Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
After abandoning his flight, Gi-hun removes a tracker implanted behind his ear and turns his winnings toward finding the people behind the games. Two years later, he lives in a guarded motel and pays Mr. Kim's men to search the subway for the recruiter. Jun-ho has survived his brother's gunshot and also keeps looking for the island, helped by the fisherman Captain Park, who rescued him.
Mr. Kim and Woo-seok finally locate the recruiter and follow him. At a park, he offers homeless people a choice between bread and lottery tickets, then stamps on the food left behind. He captures the two men pursuing him and forces them into a game combining rock, paper, scissors and Russian roulette. Mr. Kim dies, while the surviving Woo-seok reveals where Gi-hun can be found.
The recruiter arrives at Gi-hun's motel and describes his work disposing of bodies and killing his own father during the games. Gi-hun demands access to his superior and calls him a servant of the organization. They agree to Russian roulette without spinning the cylinder between turns, so the remaining chances steadily narrow. Gi-hun survives his final pull and hands the gun back rather than shooting his opponent. Unwilling to abandon the rules he imposed, the recruiter pulls the trigger on the last loaded chamber and kills himself.