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'Alice in Borderland Season 2': Mini Review and Ending Explained

An aimless gamer and his gang finds themselves in the toughest of circumstances in a place called Borderland, here's a spoiler packed review...

Alice in Borderland | Netflix

Heavy Spoiler Ahead, Tread Carefully...

Based on the popular Japanese manga of the same name penned by Aro Aso Alice in Borderland is now a Netflix survival action thriller series. The twisted show is back with another season. The dystopian sci-fi series follows the same path as Squid Game which means Win and your life will get extended and lose and it's your life! Trying to decipher season 2 of Alice in Borderland? Rest easy, we are here to help you! 

What is The Premise of Alice in Borderland?

IMDb
IMDb

Alice in Borderland takes place in present-day Tokyo after an unfathomable event destroys most of the city. The survivors are given visas to stay in this new realm which goes by the name Borderland. When their visas expire, they are shot with lasers. The only way to extend the visa is to play a series of games. Each game is assigned to a different card, and the suit refers to the kind of game. Spades stands for strength, Clubs for team battles, diamonds are for battles of wits, and Hearts are for Games of betrayal. 

30-Second Review...

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IMDb

The show has a positive reception, and the characters are well-fleshed out. The manga was a huge hit when it came out, and the live-action on Netflix did not disappoint the manga fans. That says a lot! Some even said that it was way better than Squid Game. While the two are pretty different from one another, I do agree with the fact that the show is underrated.

Alice in Borderland Ending Explained

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IMDb

The finale kicks off with a win for Arisu and the gang. Arisu's mind is transported into a therapy session where Mira tricks him into believing that he is the reason behind his friends' death. She also shows him a false reality where they were hit by cars. Arisu then begins to question the purpose of his life. The whole mind game takes a toll on him. Usagi cuts her wrist in an effort to break him free from the false reality and brings him back. Arisu eventually wins, Mira dies, and the remaining players are presented with one final option, that's to accept permanent residency in the Borderland or decline the proposal. 

After the choice is made, they reveal how the players had ended up in Borderland. They are then told that the city was struck by a meteorite that destroyed a 10km radius of Tokyo. So the Borderlands is actually a place between life and death. We are then shown the reality where the players are actually found and taken to the hospital. Karube and Chota had died, maybe because they died in the games, and Arisu's heart had completely stopped for a minute when they had found him. We also learn that time moves differently on earth and on borderlands. In the final scene, the two walk off together as the camera pans across to the hospital backyard focusing on a deck of cards. The cards are blown away, and the final thing we see is a Joker card. The cliffhanger leaves us with several lingering questions: Are the games truly over? Are they actually happening in the real world? Will there be a season 3 – if it gets renewed – will we see the players thrown back into a brand new set of games? In Borderland, Joker operates the same way as Joker does in a card Game on Earth. What do we know? Joker means Chaos!