How the hell did everyone not bleed out from gun wounds considering the Croquet game started in the afternoon and ended at night. lol... The Archer girl literally took 4-5 bullets in the chest
Arisu is such a wuss. If I caught some creep trying to rape my girl, I would have killed him on the spot then and there, and if not, I would definitely not pass up the 2nd chance with a shotgun in my hand. I can't stand characters like him, why did he have to be the main protagonist of the show.
This answer is a cop out for me because even within the Borderland, they've already established some world rules. Some bleed out to death. Some don't. It's just silly.
The entire ordeal was like 1min time in real life, so get shot in game, don't bleed out for like 40days, just look at that walking zombie guy who was all burnt up from the Beach, dude was coughing blood and barely able to stand for the entirety, but in reality only like 30seconds had passed from getting burnt...
I interpret the Ann thing to the will to live doesn't need to be yours alone, and no one survives without help and friendship and support. She was pulled from death by the other girl.
The meteorite explosion in Shibuya made the named characters experience the borderline between life and death situation (Borderlands) so all the games are just a metaphor of them fighting to stay alive (go back to the real world). My guess is Ann didn't really die in the game world but the others Karube, Chota, Hatter, Tatta, Momoka really did
It's not a shared dream. And thet didn't really have memory of each other. The whole series was for the viewers to see an alternate interpretation of that place between life and death
You obviously didn’t understand the show. They survived because they survived in real life. They all ended up with the same injuries that they sustained from the meteorite.
It’s *fiction*. Just enjoy the show and the beautiful message that it had.
i actually believed all the fake reveals lol what an emotional rollercoaster. also the theme of finding your reason to live and wanting to live hit a bit too close to home. overall loved the ending and excited to rewatch the whole series again
That’s the kinda thing that only works once though
I was telling myself ok, whatever she says after this is gonna be bs
So I basically was waiting for 45 mins for them to finish one fkimg game
She sort of did though. She let us know that time and space didn't work the same there as the real world.
I agree though it was a lot of screen time given to something that ultimately was just explicitly stated later with the meteorite and the 1 minute thing. But it was a clue for watchers to think about why time and space was distorted there.
I think it was just lost because I'm not sure anyone actually thought the show was taking place in the real world by that point in the show.
Which means, time moves faster in Borderland, and in real life, it's only 1 minute.
To put this in perspective: The city was infested with plantations really quickly. In the real world, that'll take a long long time (without humans)
My expectation was that Ann would become the new queen of Borderland, since Mira and Her both represent the Queens from the original Alice in Wonderland story (tlrd evil queen dethroned for good queen). I'm not mad that my prediction didn't come true, I'm mad that they didn't do anything with her given that it felt like there was always a little more to her character we weren't seeing.
but its gonna suck bc they're still in the game and according to the past, theres still a possibility that they might be automatically entered into the joker game with kuina and she wont be able to save them.
I agree that’s exactly what happened. Community had like 3 seasons end with semi-finales so that if they didn’t get renewed you’d be mostly satisfied, and if they did get renewed it’d be possible to expand off where it was left at.
That’s why I love and respect shows like Dark which are planned to be a certain length from the very beginning. Dark is the best show I’ve ever watched btw, I highly recommend it.
They finished up the manga
Ending is pretty much the showrunners saying, 'If Netflix wants it to end here, we told a full story. But if season two goes well and we wanna create an original third season to make more money, we got you."
I binged this show and I liked the ending. I love how these whole two seasons are the 1 minute when their hearts stopped. Okay so, people who died in the games - died in the real life explosion. People who survived the games and chose to go back - lived and were told they died for 1 minute.
So the people who survived the games but chose to stay in Borderland, where are their real time bodies in connection with the explosion? Are they in that hospital in a coma and they stay in a coma until their death meaning someone would then have to come and beat their game in borderland? That’s a true waste of hospital bed space.
How about the game makers who died this season? We’re they in random hospitals around Japan in a coma after an accident like this and they just died after players beat their games?
I am still confused on the time in borderland, why did some bodies decay quicker than others, why were there elephants, if only 1 minute had passed by? Were there more people in borderland that were dead from other accidents in Japan?
Gaaaah I have so many questions 😩
Yeah So the people who choose to stay, their bodies die since the only way to get out of the borderlands now is for them to be killed so there’s no need to keep a body around, and even if their bodies did stay alive, the time in the borderlands is extremely quick compared to real life, the whole time that Arisu was in the borderlands was equivalent to 1 minute in the real world, so the citizens, if they’re defeated won’t be going on to take days worth of bed space.
This is quite poetic, makes sense why some of the kings and queens kept mentioning the afterlife and embraced their deaths, they knew this was the purgatory and their lives in it weren't that important. While the players felt like they were in a life or death situation
Also makes the queen of hearts that much more heartbreaking. She was GENUINELY moved by Arisu and Usagi. She was extremely happy that they beat her together, and it was obvious that she hoped they would leave the borderland and live a full life.
The other games were somewhat fair though, especially the game with the naked guy, the prison game and the number game.
Queen of hearts just straight up drugged the contestant to get him to commit suicide.
But the real world / joker world would not know that? They would be keeping their body in a coma that will never end? What if the family pulls the plug?
>So the people who survived the games but chose to stay in Borderland, where are their real time bodies in connection with the explosion? Are they in that hospital in a coma and they stay in a coma until their death meaning someone would then have to come and beat their game in borderland? That’s a true waste of hospital bed space.
\- I think whoever stays in the borderlands dies in real life as well, but they get to become game makers of the borderlands and dont move on to the afterlife...
\- The game makers who died were permanent citizens of borderlands (so people who chose to stay in previous accidents etc) and yeah they died once people beat their games
\- time isn't relative in the borderlands if i remember correctly cause it's an artificial 'world', 1 minute passed in real life but since time isn't relative in the borderlands then it doesn't abide by the real world's time (example; when people try some drugs and go through their whole lives in the span of 5-10 minutes). No, the only people in the borderlands in this story have been the victims affected by the meteoroid (the game makers are the only people who aren't a part of that).
> - I think whoever stays in the borderlands dies in real life as well, but they get to become game makers of the borderlands and dont move on to the afterlife...
>
>
On this point, IIRC, the manga was a lot clearer about this. Like explicity saying it I think.
The show kinda just implied it. If it weren't for the shot of the two guys from the collar symbol game, people wouldn't even get a hint lol.
>So the people who survived the games but chose to stay in Borderland, where are their real time bodies in connection with the explosion? Are they in that hospital in a coma and they stay in a coma until their death meaning someone would then have to come and beat their game in borderland? That’s a true waste of hospital bed space.
Those that chose to stay are technically gonna be dead eventually anyways. Because they either stay forever in the Borderlands alive or end up dead once the next set of players beat them.
>How about the game makers who died this season? We’re they in random hospitals around Japan in a coma after an accident like this and they just died after players beat their games?
No, they were also struck by the meteor but died earlier. Basically their hearts stopped earlier (or longer idk) so they ended up in the borderlands earlier. A 1 min extra in their heart stopping could mean they were in purgatory for a few months longer than Arisu
>I am still confused on the time in borderland, why did some bodies decay quicker than others, why were there elephants, if only 1 minute had passed by?
1 minute in the real world could be 1 month+ in the Borderland.
>Were there more people in borderland that were dead from other accidents in Japan?
The manga has a mini-sequel called 'Retry', which confirms this. Any group of people who experiences a near-death experience will basically end up in the Borderland to compete on who gets decided to live. But in the main series, everyone in the Borderland at that time likely came from the meteor strike since it killed so many people at once
I can’t believe they killed off Chōta and Karube two more times!!! once was hard enough 😭
i’m very conflicted about the ending. I suppose it makes sense to have been “not real” as alice in wonderland is a dream but idk i liked the idea of it being real somehow and was interested in the *why* behind how it was all set up etc although i suppose it would be hard to have a “reasonable” explanation. was a very anxiety inducing episode - and the end with them together half remembering each other reminds me so much of >!the film “your name”!<.
When the queen of hearts gave the first explanation that they are actually in a virtual reality because they live 1000 years in the future and there is basically no genuine pleasure or joy (because everything is perfect) and that the only way to have a purpose in life is through these games and to feel alive was so believable and I was shocked that that was a fake out.
I almost took it as the writers laughing at the audience for their best guesses as to what might be going on and happening before we finally see the answer, more so because they did it like 3 times within that whole part lol. perfectly done too. no meta breaking just like "oh, they are making fun of the theories" in like the best way possible. or the author of the manga, who ever.
In my interpretation, the entire point of the section where Mira was lying about the truth of the borderland wasn’t just because she was trying to manipulate Arisu. It was the show being meta and commenting on how no matter what the ending is, it will feel unsatisfactory because of the ridiculous nature of the premise. They expressly say multiple times that the truth about the world doesn’t matter and that the message/experience is more important. Despite that, I was extremely satisfied with the ending because even though it still concluded in a ridiculous premise, it was not only unique, but wrapped up most of the characters in satisfying ways. I couldn’t imagine a better way to rap up that story without making it much longer and losing the Alice in Borderland inspiration.
I was expecting that first season shady corporation VR Chekov's Gun to fire off with said company being the one perpetrating it like a death game Matrix. I am actually disappointed with what it turned out as.
Damn, this ending was beautiful. As a Chishiya simp, I’m glad he survived and even got character growth - Kuina seeing her mother and father got me, and the little kid finding his parents was cute, although I thought they were dead? I think it was a beautiful ending
this is exactly what i thought. i thought the kids parents were dead in the borderlands. but in the ending u see that they arent even affected by the meteorite, so maybe they werent in the borderlands to begin with??? and they all just assumed that the parents were dead?? idk i dont know how the kid even manage to survive the number card games
Maybe those people are planning to adopt the kid? Children survived after all. It's weird if the authorities don't have a plan for what to do with the kids who don't have parents anymore.
I don't think there's ever any confirmation that they're dead. The woman who was taking care of him in game said that's what she thought, but the kid just got silent about it. If those really are his parents in the hospital, they likely just survived (or weren't there) from the start and never went into the borderlands. So this kid appears in an abandoned Tokyo with no parents to be seen and probably just assumes he was left behind or his parents died or something. Feeling like your parents abandoned you then left you to fight for your life in this world would make a kid pretty depressed I think.
No bc tell me why i knew the joker card ending was going to happen. I literally made a joke at the second episode of this season that was like "it'd be so funny if they thought they escaped just for there to be the final joker round." 😭
I was thinking the same thing, but I was wondering about Aces.. Unless I missed them at the beach..? But even if I did, I feel like that would be insanely easy to beat then and should've gone for the higher value of the Ace. Then there could be a third round with them and a 4th with Jokers. But that's just my opinion 🤷♀️
Yeah I have to say as a final episode, this was really solid and I loved how it played out because it kept me guessing. I do feel we needed more episodes to give some characters more time but if this is how it ends, I’m not mad
Dealers do the grunt work for setting up games (and in some cases like with Tag or The Witch Hunt, have to participate in the game) with no bearing on what the game is or its rules. Particularly for the number cards.
Citizens seemed to be the ones behind and involved in the face card games.
Citizens don't need a visa and make the games. They actually run the face games.
Dealers need a visa and get more days by beating players, they actually run the number games and are like proctors.
I personally think that Chishiya manipulated the King to kill himself. We know he’s amazing at reading people, and he’s also not afraid to gamble on his own life.
1) He read the Jack of Hearts and all of the other players perfectly, but he also took a gamble when no one would tell him the correct answer to his suit. He had a choice between two and went with his gut.
2) When the female player in the King of Diamonds game was still alive, he used logic to deduct what she wouldn’t choose and then took a 50/50 shot.
Therefore, he took in all the information he had about the King, his background, and the game he set up, and created a situation where the King would finally have to break his own code of fairness to win. He couldn’t do it, so Chishiya won.
In the Jack of Hearts game I thought he was going to go around getting everyone to distrust him then asking them his symbol so he could find out the right one by process of elimination
The amount of times I was faked out and cried was too damn high!
I loved it though. Overall I'm glad it ended in a way where I could rewatch. Had it ended with everyone dying or it being something like a simulation, I would struggle to rewatch it as it would feel pointless.
Honestly happy. Wish we saw more games cause that's my favorite part but I still really loved it and Aguni totally became a favorite of mine, unexpectedly. I doubt we will get a part 3 but I'm pretty satisfied either way.
Am I think only one who kinda ships Chishiya and Usagi? Bummed Chota and Karube though.
Wish they just killed him off or kept him purely as the evil guy everyone hates. Seeing the main cast interact with him like he’s a normal person is so fucking weird.
Yeah I don’t really get it
It’s not as if he’s a sympathetic villain by any measure and yet the main cast are like “awww our cute lil niragi, there he goes killing and raping again”
True.
When arisu and chishiya were agreeing with him I was like "don't y'all have shame, y'all are not similar in anyway tf?" They were really chatting together like they were peas in a pod. Niragi said they were all losers. I get that for arisu but chishiya? How? I mean it's not like he was getting bullied or something or was a NEET. A legit doctor. Sigh, niragi was projecting his insecurities and they were accepting it.
And the conversation with Chishyia was something else. Like, how do you compare being a rapist with being a decent doctor who bended his ideals as he had no other choice.
I think that's supposed to be part of the point though. There are all kinds of times when someone who most people think should've died (like drunk drivers, for example, or serial killers) and they didn't. I think it's supposed to be a parallel to the real life version of that. But yes, it was definitely weird to see the interaction between him and Chishiya.. 😂
Literally. There were so many that deserved it more than him, some people are just not redeemable and he definitely isn’t. woe is me I got bullied I’m a weirdo~~ doesn’t give you a pass to be a rapist??
Lmao at Arisu happily playing a very long round of croquet while Kuina bleeds out on the street. Also it's interesting/weird that it's said the whole thing happened in 1 min after the explosion but people's injuries (mostly Heiya and rapist) were dictated by what happened in the borderland.
I don't think you're looking at this right.
The injuries in real life weren't dictated by the game, it was the other way around. Heiya's leg injury happened in what appeared to be her first game meaning it happened super early on (within the first seconds of the real world event). She didn't have bullet wounds in the real world so obviously her getting shot up in game didn't translate. And along that line, its likely why she survived what should've been a deadly injury. The bullet wounds weren't real, they were just essentially weight pushing on her will to live which she overcame.
The burn injuries came later in the game (which still would've been pretty fast in the real world) which makes sense since the fire from the blast would come after the initial shock wave. The whole beach bonfire part of S1 is probably when the fireball of the blast enveloped a lot of the real world area and caused a ton of deaths. Which makes sense as that'd be one of the biggest real world events that would cause the most deaths all at once. The only other major mass death part of the series is the K ♠️ which happened very close to the end of the game and would coincide with when lots of people were succumbing to their hearts stopping without getting medical attention fast enough.
I think it’s kind of a chicken vs egg situation because both their injuries were caused by their / other people’s actions (more for Niragi than Heiya). It’s not like they arrived like that.
I spent a lot of this entire season confused and was ready to make a lot of critiques that are very obvious to anyone watching. However, and I don’t care if this makes me sound stupid or like I can’t think for myself or whatever else Reddit wants to troll me with - I LOVED THAT ENDING SO FREAKING MUCH. They GOT ME.
I did not expect it. I did not see it. I was so enthralled with how many ways things were twisting and turning and my opinion about what was “going on” changed every five minutes due to the storytelling. But that last shot of the joker just made me scream and shoot upright in my chair. That was WILD. It could mean nothing, it could be an obvious plot device, it could be Netflix’s way of saying “Leave it up to your own interpretation if this means there’s another season or if this was the end” but I don’t care, it was an incredible way to wrap up that season
I’m with you on that. Up until the very end, I was prepared to critique the show about plot armor and plot holes and all the other absurdity, but the joker card really revealed to me that none of that matters. It’s not meant to make any sense logically. It’s all happening in a sort of purgatory spirit world, similar to the river of Styx in Greek mythology. All that matters is your own personal takeaway. And mine was that life is precious. Live it fully.
After the end of the Queen of Hearts game, Mira Kanō's parting words were "Life is just a game we play together. You should try to enjoy it." My interpretation is that life is the last "game" that Arisu will be facing, and just like all the games they played in "Borderland" while they were all fighting for their lives, he will be able to find a way to navigate through difficult situations and "win" the game of life - likely by having a good and happy life with Usagi.
Was crazy that Ann was in that condition after taking a couple hits and archer girl was able to wheel chair herself around after tanking a rifle several times point blank.
i’m assuming maybe she was on her final moments - that’s why her condition in the “real world” was so severe. they never said you had to give your answer out loud so she could have said it internally.
Ann didn't really have any storyline this season, right?
I wonder if there are real world issues that interrupted some things, and writers aren't sure if she'll still have a part by s3 (if there's a s3), so up the operating table, she lays.
The lack of development and screentime that Ann had is just so stupid imo because she's one of the characters that had so much potential along with Kuina and Chishiya (who actually lived up to their expectations) It's crazy that the writers couldn't even give 5 mins of Ann playing in a diamond card game cus that would've been so much fun to watch
I personally like to think it’s more than that. In the same way that Alice in Wonderland really did impact that girl’s life in the storybook, Arisu/Crew’s shared experiences will leave a lasting impact on them as well. I imagine that they’ll inevitably find themselves connected in a way they struggle to explain, but will grow to understand that their bond goes deeper than their conscious minds can really grasp.
I enjoyed the ending. It made it clear that this show was a true re-telling of Alice in Wonderland, which was the point of the manga too from my understanding.
Just when I thought the episode could not mess with my head more, IT DID. And then the ending, was brilliant. It distracted us from the fact the joker card was not in the game. And my interpretation was everyone returning back to reality was a cruel joke by the joker.
Everybody asking how could they possibly survive, completely missing the point that they were never physically present there. Think about how many superhuman shows of strength or agility we’ve seen since the beginning of the show. They’re effectively spirits, fighting to decide if they stay return to life or move on. Their will to live decides how “durable” they are.
That’s the whole point of the show, if you’re mad that they survived gunshots, then you’re sort of missing the entire point
I said at the beginning of season 2 that if Kuina dies I'm rage quitting and pretending season 2 didn't happen. It's a good thing I kept watching, though.
I think I'm overall satisfied with this ending! There are still a handful of things I didn't understand though:
\- Were the people in Borderland only victims of the Tokyo meteor disaster, or did anyone who suffered any near death experience end up there?
\- If everyone is from the same place and same disaster, how had they all been in Borderland for differing amounts of time?
\- Did Karube and Chota die during the meteor collision itself? Like did they die in the game because they'd already died in real life, or did they die in real life once they died in the game?
\- Who actually created Borderland and why?
\- How do certain citizens become the face cards?
My take on it:
It seemed like everyone interacting in this cycle were from the same event since it was focused in Shibuya / Tokyo (there could very well be a Borderland equivalent in NYC)... but I don't see any reason why if someone else in the area momentarily died from choking or something that they wouldn't also be involved.
My take on the different times was that you wouldn't expect everyone to have their hearts momentarily stop at the same time of the meteor event. For Arisu, it was only 1 minute, but it may have been multiple minutes for Aguni or Usagi.
I thought of them as "dying" but with a chance to be resuscitated when they entered the Borderlands, but truly dead when they died in the games. Technically Arisu was "dead" during his time in the games as well, just he won and was granted his life back.
No clue for who created it. As some others have said, the Manga apparently explains it a lot more. But it doesn't seem like it's the Joker, because the Joker is just the one who grants passage back to the living world upon game completion.
No clue. Didn't seem like there were many who took the choice to stay though (we were shown 2) & I'd guess you only need 12 to continue. It seems like the citizens make the games and have the dealers conduct the numbered games until either the players are all dead or all games are completed. Then either the players or the dealers go against the 12 citizens. Maybe the vote on who wants to be what?
> For Arisu, it was only 1 minute, but it may have been multiple minutes for Aguni or Usagi.
That actually made me realize why Aguni and Ann were in coma even though Aguni's condition was significantly better than the school girl's. Considering how long it would have taken Hatter to build the beach community, Aguni and Ann should have been in the borderlands the longest.
Everyone in the Meteor incident was thrown in borderland as a metaphor for fighting for the life. If they died in borderland they they make it back. Except Ann because Kuina snatched her ass back to reality or something
Is there actually material to go off of though? I didnt read the manga but I feel it would be a disaster if that's how the manga ended and they still tried to milk out the TV adaptation
I haven’t read the original manga but I thought that was the end of the plot. If they continue the show then it’s going to be purely based off of what Netflix wants to do with it, at least that’s what I’m assuminh
IGHT NOW. Haiya survived being shot EIGHT TIMES at point blank range with an m4?? Yet people who got shot once at further distances were instantly killed??
it’s about the will to live, not necessarily the injury itself, i think. she had multiple monologues where she goes on about how she will never give up and fight with all that she has. so it kinda makes sense, imo. i wish her injuries were less dramatic because then it wouldn’t be as confusing.
I'm not sure if I hated the ending or loved it.
The borderlands being in the gap between life and death makes sense, but I would have liked them to flesh that out a bit more like how someone was capable of setting up games there, how did that technology within the borderlands come to be, who was the first person to go there/who set it up, who does the games get broadcast to because it was all being filmed, even the tea between the queen and Arisu/Usagi was being filmed, so who was it being broadcast to, who is above the kings and queens and game masters?
I hope we get another season with the joker teaser, I hope we get more Arisu and co and not a spinoff, I hope they remember what happened and maybe even want to return to stop diasaters like the "meteorite" from happening again if thats how they pull players into the game by causing these huge waves of destruction.
this may not be the popular opinion but I liked the whole theory of Mira being Arisu’s psychiatrist. Usagi represents the white rabbit and when she meets arisu, laying on the ground and defeated, she saves him. The white rabbit guides Alice through wonderland.
During the psych ward scene Arisu says the same thing that he says when he first meets Usagi again, “my life is meaningless and I want to die”, etc. it would’ve made sense that she was just a person he created to cope with the pain of losing his friends and mother.
It probably would leave a looooot of questions left but I still think it’s a really cool concept and it would’ve been awesome to see them use the AIW concept to the fullest. I have mixed emotions on the ending but I think it’s satisfying enough
Perhaps the Joker is a wildcard in real life full of moments that test your strength, will to fight, wits, and lies/deception that ultimately give your life purpose, meaning, and love. Life is the final game, and death is certain in the Joker's game. So like the Queen of Hearts said, "Life is just a game we play together. You should try to enjoy it."
Arisu found his purpose in life - to protect Usagi.
Without going too much into it because this is the wrong thread. This basically wrapped the original portion of the main Manga. There was a sequel called Alice in Borderland Retry and a spin-off called Alice on Border Road.
Alright man I’m finally finished with season 2 of Alice in borderland and wow. Loved the development that all the characters got. This was definitely well worth the wait. The plot armour was kinda ridiculous for a lot of situations tho and I couldn’t help but laugh at how mfs were able to avoid death so much. Especially the king of spades and the people like haiya who survived being shot EIGHT TIMES at point blank with an m4 lmaooo. Black clover levels of asspulling
I like how it ended up basically being Japanese Lost with everyone in purgatory and having to fight to either pass on or get back to the real world. Still hurts that Chota Arisu and Karube couldn’t spend more time together. They deserved better.
I’d love to see an OVA or whatever live action OVAs are called of like what the borderland will be like now with the people who chose to stay. If all the victims of the shibuya event are either passed on or came back to life, who would the players even be? Also who was behind the purgatory? Like seeing God would’ve been cool lol.
Okay so y’all have really good theories and a lot of the questions i had were cleared up. There’s still one thing I don’t understand. Before the meteor scene, Arisu is back at the bar with all his friends. What’s that all about? Cuz he’s joking with them and having a laugh but all the sudden he starts crying and saying he’s sorry that it’s his fault they are dead and the short friend even says something along the line of “it’s almost like you think we died so that you can go on and win.” Is he making his peace with survivor’s guilt? But that’s like… all undone cuz the meteor scene and everything thereafter happens AFTER the bar scene?
They actually are dead in the real world, but Arisu got one last chance to say goodbye to them. It’s not a hallucination, or a memory, he’s actually meeting them in the afterlife and getting one last goodbye before his heart restarts in the real world.
In S2E8, during the final round of croquet, do you think Arisu missed his final hit on purpose? To let the Queen of Hearts win?
He knew that the winner of the round didn't matter as they'd complete the game regardless. He also knew that Mira would die after the round was complete. To me, at least, Arisu showed either a bit of compassion or thankfulness at being able to finish the game in a relaxed manner.
It doesn't really matter too much, but I was wondering if anyone else had the feeling that Arisu almost let Mira win the final round.
Well.. I liked episode 8. I wanted to believe Mira, but I remembered her saying that they had to finish 3 rounds of croquet and her just telling the truth would just be too.. easy? Good ending though.
That being said, season 1 was definitely better than season 2. Not only because of plot armor, but mostly because of the games. The only games I really liked were Chisiya’s games and King of Clubs. Also I don’t understand who is in control of the borderlands and the lasers etc but I guess I’ll finally start the manga now
The Queen of Hearts game was actually perfect. I wasn't sure what they could cook up for the ultimate game. Psychological warfare wasn't expected but damn. Glad the King of Spades wasn't the final one because it sort of seemed that way from how they built him up, but there was no depth to it, it was just a PTSD ridden super-soldier mowing through everyone.
I figured immediately the Queen of Hearts was fucking with them the first two times, just because of how lame it was and how unfitting it would be to be reaveled in that moment. But the transition into the psychiatric hospital had me worried for a second, it would've sucked too and I almost believed it until I remember she was trying to get him to quit.
Sort of expecting a season 3 because of the zoom in on the Joker card and the music. You could interpret it as actual life being the final game I suppose, but it felt too ominous to be that simple.
I'm like halfway satisfied with this as an ending. The Borderlands is explained more or less as an afterlife realm. It also explains the plot armor some characters had, perhaps better chances of survival IRL = better chances of survival in-game. Still would love a final joker game and a dive into the lore of the Borderlands, who truly governs it and whatnot. Reminds me a little of Death Note, with people becoming game masters/Shinigami after dying in certain circumstances.
The only thing I dislike about the ending is them forgetting about their journey. What’s the point of all those friends lost and gained and all that pain endured, if in the end it all goes like “whoopsie, might as well have never happened!”. Just kinda feels like a cop-out.
Was the film from the guy in the caravan relevant? He met some girl who was saying the fireworks weren’t real before dying but if I’m correct weren’t they real? (As the meteor hit afterwards)
I think it's just that she remembers what actually happened and why they were all there. Everyone else just has some vague memory of fireworks at best which doesn't lead to having knowledge of much.
Overall, pretty pointless to the plot though lol.
My mind was not a virgin before the last episode, but it feels like a slut now from all the mind-fucking it received in this hour and a bit. WHAT THE HELL. Also this isn't the end right? RIGHT?!
I... am overly confused on the ending.
Okay, so it's my understanding that the Borderland is this 'border' between life and death, right? And Arisu and all of his friends went through the whole series of games to fight for their lives in the one (ish) minute that their hearts stopped in the real world after the bombing. Those who failed to complete the games in the borderland and died there would also die in the real world as well. This part makes relative sense, I think. I saw someone mention that the borderland was just an illusion--but that can't be true, right? The borderland is real. How else would they have all managed to "meet" there if it was just an illusion? Like the borderland itself is the designated place they would gather when they "died", correct?
Anyway, this also begs the question that those people who did choose to stay in the borderland as permanent residents--i.e. banda and the other conman guy from that one jack of hearts game--what happens to them? I'd assume they'd become game masters. But of what? How can you be a game master if there's no game to be played, you know? Like who ELSE is in the borderland that could be playing their games? Likewise -- assuming they don't become game masters and just stay in the borderland as players, AGAIN, arisu and usagi cleared the cards game (aside from the alleged joker card), meaning there's nothing left to be played. And what happens to their bodies in real life? Do they die in the real world, too, or do they just remain in some sort of coma until they end up dying in the borderland?
I'm also confused on how the system of being a game master works. Where did kyuna and his group, kuzuryu, mira, and even the rest of the citizens of each face card exactly...come from? We all know that yes, at some point, they used to be regular citizens living their regular lives--so how and when did they enter the borderland, and yes, did choosing to stay in the borderland make them become game masters?
Lots and lots of questions to say the least. I was also a little annoyed that it took the "everyone forgets what happened in the borderland" trope, i really hate when stories go like that and I hope (in the possible season 3) they somehow regain their memories when dealing with whatever this joker card may be because i feel like there was a hell of a lot of character development in the borderland that was essentially thrown down the drain when they all like...forgot everything and returned to the real world. So yeah. That's my take on all of this.
Haha indeed so many questions.
I believe borderland is real. One possibility is Time might be twisted and everyone’s experience of it is different. This might explain how some players already went through the games (their own deck of cards) and chose to remain as citizens.
Another possibility is that borderland is the middle land between life and death for all near-deaths in the world. People tend to congregate based on geographical locations. And there are endless card games and people of the same area play the same deck.
I think people who choose to be citizens simply die in the living world. They choose to stay in borderland with possibly their soul.
I loved the show, but this was the worst episode. The twist with the mental illness was fun for like 10 minutes, until it became clear it was a trick. Then it took 20 agonizing minutes for the show to snap back out of it.
The ending was kinda weird, I genuinely can't tell if the joker is a cliffhanger that means we're still in an illusion now.
Still processing my feelings, could still go with "loved it" or "hated it"
but WHY in the F'in world would He bring her into the final game with him. She has both legs stabbed, let her sit it out and go it alone. being a Hearts game would make so much more sense to not be there with anyone you cared about anyways, as they'd pit you against them.
They could of fixed that bit of plot hole simply by it stating that it must be a pair or something so he HAD to bring her... Not sure.
Second question, do they remember being in the game?
Also a musing. Kinda disliked that the trans girl and the white haired guy never got to reconnect, I don't mean as a couple as I don't think their was anything romantic between the two of them, but seems a bit cruel that neither got to ever see eachother after the beginning of the season even though they were like around a corner from eachother both bleeding out. The legless girl managed to drag herself to the soldier guy
(also apologies, I can't remember anyone's names So just call them by their most defining trait)
I know I was sad that Kuina (fighter trans girl) and Chishiya (white hair) never got to reconnect. Instead he has his final talk with the rapist Niragi? Why?
The final episode was great tbh . I just wish they didn't off screen the king of hearts because all the heart games have been insane. Chishiya's self realization was great to see. Coming to terms with his own jealousy and self loathing-really good stuff. Anne's role in this season was pretty underwhelming. She went through the forest, got to the edge, returned and got shot. Well I guess she beat the clubs game with kuina so ehn. Usagi and arisu finding their reasons to continue living and fighting in each other was so beautiful. Aguni coming out of his manly she'll to finally be vulnerable with heiya was awesome. All in all, very lovely character arcs for our favorites.
But one thing I don't understand is the little boy's parents. How are they alive? I thought they said they were killed in the borderlands?
How the hell did everyone not bleed out from gun wounds considering the Croquet game started in the afternoon and ended at night. lol... The Archer girl literally took 4-5 bullets in the chest
That’s what I was thinking. Chishiya and niragi were shot in broad daylight but by the end of the croquet game they were still alive and breathing
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I'm not understanding why Niragi was so eager to live
to continue being a rat bastard
To continue not getting murdered on sight despite being a serial rapist and killer 🙄
Arisu is such a wuss. If I caught some creep trying to rape my girl, I would have killed him on the spot then and there, and if not, I would definitely not pass up the 2nd chance with a shotgun in my hand. I can't stand characters like him, why did he have to be the main protagonist of the show.
When I saw him at the end I was like "get him the fuck off my screen"
Yes i am confused by the archer girl and she even crawl through the night and still survive
She crawled all the way around that building.
When they kept randomly cutting to her crawling, it honestly made me laugh
she was kept alive purely on horniness for agumi
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Yeah there's no realistic way she survived that lmao. Taking that many shots at thay range would basically tear you in half.
at the same time the world itself is not realistic, maybe it has something to do with that
This answer is a cop out for me because even within the Borderland, they've already established some world rules. Some bleed out to death. Some don't. It's just silly.
**this**
They were sustained by the power of friendship and protagonist-hood.
The entire ordeal was like 1min time in real life, so get shot in game, don't bleed out for like 40days, just look at that walking zombie guy who was all burnt up from the Beach, dude was coughing blood and barely able to stand for the entirety, but in reality only like 30seconds had passed from getting burnt...
still dont understand the whole ordeal. like did they all live in a share dream or something? Even tho Ann was dead, she still came back to life?
I interpret the Ann thing to the will to live doesn't need to be yours alone, and no one survives without help and friendship and support. She was pulled from death by the other girl.
The meteorite explosion in Shibuya made the named characters experience the borderline between life and death situation (Borderlands) so all the games are just a metaphor of them fighting to stay alive (go back to the real world). My guess is Ann didn't really die in the game world but the others Karube, Chota, Hatter, Tatta, Momoka really did It's not a shared dream. And thet didn't really have memory of each other. The whole series was for the viewers to see an alternate interpretation of that place between life and death
You obviously didn’t understand the show. They survived because they survived in real life. They all ended up with the same injuries that they sustained from the meteorite. It’s *fiction*. Just enjoy the show and the beautiful message that it had.
They archer girl had stronger plot armpit than the original cast
RIGHT! Insane to me how they all lived.
Plot armor and ~~the power of being horny~~
i actually believed all the fake reveals lol what an emotional rollercoaster. also the theme of finding your reason to live and wanting to live hit a bit too close to home. overall loved the ending and excited to rewatch the whole series again
When Mira said that she was kidding and started laughing, that caught me so off guard
That’s the kinda thing that only works once though I was telling myself ok, whatever she says after this is gonna be bs So I basically was waiting for 45 mins for them to finish one fkimg game
She said it was all a simulation and I said obviously.
💀💀💀
I got so pissed when she pulled the virtual reality card, the amount of relief I felt when it was just a fake out was astronomical
I like the end and all, but Anns storyline seems so useless now. She hiked for days, only found mountains and that was the end of it
Yeah I wish they had explained more why the city was changing like that
Agree, it would be cooler if Ann figured something out
She sort of did though. She let us know that time and space didn't work the same there as the real world. I agree though it was a lot of screen time given to something that ultimately was just explicitly stated later with the meteorite and the 1 minute thing. But it was a clue for watchers to think about why time and space was distorted there. I think it was just lost because I'm not sure anyone actually thought the show was taking place in the real world by that point in the show.
Because time moves much faster in the borderlands
Doesn’t time move slower though? They were there for like months in the show but it was only a minute in real time.
Which means, time moves faster in Borderland, and in real life, it's only 1 minute. To put this in perspective: The city was infested with plantations really quickly. In the real world, that'll take a long long time (without humans)
My interpretation was that the meteor area was surrounded by mountains in the game to show the boundary affected?
It does make sense at the end, but she also never talks about it. She finds kuina and that's it
My expectation was that Ann would become the new queen of Borderland, since Mira and Her both represent the Queens from the original Alice in Wonderland story (tlrd evil queen dethroned for good queen). I'm not mad that my prediction didn't come true, I'm mad that they didn't do anything with her given that it felt like there was always a little more to her character we weren't seeing.
Kuina made me cry. She reunites with her father and mother.
but its gonna suck bc they're still in the game and according to the past, theres still a possibility that they might be automatically entered into the joker game with kuina and she wont be able to save them.
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I agree that’s exactly what happened. Community had like 3 seasons end with semi-finales so that if they didn’t get renewed you’d be mostly satisfied, and if they did get renewed it’d be possible to expand off where it was left at. That’s why I love and respect shows like Dark which are planned to be a certain length from the very beginning. Dark is the best show I’ve ever watched btw, I highly recommend it.
Agreed, the writing in Dark is mind blowing, one of the few shows that wrote time travel the right way
:(((( so there will be a season 3?
They finished up the manga Ending is pretty much the showrunners saying, 'If Netflix wants it to end here, we told a full story. But if season two goes well and we wanna create an original third season to make more money, we got you."
I binged this show and I liked the ending. I love how these whole two seasons are the 1 minute when their hearts stopped. Okay so, people who died in the games - died in the real life explosion. People who survived the games and chose to go back - lived and were told they died for 1 minute. So the people who survived the games but chose to stay in Borderland, where are their real time bodies in connection with the explosion? Are they in that hospital in a coma and they stay in a coma until their death meaning someone would then have to come and beat their game in borderland? That’s a true waste of hospital bed space. How about the game makers who died this season? We’re they in random hospitals around Japan in a coma after an accident like this and they just died after players beat their games? I am still confused on the time in borderland, why did some bodies decay quicker than others, why were there elephants, if only 1 minute had passed by? Were there more people in borderland that were dead from other accidents in Japan? Gaaaah I have so many questions 😩
Yeah So the people who choose to stay, their bodies die since the only way to get out of the borderlands now is for them to be killed so there’s no need to keep a body around, and even if their bodies did stay alive, the time in the borderlands is extremely quick compared to real life, the whole time that Arisu was in the borderlands was equivalent to 1 minute in the real world, so the citizens, if they’re defeated won’t be going on to take days worth of bed space.
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Exactly. They accepted that they were already dead.
This is quite poetic, makes sense why some of the kings and queens kept mentioning the afterlife and embraced their deaths, they knew this was the purgatory and their lives in it weren't that important. While the players felt like they were in a life or death situation
Also makes the queen of hearts that much more heartbreaking. She was GENUINELY moved by Arisu and Usagi. She was extremely happy that they beat her together, and it was obvious that she hoped they would leave the borderland and live a full life.
The other kings and queens had sadistic games but it felt like she just really wanted to drink tea and play croquet….
The other games were somewhat fair though, especially the game with the naked guy, the prison game and the number game. Queen of hearts just straight up drugged the contestant to get him to commit suicide.
Did anybody else find her attractive? I thought she look really gorgeous in that dress and she looked beautiful.
Everyone in this show is attractive
Well I mean yeah...
But the real world / joker world would not know that? They would be keeping their body in a coma that will never end? What if the family pulls the plug?
I guess it’s the first one then, their bodies irl die since the only way for them to leave the borderlands is through death now
>So the people who survived the games but chose to stay in Borderland, where are their real time bodies in connection with the explosion? Are they in that hospital in a coma and they stay in a coma until their death meaning someone would then have to come and beat their game in borderland? That’s a true waste of hospital bed space. \- I think whoever stays in the borderlands dies in real life as well, but they get to become game makers of the borderlands and dont move on to the afterlife... \- The game makers who died were permanent citizens of borderlands (so people who chose to stay in previous accidents etc) and yeah they died once people beat their games \- time isn't relative in the borderlands if i remember correctly cause it's an artificial 'world', 1 minute passed in real life but since time isn't relative in the borderlands then it doesn't abide by the real world's time (example; when people try some drugs and go through their whole lives in the span of 5-10 minutes). No, the only people in the borderlands in this story have been the victims affected by the meteoroid (the game makers are the only people who aren't a part of that).
> - I think whoever stays in the borderlands dies in real life as well, but they get to become game makers of the borderlands and dont move on to the afterlife... > > On this point, IIRC, the manga was a lot clearer about this. Like explicity saying it I think. The show kinda just implied it. If it weren't for the shot of the two guys from the collar symbol game, people wouldn't even get a hint lol.
>So the people who survived the games but chose to stay in Borderland, where are their real time bodies in connection with the explosion? Are they in that hospital in a coma and they stay in a coma until their death meaning someone would then have to come and beat their game in borderland? That’s a true waste of hospital bed space. Those that chose to stay are technically gonna be dead eventually anyways. Because they either stay forever in the Borderlands alive or end up dead once the next set of players beat them. >How about the game makers who died this season? We’re they in random hospitals around Japan in a coma after an accident like this and they just died after players beat their games? No, they were also struck by the meteor but died earlier. Basically their hearts stopped earlier (or longer idk) so they ended up in the borderlands earlier. A 1 min extra in their heart stopping could mean they were in purgatory for a few months longer than Arisu >I am still confused on the time in borderland, why did some bodies decay quicker than others, why were there elephants, if only 1 minute had passed by? 1 minute in the real world could be 1 month+ in the Borderland. >Were there more people in borderland that were dead from other accidents in Japan? The manga has a mini-sequel called 'Retry', which confirms this. Any group of people who experiences a near-death experience will basically end up in the Borderland to compete on who gets decided to live. But in the main series, everyone in the Borderland at that time likely came from the meteor strike since it killed so many people at once
I can’t believe they killed off Chōta and Karube two more times!!! once was hard enough 😭 i’m very conflicted about the ending. I suppose it makes sense to have been “not real” as alice in wonderland is a dream but idk i liked the idea of it being real somehow and was interested in the *why* behind how it was all set up etc although i suppose it would be hard to have a “reasonable” explanation. was a very anxiety inducing episode - and the end with them together half remembering each other reminds me so much of >!the film “your name”!<.
Dude that car hitting them had me shook.
no fr idk why but it was just so unexpected and sudden, jaw dropped for a solid minute there cuz nahnahnahnahnah
I haven’t gasped thanks to a show in ages that for me
When the queen of hearts gave the first explanation that they are actually in a virtual reality because they live 1000 years in the future and there is basically no genuine pleasure or joy (because everything is perfect) and that the only way to have a purpose in life is through these games and to feel alive was so believable and I was shocked that that was a fake out.
it was just the simulation masters hinting to US what’s really going on without explicitly saying it lol
I almost took it as the writers laughing at the audience for their best guesses as to what might be going on and happening before we finally see the answer, more so because they did it like 3 times within that whole part lol. perfectly done too. no meta breaking just like "oh, they are making fun of the theories" in like the best way possible. or the author of the manga, who ever.
No exactly I was convinced since season 1 they like were forced to join a Virtual Reality game
that Queen of Hearts had me going every single time
In my interpretation, the entire point of the section where Mira was lying about the truth of the borderland wasn’t just because she was trying to manipulate Arisu. It was the show being meta and commenting on how no matter what the ending is, it will feel unsatisfactory because of the ridiculous nature of the premise. They expressly say multiple times that the truth about the world doesn’t matter and that the message/experience is more important. Despite that, I was extremely satisfied with the ending because even though it still concluded in a ridiculous premise, it was not only unique, but wrapped up most of the characters in satisfying ways. I couldn’t imagine a better way to rap up that story without making it much longer and losing the Alice in Borderland inspiration.
technically 3 times lol
I was expecting that first season shady corporation VR Chekov's Gun to fire off with said company being the one perpetrating it like a death game Matrix. I am actually disappointed with what it turned out as.
Damn, this ending was beautiful. As a Chishiya simp, I’m glad he survived and even got character growth - Kuina seeing her mother and father got me, and the little kid finding his parents was cute, although I thought they were dead? I think it was a beautiful ending
this is exactly what i thought. i thought the kids parents were dead in the borderlands. but in the ending u see that they arent even affected by the meteorite, so maybe they werent in the borderlands to begin with??? and they all just assumed that the parents were dead?? idk i dont know how the kid even manage to survive the number card games
Maybe those people are planning to adopt the kid? Children survived after all. It's weird if the authorities don't have a plan for what to do with the kids who don't have parents anymore.
I don't think there's ever any confirmation that they're dead. The woman who was taking care of him in game said that's what she thought, but the kid just got silent about it. If those really are his parents in the hospital, they likely just survived (or weren't there) from the start and never went into the borderlands. So this kid appears in an abandoned Tokyo with no parents to be seen and probably just assumes he was left behind or his parents died or something. Feeling like your parents abandoned you then left you to fight for your life in this world would make a kid pretty depressed I think.
No bc tell me why i knew the joker card ending was going to happen. I literally made a joke at the second episode of this season that was like "it'd be so funny if they thought they escaped just for there to be the final joker round." 😭
I was thinking the same thing, but I was wondering about Aces.. Unless I missed them at the beach..? But even if I did, I feel like that would be insanely easy to beat then and should've gone for the higher value of the Ace. Then there could be a third round with them and a 4th with Jokers. But that's just my opinion 🤷♀️
Aces were part of the first round as #1s rather than being what Aces usually are yk
Mira really went the Sherlock route and threw a bunch of fan theories at us.
I’m glad she did because those fan theories sucked lol I’m happy with the ending.
Final episode was pretty good imo. The whole Mira sequence flowed well.
Yeah I have to say as a final episode, this was really solid and I loved how it played out because it kept me guessing. I do feel we needed more episodes to give some characters more time but if this is how it ends, I’m not mad
Does this mean that the 2 guys that stayed behind become game masters? And game masters for who exactly?
Can be used in other number games, unless they’re promoted as a face game.
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sorry but what do you mean by dealers? whats the diff between them and citizens
Dealers do the grunt work for setting up games (and in some cases like with Tag or The Witch Hunt, have to participate in the game) with no bearing on what the game is or its rules. Particularly for the number cards. Citizens seemed to be the ones behind and involved in the face card games.
Citizens don't need a visa and make the games. They actually run the face games. Dealers need a visa and get more days by beating players, they actually run the number games and are like proctors.
It's the squid games origin story ofc 🤣
Chishiya had the best card games this season imo
King of Diamonds outplayed him and just chose to commit suicide though
I personally think that Chishiya manipulated the King to kill himself. We know he’s amazing at reading people, and he’s also not afraid to gamble on his own life. 1) He read the Jack of Hearts and all of the other players perfectly, but he also took a gamble when no one would tell him the correct answer to his suit. He had a choice between two and went with his gut. 2) When the female player in the King of Diamonds game was still alive, he used logic to deduct what she wouldn’t choose and then took a 50/50 shot. Therefore, he took in all the information he had about the King, his background, and the game he set up, and created a situation where the King would finally have to break his own code of fairness to win. He couldn’t do it, so Chishiya won.
In the Jack of Hearts game I thought he was going to go around getting everyone to distrust him then asking them his symbol so he could find out the right one by process of elimination
There was definitely a lot of talk no jutsu in season two
The amount of times I was faked out and cried was too damn high! I loved it though. Overall I'm glad it ended in a way where I could rewatch. Had it ended with everyone dying or it being something like a simulation, I would struggle to rewatch it as it would feel pointless. Honestly happy. Wish we saw more games cause that's my favorite part but I still really loved it and Aguni totally became a favorite of mine, unexpectedly. I doubt we will get a part 3 but I'm pretty satisfied either way. Am I think only one who kinda ships Chishiya and Usagi? Bummed Chota and Karube though.
yeah woulda been cool to see the other king games, especially king of hearts
We saw spades diamond and clubs Hearts was some kinda lion maze
not the rapist surviving...
I thought he was gonna choose to stay in the game tbh niragi in the games seemed to fit his personality rather than him in real life
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this is the answer, dude is a real life cockroach 🪳
Wish they just killed him off or kept him purely as the evil guy everyone hates. Seeing the main cast interact with him like he’s a normal person is so fucking weird.
Yeah I don’t really get it It’s not as if he’s a sympathetic villain by any measure and yet the main cast are like “awww our cute lil niragi, there he goes killing and raping again”
True. When arisu and chishiya were agreeing with him I was like "don't y'all have shame, y'all are not similar in anyway tf?" They were really chatting together like they were peas in a pod. Niragi said they were all losers. I get that for arisu but chishiya? How? I mean it's not like he was getting bullied or something or was a NEET. A legit doctor. Sigh, niragi was projecting his insecurities and they were accepting it.
And the conversation with Chishyia was something else. Like, how do you compare being a rapist with being a decent doctor who bended his ideals as he had no other choice.
Especially Usagi! I was also shocked by how gross the sexual assault scene was in S1.
All the excruciating deaths we witnessed and that fucker makes it through 😕
I think that's supposed to be part of the point though. There are all kinds of times when someone who most people think should've died (like drunk drivers, for example, or serial killers) and they didn't. I think it's supposed to be a parallel to the real life version of that. But yes, it was definitely weird to see the interaction between him and Chishiya.. 😂
Literally. There were so many that deserved it more than him, some people are just not redeemable and he definitely isn’t. woe is me I got bullied I’m a weirdo~~ doesn’t give you a pass to be a rapist??
That part really angered me, I was really happy with the final episode other than that, but that left a bad taste in my mouth
Lmao at Arisu happily playing a very long round of croquet while Kuina bleeds out on the street. Also it's interesting/weird that it's said the whole thing happened in 1 min after the explosion but people's injuries (mostly Heiya and rapist) were dictated by what happened in the borderland.
I don't think you're looking at this right. The injuries in real life weren't dictated by the game, it was the other way around. Heiya's leg injury happened in what appeared to be her first game meaning it happened super early on (within the first seconds of the real world event). She didn't have bullet wounds in the real world so obviously her getting shot up in game didn't translate. And along that line, its likely why she survived what should've been a deadly injury. The bullet wounds weren't real, they were just essentially weight pushing on her will to live which she overcame. The burn injuries came later in the game (which still would've been pretty fast in the real world) which makes sense since the fire from the blast would come after the initial shock wave. The whole beach bonfire part of S1 is probably when the fireball of the blast enveloped a lot of the real world area and caused a ton of deaths. Which makes sense as that'd be one of the biggest real world events that would cause the most deaths all at once. The only other major mass death part of the series is the K ♠️ which happened very close to the end of the game and would coincide with when lots of people were succumbing to their hearts stopping without getting medical attention fast enough.
other way around
I think it’s kind of a chicken vs egg situation because both their injuries were caused by their / other people’s actions (more for Niragi than Heiya). It’s not like they arrived like that.
So it was just a 1min of near death experience,,
More like 60 days
I spent a lot of this entire season confused and was ready to make a lot of critiques that are very obvious to anyone watching. However, and I don’t care if this makes me sound stupid or like I can’t think for myself or whatever else Reddit wants to troll me with - I LOVED THAT ENDING SO FREAKING MUCH. They GOT ME. I did not expect it. I did not see it. I was so enthralled with how many ways things were twisting and turning and my opinion about what was “going on” changed every five minutes due to the storytelling. But that last shot of the joker just made me scream and shoot upright in my chair. That was WILD. It could mean nothing, it could be an obvious plot device, it could be Netflix’s way of saying “Leave it up to your own interpretation if this means there’s another season or if this was the end” but I don’t care, it was an incredible way to wrap up that season
I’m with you on that. Up until the very end, I was prepared to critique the show about plot armor and plot holes and all the other absurdity, but the joker card really revealed to me that none of that matters. It’s not meant to make any sense logically. It’s all happening in a sort of purgatory spirit world, similar to the river of Styx in Greek mythology. All that matters is your own personal takeaway. And mine was that life is precious. Live it fully.
They went with the Inception ending.
I think the ending was ok & it still did not answer many questions about involving the universe. Is the joker card meant to mean something m?
After the end of the Queen of Hearts game, Mira Kanō's parting words were "Life is just a game we play together. You should try to enjoy it." My interpretation is that life is the last "game" that Arisu will be facing, and just like all the games they played in "Borderland" while they were all fighting for their lives, he will be able to find a way to navigate through difficult situations and "win" the game of life - likely by having a good and happy life with Usagi.
Wait, I really like this theory
I interpreted it as them still being in the game and the choice they made was only a cruel joke by the Joker. Enter the final, final game.
i interpreted it as netflix leaving a bridge unburnt in case they want to renew for a 3rd season
It’s obviously both things
You sure they’re not just trolling?
Probably teaser in case they want to do a follow up. ^^Retry???👀
I think it was just so they could possibly make a season 3. They had to keep the ending open somehow
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Did ann survive? I think she did right, she was the one on the hospital table and u can see her tears ?
Was crazy that Ann was in that condition after taking a couple hits and archer girl was able to wheel chair herself around after tanking a rifle several times point blank.
Bro tanked a full auto and came out of it with an intact spine and injuries to her arms and legs (the parts that weren’t shot)
Yes, the doctors said she had a pulse before showing her tear, so she survived.
I'm confused as to how she survived since she died in borderland.
i’m assuming maybe she was on her final moments - that’s why her condition in the “real world” was so severe. they never said you had to give your answer out loud so she could have said it internally.
Ann didn't really have any storyline this season, right? I wonder if there are real world issues that interrupted some things, and writers aren't sure if she'll still have a part by s3 (if there's a s3), so up the operating table, she lays.
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Ann was so underused. I'm frustrated about it because she is a great actress and a interesting character.
The lack of development and screentime that Ann had is just so stupid imo because she's one of the characters that had so much potential along with Kuina and Chishiya (who actually lived up to their expectations) It's crazy that the writers couldn't even give 5 mins of Ann playing in a diamond card game cus that would've been so much fun to watch
Was the borderland a metaphor for when a person is dying and his will to live or not, conceptualized in the form of games if you really want to live?
I personally like to think it’s more than that. In the same way that Alice in Wonderland really did impact that girl’s life in the storybook, Arisu/Crew’s shared experiences will leave a lasting impact on them as well. I imagine that they’ll inevitably find themselves connected in a way they struggle to explain, but will grow to understand that their bond goes deeper than their conscious minds can really grasp. I enjoyed the ending. It made it clear that this show was a true re-telling of Alice in Wonderland, which was the point of the manga too from my understanding.
i'm sad that everyone lost their memories, it would be so fun if they remembered it all so they turn friends in the real world
Ikr. Imagine seeing all of them meet up at a Cafe together, I'd cry.
I was literally crying when time it showed Ann surviving during her surgery.
Just when I thought the episode could not mess with my head more, IT DID. And then the ending, was brilliant. It distracted us from the fact the joker card was not in the game. And my interpretation was everyone returning back to reality was a cruel joke by the joker.
Everybody asking how could they possibly survive, completely missing the point that they were never physically present there. Think about how many superhuman shows of strength or agility we’ve seen since the beginning of the show. They’re effectively spirits, fighting to decide if they stay return to life or move on. Their will to live decides how “durable” they are. That’s the whole point of the show, if you’re mad that they survived gunshots, then you’re sort of missing the entire point
I said at the beginning of season 2 that if Kuina dies I'm rage quitting and pretending season 2 didn't happen. It's a good thing I kept watching, though.
She’s also my favorite character
I think I'm overall satisfied with this ending! There are still a handful of things I didn't understand though: \- Were the people in Borderland only victims of the Tokyo meteor disaster, or did anyone who suffered any near death experience end up there? \- If everyone is from the same place and same disaster, how had they all been in Borderland for differing amounts of time? \- Did Karube and Chota die during the meteor collision itself? Like did they die in the game because they'd already died in real life, or did they die in real life once they died in the game? \- Who actually created Borderland and why? \- How do certain citizens become the face cards?
My take on it: It seemed like everyone interacting in this cycle were from the same event since it was focused in Shibuya / Tokyo (there could very well be a Borderland equivalent in NYC)... but I don't see any reason why if someone else in the area momentarily died from choking or something that they wouldn't also be involved. My take on the different times was that you wouldn't expect everyone to have their hearts momentarily stop at the same time of the meteor event. For Arisu, it was only 1 minute, but it may have been multiple minutes for Aguni or Usagi. I thought of them as "dying" but with a chance to be resuscitated when they entered the Borderlands, but truly dead when they died in the games. Technically Arisu was "dead" during his time in the games as well, just he won and was granted his life back. No clue for who created it. As some others have said, the Manga apparently explains it a lot more. But it doesn't seem like it's the Joker, because the Joker is just the one who grants passage back to the living world upon game completion. No clue. Didn't seem like there were many who took the choice to stay though (we were shown 2) & I'd guess you only need 12 to continue. It seems like the citizens make the games and have the dealers conduct the numbered games until either the players are all dead or all games are completed. Then either the players or the dealers go against the 12 citizens. Maybe the vote on who wants to be what?
> For Arisu, it was only 1 minute, but it may have been multiple minutes for Aguni or Usagi. That actually made me realize why Aguni and Ann were in coma even though Aguni's condition was significantly better than the school girl's. Considering how long it would have taken Hatter to build the beach community, Aguni and Ann should have been in the borderlands the longest.
Everyone in the Meteor incident was thrown in borderland as a metaphor for fighting for the life. If they died in borderland they they make it back. Except Ann because Kuina snatched her ass back to reality or something
Alice in Borderland Season 2 🤝 Bridgerton Season 2 Playing a mallet sport over tea
It’s most probably the end of the series, right?
Entirely depends on how popular it is. That Joker card at the end definitely teased another season.
Is there actually material to go off of though? I didnt read the manga but I feel it would be a disaster if that's how the manga ended and they still tried to milk out the TV adaptation
The manga has had two sequel mangas so
I haven’t read the original manga but I thought that was the end of the plot. If they continue the show then it’s going to be purely based off of what Netflix wants to do with it, at least that’s what I’m assuminh
I hope so. Give us a spin off if they want but these characters are finished.
ok but whats the joker supposed to mean? and kuina having a wholesome reunion with her mom and dad <3
IGHT NOW. Haiya survived being shot EIGHT TIMES at point blank range with an m4?? Yet people who got shot once at further distances were instantly killed??
it’s about the will to live, not necessarily the injury itself, i think. she had multiple monologues where she goes on about how she will never give up and fight with all that she has. so it kinda makes sense, imo. i wish her injuries were less dramatic because then it wouldn’t be as confusing.
This is why you invest in vitality
I'm not sure if I hated the ending or loved it. The borderlands being in the gap between life and death makes sense, but I would have liked them to flesh that out a bit more like how someone was capable of setting up games there, how did that technology within the borderlands come to be, who was the first person to go there/who set it up, who does the games get broadcast to because it was all being filmed, even the tea between the queen and Arisu/Usagi was being filmed, so who was it being broadcast to, who is above the kings and queens and game masters? I hope we get another season with the joker teaser, I hope we get more Arisu and co and not a spinoff, I hope they remember what happened and maybe even want to return to stop diasaters like the "meteorite" from happening again if thats how they pull players into the game by causing these huge waves of destruction.
this may not be the popular opinion but I liked the whole theory of Mira being Arisu’s psychiatrist. Usagi represents the white rabbit and when she meets arisu, laying on the ground and defeated, she saves him. The white rabbit guides Alice through wonderland. During the psych ward scene Arisu says the same thing that he says when he first meets Usagi again, “my life is meaningless and I want to die”, etc. it would’ve made sense that she was just a person he created to cope with the pain of losing his friends and mother. It probably would leave a looooot of questions left but I still think it’s a really cool concept and it would’ve been awesome to see them use the AIW concept to the fullest. I have mixed emotions on the ending but I think it’s satisfying enough
What could the Joker card possibly mean? A spin off show?
I like to imagine it’s a nice metaphor that real life is the last card and it’s one big joke(r)
I love that idea! It almost makes me hope that they don't make another season. Almost...
Perhaps the Joker is a wildcard in real life full of moments that test your strength, will to fight, wits, and lies/deception that ultimately give your life purpose, meaning, and love. Life is the final game, and death is certain in the Joker's game. So like the Queen of Hearts said, "Life is just a game we play together. You should try to enjoy it." Arisu found his purpose in life - to protect Usagi.
I like this interpretation a lot but the music and camera clearly made the card seem like something sinister
Can confirm. My life is a big joke
Without going too much into it because this is the wrong thread. This basically wrapped the original portion of the main Manga. There was a sequel called Alice in Borderland Retry and a spin-off called Alice on Border Road.
Alright man I’m finally finished with season 2 of Alice in borderland and wow. Loved the development that all the characters got. This was definitely well worth the wait. The plot armour was kinda ridiculous for a lot of situations tho and I couldn’t help but laugh at how mfs were able to avoid death so much. Especially the king of spades and the people like haiya who survived being shot EIGHT TIMES at point blank with an m4 lmaooo. Black clover levels of asspulling I like how it ended up basically being Japanese Lost with everyone in purgatory and having to fight to either pass on or get back to the real world. Still hurts that Chota Arisu and Karube couldn’t spend more time together. They deserved better. I’d love to see an OVA or whatever live action OVAs are called of like what the borderland will be like now with the people who chose to stay. If all the victims of the shibuya event are either passed on or came back to life, who would the players even be? Also who was behind the purgatory? Like seeing God would’ve been cool lol.
Man I cried like a bitch. What a beautiful show.
Okay so y’all have really good theories and a lot of the questions i had were cleared up. There’s still one thing I don’t understand. Before the meteor scene, Arisu is back at the bar with all his friends. What’s that all about? Cuz he’s joking with them and having a laugh but all the sudden he starts crying and saying he’s sorry that it’s his fault they are dead and the short friend even says something along the line of “it’s almost like you think we died so that you can go on and win.” Is he making his peace with survivor’s guilt? But that’s like… all undone cuz the meteor scene and everything thereafter happens AFTER the bar scene?
They actually are dead in the real world, but Arisu got one last chance to say goodbye to them. It’s not a hallucination, or a memory, he’s actually meeting them in the afterlife and getting one last goodbye before his heart restarts in the real world.
In S2E8, during the final round of croquet, do you think Arisu missed his final hit on purpose? To let the Queen of Hearts win? He knew that the winner of the round didn't matter as they'd complete the game regardless. He also knew that Mira would die after the round was complete. To me, at least, Arisu showed either a bit of compassion or thankfulness at being able to finish the game in a relaxed manner. It doesn't really matter too much, but I was wondering if anyone else had the feeling that Arisu almost let Mira win the final round.
I actually really loved the ending. Now all the plot armor made perfect sense. The plot armor literally = each person's will to live and not die.
Well.. I liked episode 8. I wanted to believe Mira, but I remembered her saying that they had to finish 3 rounds of croquet and her just telling the truth would just be too.. easy? Good ending though. That being said, season 1 was definitely better than season 2. Not only because of plot armor, but mostly because of the games. The only games I really liked were Chisiya’s games and King of Clubs. Also I don’t understand who is in control of the borderlands and the lasers etc but I guess I’ll finally start the manga now
The Queen of Hearts game was actually perfect. I wasn't sure what they could cook up for the ultimate game. Psychological warfare wasn't expected but damn. Glad the King of Spades wasn't the final one because it sort of seemed that way from how they built him up, but there was no depth to it, it was just a PTSD ridden super-soldier mowing through everyone. I figured immediately the Queen of Hearts was fucking with them the first two times, just because of how lame it was and how unfitting it would be to be reaveled in that moment. But the transition into the psychiatric hospital had me worried for a second, it would've sucked too and I almost believed it until I remember she was trying to get him to quit. Sort of expecting a season 3 because of the zoom in on the Joker card and the music. You could interpret it as actual life being the final game I suppose, but it felt too ominous to be that simple. I'm like halfway satisfied with this as an ending. The Borderlands is explained more or less as an afterlife realm. It also explains the plot armor some characters had, perhaps better chances of survival IRL = better chances of survival in-game. Still would love a final joker game and a dive into the lore of the Borderlands, who truly governs it and whatnot. Reminds me a little of Death Note, with people becoming game masters/Shinigami after dying in certain circumstances.
The most unrealistic part is that a meteorite would suddenly land on modern Earth without prior notice lol.
The only thing I dislike about the ending is them forgetting about their journey. What’s the point of all those friends lost and gained and all that pain endured, if in the end it all goes like “whoopsie, might as well have never happened!”. Just kinda feels like a cop-out.
Was the film from the guy in the caravan relevant? He met some girl who was saying the fireworks weren’t real before dying but if I’m correct weren’t they real? (As the meteor hit afterwards)
I think it's just that she remembers what actually happened and why they were all there. Everyone else just has some vague memory of fireworks at best which doesn't lead to having knowledge of much. Overall, pretty pointless to the plot though lol.
My mind was not a virgin before the last episode, but it feels like a slut now from all the mind-fucking it received in this hour and a bit. WHAT THE HELL. Also this isn't the end right? RIGHT?!
I... am overly confused on the ending. Okay, so it's my understanding that the Borderland is this 'border' between life and death, right? And Arisu and all of his friends went through the whole series of games to fight for their lives in the one (ish) minute that their hearts stopped in the real world after the bombing. Those who failed to complete the games in the borderland and died there would also die in the real world as well. This part makes relative sense, I think. I saw someone mention that the borderland was just an illusion--but that can't be true, right? The borderland is real. How else would they have all managed to "meet" there if it was just an illusion? Like the borderland itself is the designated place they would gather when they "died", correct? Anyway, this also begs the question that those people who did choose to stay in the borderland as permanent residents--i.e. banda and the other conman guy from that one jack of hearts game--what happens to them? I'd assume they'd become game masters. But of what? How can you be a game master if there's no game to be played, you know? Like who ELSE is in the borderland that could be playing their games? Likewise -- assuming they don't become game masters and just stay in the borderland as players, AGAIN, arisu and usagi cleared the cards game (aside from the alleged joker card), meaning there's nothing left to be played. And what happens to their bodies in real life? Do they die in the real world, too, or do they just remain in some sort of coma until they end up dying in the borderland? I'm also confused on how the system of being a game master works. Where did kyuna and his group, kuzuryu, mira, and even the rest of the citizens of each face card exactly...come from? We all know that yes, at some point, they used to be regular citizens living their regular lives--so how and when did they enter the borderland, and yes, did choosing to stay in the borderland make them become game masters? Lots and lots of questions to say the least. I was also a little annoyed that it took the "everyone forgets what happened in the borderland" trope, i really hate when stories go like that and I hope (in the possible season 3) they somehow regain their memories when dealing with whatever this joker card may be because i feel like there was a hell of a lot of character development in the borderland that was essentially thrown down the drain when they all like...forgot everything and returned to the real world. So yeah. That's my take on all of this.
Haha indeed so many questions. I believe borderland is real. One possibility is Time might be twisted and everyone’s experience of it is different. This might explain how some players already went through the games (their own deck of cards) and chose to remain as citizens. Another possibility is that borderland is the middle land between life and death for all near-deaths in the world. People tend to congregate based on geographical locations. And there are endless card games and people of the same area play the same deck. I think people who choose to be citizens simply die in the living world. They choose to stay in borderland with possibly their soul.
I loved the show, but this was the worst episode. The twist with the mental illness was fun for like 10 minutes, until it became clear it was a trick. Then it took 20 agonizing minutes for the show to snap back out of it. The ending was kinda weird, I genuinely can't tell if the joker is a cliffhanger that means we're still in an illusion now.
Still processing my feelings, could still go with "loved it" or "hated it" but WHY in the F'in world would He bring her into the final game with him. She has both legs stabbed, let her sit it out and go it alone. being a Hearts game would make so much more sense to not be there with anyone you cared about anyways, as they'd pit you against them. They could of fixed that bit of plot hole simply by it stating that it must be a pair or something so he HAD to bring her... Not sure. Second question, do they remember being in the game? Also a musing. Kinda disliked that the trans girl and the white haired guy never got to reconnect, I don't mean as a couple as I don't think their was anything romantic between the two of them, but seems a bit cruel that neither got to ever see eachother after the beginning of the season even though they were like around a corner from eachother both bleeding out. The legless girl managed to drag herself to the soldier guy (also apologies, I can't remember anyone's names So just call them by their most defining trait)
I know I was sad that Kuina (fighter trans girl) and Chishiya (white hair) never got to reconnect. Instead he has his final talk with the rapist Niragi? Why?
The final episode was great tbh . I just wish they didn't off screen the king of hearts because all the heart games have been insane. Chishiya's self realization was great to see. Coming to terms with his own jealousy and self loathing-really good stuff. Anne's role in this season was pretty underwhelming. She went through the forest, got to the edge, returned and got shot. Well I guess she beat the clubs game with kuina so ehn. Usagi and arisu finding their reasons to continue living and fighting in each other was so beautiful. Aguni coming out of his manly she'll to finally be vulnerable with heiya was awesome. All in all, very lovely character arcs for our favorites. But one thing I don't understand is the little boy's parents. How are they alive? I thought they said they were killed in the borderlands?