The following article contains spoilers for Season 2 of Alice in Borderland.
The second season ofAlice in Borderlandis now streaming on Netflix, and as expected, it was on the list of the streaming service’s top 10 watched content during its first week. The first season of the popular Japanese series premiered in December 2020 and was so well received by fans and critics that the creators decided to renew it for a second season within a few weeks. The Season 2 finale now has many wondering whether there will be a third season of the manga adaptation.
The second season ofAlice in BorderlandonNetflixtakes a lot of itsinspiration from the fantasy novelAlice in Wonderland. The biggest connection is the concept of playing cards being used to represent the different games and their masters. However, the series is based on the suspense manga series of the same name, which does include the final confrontation between the protagonist Ryohei Arisu and the Queen of Hearts Mira Kano. But, the second season of the series ends with a potential cliffhanger that could hint at another season, with a new villain.
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WhenAlice in Borderlandfirst premiered on Netflix, many viewers were drawn in by its mysterious tone and adventurous theme. With the blink of an eye, Tokyo is transformed into a post-apocalyptic land with a few survivors thrown into deadly games unexpectedly. The key is for these individuals to win the games, because losing means being killed by a laser beam that seems to strike from beyond the clouds. Many fans refer to the series as the originalSquid Game, theextremely popular Korean dystopian dramawith a similar game format. At the crux of the story is Kento Yamazaki’s Arisu, who is an avid gamer, and his best friends Keita Machida’s Daikichi Karube and Yûki Morinaga’s Chota Segawa.
The story then revolves around the three of them clearing several games, and surviving in the Borderland together. However, when they come across the Seven of Hearts game, Arisu’s friends decide to sacrifice their lives to save the protagonist. He then goes on to meet Tao Tsuchiya’s Usagi, and the duo work together to discover the truth of the Borderland. At the end of Season 1, they join the ranks of the Beach andmeet the Mad Hatter, who is an individual working towards defeating all games and collecting all the cards from the deck to return to the real world. But, the season ends with an attack on their island, and Arisu, Usagi and some of their other allies manage to escape.
What Happened in Alice in Borderland Season 2?
Season 2 ofAlice in Borderlandfocuses on the remaining games, and how the few surviving characters tackle them. The game that seems to be using the entire city as its arena is Survival run by the King of Spades, who works as an assassin walking around Tokyo and killing everyone in sight. After their first interaction with the assassin, the main characters get separated and participate in different games to escape his attacks. The season includessome very interesting and intense games, which are played by Arisu, Usagi, Aya Asahina’s Hikari Kuina, Nijirô Murakami’s Shuntaro Chishiya, Yûtarô Watanabe’s Kodai Tatta, Ayaka Miyoshi’s Ann Rizuna, and Dôri Sakurada’s Suguru Niragi.
The focus is obviously on the protagonist Arisu, and the games that he plays. He meets a few interesting characters along the way, with the most memorable one being Tomohisa Yamashita’s Ginji Kyūma, or the King of Clubs. He makes Arisu, Usagi, Kuina, Tatta and Niragi play a game called Osmosis, which is one of the most difficult and complex games in the series. The arena is a harbor filled with shipping containers creating a maze. It’s a game of wits, battle, and survival. Kyūma teaches Arisu some important life lessons during their time together, and before he dies, he gives the protagonist a purpose for living.
Throughout the rest of Season 2 ofAlice in Borderland, the characters play some riveting games thatlead to some brutal deaths, including Solitary Confinement with the Jack of Hearts, Boiling Death with the Seven of Spades, Checkmate with the Queen of Spades, Balance Scale with the King of Diamonds, Target with the Queen of Clubs, and finally Croquet with the Queen of Hearts.
Before the final game, Arisu and his allies decide to take on the King of Spades as he needs to die before they can proceed. They create a meticulous plan, which almost fails, as most of the characters are either gunned down or stabbed. However, somehow they all manage to survive, which was perhaps the most confusing and disappointing part in the season.Alice in Borderlandhas not been shy aboutkilling off main characters, so why did the creators decide to keep certain individuals alive even when they were shot point-blank?
This question has many fans concerned. Arisu manages to defeat the Queen of Hearts, and all the characters that are still alive get a choice to either return to their original lives or stay in the Borderland. Whoever chooses to return discovers that Tokyo was in fact hit by a giant meteorite, and the viewers learn that all the characters who were participating in the games were insome sort of purgatory. But, the fact that the creators decided to keep many of the characters alive has some wondering if this could lead to another season.
Will There Be an Alice In Borderland Season 3?
Another important aspect to keep in mind is thatthe season ends at a cliffhanger. While Arisu and Usagi are getting to know each other all over again at the hospital, the camera pans out to the gardens where a deck of cards is seen resting on a table. The wind suddenly blows, and most of the deck gets wiped off, except for one card, the Joker. It is the only card that did not make an appearance in the television series, even though the Joker does appear in the manga series. The Joker in manga form is like a mediator between life and death, and meets with Arisu before he wakes up. However, the television series decided to avoid including this scene and instead focused on the Joker card at the end, which is the creator’s way of either leaving it up to the viewers’ interpretation, or leaving room for another season.
Until now, there is no confirmation whetherAlice in Borderlandwill have a Season 3. But, Netflix has enough room to renew the series for a third season, and cast the Joker as the new villain. The hospital could very easily be an illusion, considering Mira creates several realities for Arisu before he discovers the truth. The Joker could in fact be the mastermind behind the games, which means Arisu and his allies are still stuck in the Borderland. The possibilities are endless, and the creators made a smart decision to go with the ending they chose for Season 2.
