Get ready for more deadly games, because we’re back in Borderland! After a successful two-season run, Netflix’s Alice in Borderland returns for a third installment, continuing its intensely violent narrative. This unexpected new season reunites us with familiar faces, plunging them into fresh, mind-bending challenges while weaving in a generous dose of emotional drama. However, this comeback faces the daunting task of living up to the strong storytelling of its predecessors. From the outset, it’s evident that Alice in Borderland has shifted from its original form. While not entirely a negative change, the season ultimately struggles to fully justify its surprising return.
This season finds Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) and Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya), now wed, residing back in a recovering Tokyo, which is slowly healing from a devastating meteor strike. The previous season hinted that Borderland was a purgatorial arena, a series of deadly games determining one’s fate in the afterlife: win to return to reality, lose to perish permanently.
Arisu and Usagi, with only vague memories of their Borderland ordeal, encounter Ryuji Matsuyama (Kento Kaku), a researcher captivated by the afterlife and eager to experience it firsthand. His opportunity arises with Sunato Banda (Hayato Isomura), who, having chosen to remain a Borderland resident last season, now acts as a sort of gamemaster. Banda is often seen marketing the ‘novel’ Borderland experience to desperate individuals. Still mourning her father’s absence, Usagi is persuaded by Matsuyama to return to Borderland. Arisu, naturally, follows, thrusting us back into a world where the Joker card now governs the treacherous games. This season’s new players face electrifying card games, skies raining flaming arrows, perilous train rides, and countless other deadly challenges.
The initial two seasons of Alice in Borderland faithfully adapted Haro Aso’s manga, concluding in alignment with its original ending. This third season, however, charts uncharted territory, venturing back into Borderland without a direct source. While some elements, like Arisu and Usagi’s marriage, hint at spin-off material, the narrative for these six new episodes had to be entirely conceived. The earlier seasons masterfully embraced ambiguity until their climactic finales. Questions such as why Tokyo’s population vanished, the purpose of these elaborate games, and the true reward for victory remained tantalizingly open, fueling the underlying tension and intrigue. This season’s challenge was to invent a future beyond those established answers, shifting the narrative’s inherent tension from the characters to the writers themselves.
Alice in Borderland Season 3 (Japanese)
Previously, Borderland’s inexplicable nature contributed significantly to its terrifying mystique. This season, however, seems determined to provide more concrete explanations, aiming for a definitive closure to the overarching mystery. The plot ultimately revolves around ‘near-death experiences,’ which, through Matsuyama’s invention, can now transport individuals to Borderland. This shift transforms the afterlife experience into something almost curated and material, stripping away some of its previous enigmatic dread.
The pacing of this season’s writing also feels inconsistent, making the confident storytelling of earlier seasons sorely missed. Arisu’s primary motivation for entering Borderland is to find Usagi, leading him to gather a group of Borderland newcomers to assist in clearing the games. Usagi, meanwhile, joins a team that further expands the supporting ensemble. Yet, unlike previous seasons that excelled at character development and made even minor characters memorable, this installment treats its new additions as mere background figures, giving them substantial focus only in the final episode.
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Technically, Alice in Borderland remains impressive, and its lead actors deliver commendable performances. Indeed, this season offers much to appreciate if evaluated as a standalone narrative. However, when measured against the high bar set by its earlier installments, this season unfortunately falls short.
Ultimately, the newest season of Alice in Borderland maintains its elaborate premise but transforms into a simpler, more direct story. While this isn’t necessarily a flaw in itself, it deviates from the complex, unique narrative that originally propelled the show to widespread acclaim. By seemingly striving for a tidy conclusion and potentially catering to a broader audience, it sacrifices some of its distinctive charm.
The third season of Alice in Borderland is now available for streaming on Netflix.
A YouTube video previewing the series was originally embedded here.