If you’re a fan of heart-thumping sci-fi thrillers, there’s a good chance you’ve already tuned into Alice in Borderland on Netflix. The series, which adapts the manga of the same name, centers on a trio of friends who are transported to an alternate reality where they must play an array of deadly games and complete challenges to survive. Some fans have likened the show to Squid Game meets Alice in Wonderland, especially as the core cast continue to travel further down the rabbit hole of the alternate dimension. Suppose you’ve been keeping up with the show. In that case, you may have already tuned into the most recent season, which premiered on Netflix on Sept. 27. Though the new batch of episodes is still fresh off the presses, fans have already begun to wonder what’s next for the show, whether that means a spin-off series, a fourth season or more.
For now, there’s very little information on the future of Alice in Borderland. Even still, there are several clues and metrics we can use to predict what’s around the corner. If you’re interested in unpacking some of the finer details of season three, and looking ahead to season four and beyond, be sure to read ahead. We’ll unpack some of the significant plot points of the new episodes and parse through a few cryptic comments made by the cast and crew. With no further preamble, let’s dive right in and see what we can learn about the dystopian series.
What is ‘Alice in Borderland’ all about?
As stated, Alice in Borderland opens on a trio of friends who get inexplicably transported to a strange and foreign dimension known as Borderland. The group consists of video game hobbyists and social outcasts Arisu, Chōta and Karube. When they begin seeing signs directing them toward some kind of ARG gaming experience, they agree to participate, though they quickly learn that the games are a matter of life and death. After completing each round, the players are given playing cards that indicate various power-ups and benefits.
Several episodes into the first season, Arisu loses both of his best friends in a winner-take-all game. This loss shatters him, as he previously highlighted his friendships as the sole source of his happiness in life. Luckily, another player by the name of Usagi is present to help Arisu through the loss and push him to continue the game. Usagi explains that she has also lost friends to the game, and the duo agree to work together. Before long, they uncover a bizarre beachfront settlement of players engaged in a non-stop party in an opulent mansion.
The leader of this group, known only as Hatter, believes that the only way to escape is by collecting an entire deck of playing cards. As such, he has created a cult of sorts, in which players are instructed to complete challenges on his behalf and turn in their cards in order to crash there. For a time, it sounds like a brilliant idea, until the game-master turns the entire beach settlement into the grounds for his next challenge.
This game sees a woman murdered in cold blood, and tasks everyone at the settlement with playing detective in order to find the killer. Unfortunately, the game quickly devolves into pandemonium, as the players begin mowing each other down on the assumption that they can randomly take out the killer and claim their prize. Amidst the bloodbath, the mansion becomes engulfed in flames, taking out nearly everyone involved.
Luckily, a mysterious player by the name of Chishiya manages to snag all of Hatter’s cards before heading off with Usagi and Arisu in tow. With all the numeral cards in hand, the trio is free to pursue the face card missions, which promise to be much more intense.
What happens in ‘Alice in Borderland’ season two?
Once the gang starts taking on face card missions, they learn more about their surroundings bit by bit. The King challenges specifically see them facing off against a series of game leaders, who shed some light on the game itself. The King of Clubs even reveals that he and the other face card players are former champions of the game, who chose to remain in this dimension rather than returning home.
Over the course of season two, Arisu and the gang witness a number of alarming changes to their environment, which indicate that something extremely strange is happening around them. For starters, the city is surrounded by massive mountain ranges, trapping everyone in the downtown area. The city itself also becomes overrun with vegetation, as though society had been abandoned for decades.
Animals, including elephants, run wild through the streets, as the remaining players attempt to best the King of Spades in a brutal battle to the death. Many characters attempt to draw up plans to ambush, outsmart or otherwise attack the King, but doing so only results in more bloodshed. After numerous losses, Arisu finally gets the drop on him by emptying out dozens of cans of pollutants into a drug store and bombing it with the King inside. After killing him off, Arisu and company must face off against the Queen of Hearts to earn their final card and complete the deck.
The Queen’s challenge seems simple at first, as the only objective is to complete a game of croquet with her. But, as Arisu plays it out, he begins to question the very fabric of his reality. The Queen repeatedly gets into Arisu’s head, filling his mind with ideas about what this alternate dimension could be.
At first, she convinces him that the entire thing is an advanced virtual reality game. Then, she rug-pulls him and convinces him that he’s locked in an insane asylum, and that the entire game is in his imagination. After all these rug-pulls, Arisu nearly quits the croquet match entirely. Luckily, Usagi convinces him to carry on, and he eventually wins the final card needed to escape from the game.
What is the Borderland?
As season two of Alice in Borderland comes to an end, we finally learn the truth about the mysterious alternate dimension. Each of the surviving players are given the choice to return home after Arisu wins the game. They oblige and find themselves transported back to the moments before they initially arrived in this bizarre place. Arisu is back with Chōta and Karube, watching a fireworks show in the center of town.
Unfortunately, the fireworks aren’t the only explosions in the sky, as a series of meteors begins to pelt the Earth, destroying everything in their path. Arisu, Usagi and all of the other players in the game are injured in the disaster and left near dead. The players each have no memory of the Borderland, yet they find themselves intrinsically drawn to one another after being discharged from the hospital. This is especially true of Arisu and Usagi, who feel an instant romantic connection with each other.
In the end, it seems that the Borderland is something of a purgatory plane that exists between life and death. It is effectively a “borderland” between the mortal plane and the afterlife. Perhaps Arisu and the others would have died if they had chosen to stay like the Kings and Queens before them. Just as it seems like Alice in Borderland is ready to wrap everything up with a conclusive ending, we close out season two on a massive cliffhanger. The camera pans across a deck of cards strewn across a table. Each of the cards are blown away by the wind to reveal a forgotten item: the Joker.
Getting back in the game
Season three of Alice in Borderland opens on Arisu and Usagi, five full years after the events of the season two finale. The couple is now married and pregnant with their first child, though they are plagued with PTSD and paranoia about their past. One day, Arisu is approached by Professor Ryuji Matsuyama, a specialist in the afterlife, and questioned about his experience. Apparently, Ryuji has been studying the Borderland for some time now and developing a theory to prove its existence.
Ryuji even places himself and Usagi into a near-death state using a medicinal formula in order to enter the Borderland himself. After speaking with Ann, another former player, Arisu decides to follow Usagi back into the Borderland, where the next game officially begins.
Once inside the alternate dimension, Arisu and Usagi fully regain their memories. They begin participating in a final set of games in order to earn the Joker card, which they believe will end the saga once and for all. While meeting and speaking to other players, the couple comes to learn that everyone in this group has participated in the games before, making this something of a champion’s circuit.
Ryuji also regains his memory of a previous trip to Borderland and reveals that he accidentally caused the death of one of his students during his last adventure. As the group participates in a new series of games, Arisu comes across Sunato Banda, whom he met during season one.
Apparently, Banda chose to remain in Borderland after Arisu completed the game, and has subsequently been promoted to game master. For one reason or another, Banda reveals that he wants Arisu to stay in the Borderland this time and join him in his quest to create future challenges.
Does Nobu die in ‘Alice in Borderland’?
Needless to say, Arisu is not particularly thrilled at Banda’s proposition. Instead, he immediately seeks out Usagi and joins his fellow players in an arena for the final game. In this game, each player is given a bracelet with a set number of points. Usagi is given two bracelets, since the game masters consider her unborn child to be an additional player. The players are then tasked with choosing a series of doors to go through, although they are emotionally manipulated by projections that showcase their possible futures.
Players who choose the door marked by positive, peaceful and happy projections lose points, while those who tough out their greatest fears are rewarded. A player named Nobu, who was introduced in season three of Alice in Borderland, struggles a lot with this challenge. The projections show his mother beating her terminal illness and living a healthy, happy life, in stark contrast to his bleak reality.
Against all odds, Nobu makes the right choices and manages to survive the game along with Arisu and Usagi. Banda is unhappy about Arisu’s choice to leave the Borderland yet again and attempts to kill him. Instead, Banda is killed by a laser, sent by one of the game’s overseers. Just like the end of season two, Arisu and his peers make the choice to return home. For Nobu, this means seeing his mother recover from her illness and sticking around to care for her in real life.
Will there be an ‘Alice in Borderland’ season four?
Just as Arisu is about to leave the Borderland for good, he is warned by an overseer about his future. The overseer tells him that an even bigger catastrophe than the meteors is impending, and that millions will be injured or killed. Even still, Arisu rolls the dice on life and wakes up in the real world with all his memories. Season three of Alice in Borderland comes to a close as warnings of a major earthquake begin to sound, suggesting that the overseer was telling the truth.
For now, there’s no concrete answer as to whether the series will receive a fourth season, or if this cliffhanger is meant to be the end of the adventure. On one hand, it’s hard to imagine Arisu and company heading back into the Borderland for another adventure without it being repetitive. Still, there are plenty of questions left for the show to answer.
Series director and screenwriter Shinsuke Sato has been mindful of progressing the story in bold new ways, although he has not made any direct comments about plans for a fourth season at this time. Arisu and Usagi actors Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya have expressed their interest in continuing the story, however.
During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Yamazaki explained, “I am a fan of the show myself… and of course if it’s going to continue in some way, I’ll be very much keen to be part of that.” Tsuchiya articulated similar feelings, explaining, “When season two wrapped up, I felt like that was a great way to finish the story, so I was kind of surprised when they presented season three to me! …So there’s going to be a child in the future, and [Usagi] would love to see that child return [to the normal world], not just the two lead characters… I think that could be really interesting.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called Alice in Borderland?
The series is intentionally named in reference to the classic 1865 English children’s novel by Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland. Arisu is a phonetic Japanese iteration of the name Alice, while numerous other characters and settings throughout the show have parallels to the original book and its many adaptations. Hatter, for instance, is meant to be the Mad Hatter, and the enigmatic Chishiya is supposed to be a stand-in for the Cheshire Cat.
Who is the Joker in Alice in Borderland?
At the end of season three, it is revealed that the Joker is not any one person, but a representation of the game as a whole. The Joker is meant to represent the absurdity of life, the confusion of the Borderland game and the very nature of life and death.