The first episode of season 2 had its story revealed and was the center of attention throughout the episode.

The salesman started out as a low-level masked guard

Gong Yoo's character rose through the ranks to become the recruiter

Gi-hun spent the last two years looking for the Seller in every train and subway station with the help of Shark Loan's Mr. Kim and his men. Although Kim and Woo-seok eventually find the Salesman, they are easily defeated by Gong Yoo's character and forced to play a twisted version of Jokenpo combined with Russian Roulette. Later in the episode, the Salesman goes to Gi-hun's office and confronts him. The Squid Games recruiter wanted to know what Gi-hun's goal was, while Gi-hun wanted the Salesman to take him to his leader.

From Gi-hun's perspective, the Salesman was nothing more than a dog doing whatever his owners wanted him to do. Offended by Gi-hun's words, the Salesman began to explain why he does and what he does, and how he became one of the most important members of the operation. Gong Yoo's character revealed that he had been a part of the games since he was “a child,” and that he spent years “burning bodies”. This all but confirmed that the Salesman started out as a low-ranking masked guard responsible for burning dead bodies during the games.

After a while, Gong Yoo's character got a gun. He described this as “finally being seen,” suggesting that, by this point, his entire existence was already dedicated to gaming. He continued to rise through the ranks of the organization until they made him the recruiter – someone who would look for desperate people and invite them to play. Although squid game Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk talked about Salesman's story about someone who started out as a low-level masked man before, this hadn't yet been shown or referenced on screen.

The salesman had to shoot his father during one of the games

The future salesman did not hesitate to shoot his father

One of the most sinister aspects of the Salesman's story in squid game is that he had to kill his father during one of the games. At some point after being given a gun – meaning he was now responsible for killing players who lost a game – Gong Yoo's character realized that one of the players he had to get rid of was his father. It's unclear what happened between the salesman and his family, but it's implied that he hadn't seen his father in years.

The man Gong Yoo's character should kill “it looked familiar,” and after a while, he realized it was his father. Even so, the future salesman did not hesitate to kill his father. After shooting his father in the head and feeling no remorse for it, the Seller realized it was made for this job. From then on, there was nothing he wouldn't do for games. Given how dedicated Gong Yoo's character was to the entire operation, it's easy to see why they continued to promote him until he became the recruiter.

The salesman hates miserable people and sees them as trash

The recruiter doesn't feel bad about playing with people's lives

While the salesman's story explains how he went from masked man to recruiter, it may still seem strange why anyone would be willing to participate in something so horrific. squid game Season 2's Guard 011 story suggested that many guards are there simply because they're desperate for money, which means they're not that different from players. However, Gong Yoo's monologue in squid game Season 2 Episode 1 made it clear that he never did it for the money. Instead, Salesman believed that miserable people needed to be exterminated.

The Squid Games recruiter thought of miserable and desperate people as trash that needed to be cleaned up and didn't deserve to live. To prove your distorted and evil view of humanity, the Vendor did things like offering homeless people the choice between receiving bread or a lottery ticket. That's why squid game the first episode of season 2 is called “Bread Or Lottery”. From the Seller's perspective, the fact that the majority of homeless people were choosing the lottery ticket only confirmed that they preferred to leave their faith to chance, thus justifying the premise of the game.

The seller dedicated most of his life to the squid game

Gong Yoo's character was willing to die for them

Although We don't have any flashbacks to the Seller's past, squid game The first episode of season 2 does a great job of explaining why he does what he does and also why he believes in what games are about. Gong Yoo's character dedicated most of his life to the Squid Games, and we can assume that he became one of the masked guards at a young age. Assuming he was “created” within the games and found in this twisted operation the validation he sought, it makes sense why Salesman was willing to die for them.

That's why the recruiter didn't hesitate to play Russian Roulette where the odds wouldn't be reset. The salesman's distorted view of destiny and the value of life made him the perfect man for the job – someone who would be willing to play deadly games to prove a point. He still had the chance to shoot Gi-hun and end it all, but he continued playing until the last round. Between Gong Yoo's performance and his backstory, the Salesman was the highlight of the squid game Season 2, Episode 1.