Alice in Borderland Season 2

In Season 1 of Netflix Japanese battle royale series Alice in Borderland, two elements stood out: one was that director Shinsuke Sato made sure that a huge ...

The new episodes also aren’t afraid of delving into the past of some key characters, which makes them all the more interesting to follow, as well as helps us speculate about their journey in Borderland and why they could be there. The good news is that the final tease in the very last scene could be worked on in a potential Season 3; if it does, we definitely can get a lot further and the last episode is easily forgivable, but if this turns out to be the actual ending, it’s truly a disappointment. The games make you think and invariably put you in the players’ positions, which ultimately keeps you involved all the way to the end. The greatest merit of Alice in Borderland Season 2 is its structure; the debut episode not only picks up immediately after where Season 1 left off but also starts the second season with the heat turned up to eleven, with a first ruthless boss that challenges everything that Arisu and Usagi think they know about the games. Both distinct qualities set a high bar for Season 2, and if this is what you expect from the new episodes, you’ll be happy to know that the bar is raised even higher this time around. The second was that the games were intriguing and invited the viewer to speculate about their outcome and wonder what we’d do if put in the same position as the protagonists.

If you love Netflix originals, then you know the drill. All eight episodes of Season 2 will be available to stream on Netflix starting at 3/2 a.m. ET on ...

And if Season 1 was all about learning the rules to this apocalyptic game, then Season 2 is trying to figure out why it exists in the first place. As for the bigwigs, Ann Rizuna (Ayaka Miyoshi), an executive of “the Beach”, and gamemaster Mira Kano (Riisa Naka) are also set to return. That’s when a brand new season of Alice in Borderland premieres on Netflix. All eight episodes of Season 2 will be available to stream on Netflix starting at 3/2 a.m. After most of Tokyo disappears, a handful of survivors are forced to participate in a series of games. Though the Japanese Alice in Borderland didn’t receive as much attention as the South Korean survival drama, this is a thrilling series you won’t want to miss.

"Alice in Borderland" follows a group of people forced to play deadly games. The Netflix series has been compared to "Squid Game" and "Battle Royale."

As of December 21, "Alice in Borderland" has not yet been renewed for a third season. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. The manga is written by Haro Aso and originally ran from 2010 to 2016. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. The show's first season premiered in December 2020. The Netflix app is available on most smart TVs, mobile devices, and streaming players from every major brand. For 1080p playback, you can get a Netflix Standard plan for $15.49/month. Following the events of season one, Ryohei Arisu and Yuzuha Usagi are fighting desperately to escape the games and hoping to return home. Viewers with 4K TVs might want to choose Netflix Premium, which offers Ultra HD quality with up to four simultaneous streams for $20/month. "Alice in Borderland" is a live-action adaptation of the manga of the same name. New episodes of the Japanese sci-fi thriller start streaming on December 22. "Alice in Borderland" follows the harrowing struggle of average people thrust unwillingly into a deadly series of games.

Alice in Borderland Season 2 is about to hit Netflix - here's everything you need to know about how and what time you can watch & stream it.

When all the cards are collected, will they be able to return to their real world?” Violent, suspenseful, and compelling, it went down a treat with both critics and fans of the source material. With Alice in Borderland Season 2 soon to release on Netflix, here’s your guide to what time it’ll arrive, depending on where you are in the world.

Ryohei Arisu, Chota Segawa, and Karube had been friends for a long time. Arisu used to play video games throughout the day, and his family was fed up with his ...

Season 2 of “Alice in Borderland,” we will reveal who the game master was and what was the intention behind doing so. The suit of the cards determined the kind of game it was going to be, where clubs meant that it was going to be a team battle and diamonds meant that it was going to be a battle of wits. But to solve the case, first, he had to be released, and he hoped that Usagi would find him before it was too late. Aguni rose to the occasion, and he sacrificed his life to kill Niragi and end the nightmare once and for all. The Beach had most of the cards, but Ten of Hearts was the one that was missing. Mira was one of the top officials in the Hatter regime, and apparently, she was the one on whose orders everybody else was acting. The person who was the wolf at the end of the game was the one who was going to survive. Aguni was the same man who had met Arisu and Karube in the tagging game, and they had witnessed the kind of skills he possessed. We get to know the source of all his motivations and why he was so barbaric in his approach. Arisu and his friends still didn’t understand the nature of the danger that they were about to face. They met a girl named Shibuki who told them that the world had been converted into a big VR space and they had to play and win games in order to survive. So, let’s revisit the first season of “Alice in Borderland” and try to understand what exactly was happening in Tokyo and how it impacted the lives of those who found themselves stuck in the chaos.

With fans bingeing their way through Alice in Borderland season 2, will there be a third season of the Japanese sci-fi show? Here's what we know so far.

[ Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month](https://www.netflix.com/gb/). [subscribe now](http://radiotimes.com/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article). We imagine we'll hear some more concrete news on a potential third season in the coming weeks and months as viewers watch their way through season 2. Is there a trailer for Alice in Borderland season 3? Alice in Borderland cast: who would be back for season 3? Without firm confirmation either way as to whether Alice in Borderland will be returning, it's hard to say just who would be back for a third season. When would Alice in Borderland season 3 be released? Will there be a third season of Alice in Borderland? It's hard to say just when Alice in Borderland season 3 would be released as it hasn't actually been confirmed just yet. Will there be a season 3 of Alice in Borderland? Read on for everything you need to know about Alice in Borderland season 3 on [third season is in the works at Netflix](https://www.small-screen.co.uk/alice-in-borderland-season-3-in-the-works/) and, given the popularity of the first season, it would certainly make sense.

While we don't yet know if there will be a third season of the hit Japanese sci-fi thriller, after watching all eight episodes of Season 2, we can confirm who ...

Of course, if Alice in Borderland is renewed for a third season, they may not be so lucky when they go up against the Joker. Some of the deaths we see, however, are a little more satisfying. Perhaps the most heartbreaking death of all in Alice in Borderland Season 2, is that of Tatta.

Season two of Alice in Borderland launched today (December 22) with viewers eagerly watching the new series from Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya.

and Leaving on the 15th Spring. Tsuchiya also starred in Orange with her co-star Yamazaki. The story continues as the main characters try to figure out Borderland and all its mysteries and crucially how to escape from the game. Who is in the cast of Alice in Borderland season 2? [Netflix](/latest/netflix) with viewers eagerly watching the new series from Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya. Alice in Borderland season 2 cast: Who is in the series?

Alice in Borderland season 2 review - an impeccably-constructed battle royale. This article contains no spoilers for the Netflix series.

The games are thrilling, the psychological subtext is fascinating, and the human core beneath it all, emphasizing the depth of the trauma being caused and the slim chance of anything ever returning to normal in its aftermath, is truly engaging. The main, perhaps only problem with Alice in Borderland Season 2 is that it’s very much in love with its own concept, and it’s so aware of how good the games themselves are that it sometimes forgets to properly flesh out the world around them. The games remain very clever in their structure and execution, being not just all-out physical challenges but also more cerebral puzzles that challenge the characters’ understanding of themselves, their relationships, and the world of the show itself. There is almost nothing to fault in the show’s structure and presentation; it’s a fantastic-looking, sometimes confoundingly well-executed action-thriller that’ll have you asking, “how did they do that?” more often than perhaps any show in recent memory. The games themselves were a standout element of the first season and they remain so here, featuring more complex setups and higher stakes thanks to the escalations of the plot. [Alice in Borderland](https://readysteadycut.com/2020/12/10/alice-in-borderland-season-1-netflix-review/) was a tremendous hit for [Netflix](https://readysteadycut.com/category/streaming-service/netflix/) back in 2020, taking the [Haro Aso manga series](https://aliceinborderland-manga.com/) and turning it into, essentially, a live-action anime with a breathless pace, no shortage of imagination, and a killer structure.

ALICE IN BORDERLAND Season 2 is on Netflix and the Japanese genre-hybrid continues the style from season 1. Read our full review >

Kyuma is the leader of the band (the new group of friends, we meet during the first game of season 2) and is a proud nudist. However, despite Alice in Borderland season 2 not having a recap at the beginning, episode 1 of this second season does have a few flashbacks. In season 1, the characters (or players in this crazy game) all focused on getting all the playing cards to win and return home. The episode shows us a new group of friends (bandmates) who are trapped in this world together. Well, we get to this after the very brutal opening sequence which is the result of them being in the King of Spades game. ALICE IN BORDERLAND Season 2 is on Netflix and the Japanese genre-hybrid continues the style from season 1. Season 1 premiered on Netflix in December of 2020, so it’s been a good two years. We get a few reminders of how the characters ended up in their current predicament. Read our full Alice in Borderland season 2 review here! Season 2 of Alice in Borderland does not open with a recap. ALICE IN BORDERLAND Season 2 is out on Netflix with eight new episodes. Not exactly new for this Japanese Netflix series, but still a very brutal and direct way to open season 2.

Alice in Borderland, based on the manga series by Haro Aso, returns to Netflix for a second season starring Kento Yamazaki, Tao Tsuchiya, and Riisa Naka.

A third season of Alice in Borderland has not yet been confirmed - however the series has proven very popular so it’s likely that it is in the works with Netflix. But it Usagi and Arisu do get through the final tests, it’s still not clear whether they will be allowed to leave the Borderland alive. Alice in Borderland was watched by an estimated 18 million households in the first 28 days of its release in 2020 - and was renewed for a second season two weeks after it premiered.

These games take place against fellow citizens. The aim of this one is to collect points. The five players divide an initial total of 10,000 points between them ...

The player at the base gets the least amount of points possible. One thing that is worth pointing out is Niragi, who spends the whole time coughing up blood and becoming more and more disillusioned by his worsening condition, leading to a last-minute heel-turn just as there are a mere 500 points deciding the outcome. I obviously won’t describe everything that happens during the game, because virtually all of the fun of the episode is in seeing it play out for yourself. Managing to touch the base for 10,000 points can turn the tide of the game, but if the opposition’s “goalie” touches the attacking player, they lose 10,000 points. Obviously, the hook of all this is that nobody knows how many points anyone else has, so it’s a gamble. The five players divide an initial total of 10,000 points between them (not necessarily evenly), and this is a key element of strategy.

Alice in Borderland season 2 is now streaming on Netflix. Is Alice in Borderland season 3 happening? Here's what we know about a potential third season.

Based on the second season’s ending, the story could go in so many different ways in Alice in Borderland season 3. We just have to see how the story continues in an Alice in Borderland season 3. The completion rate is very important because it’s also believed to factor heavily into whether Netflix will renew a show. [Alice in Borderland season 2](https://netflixlife.com/2022/09/24/alice-in-borderland-season-2-release-date/) is finally streaming on Netflix. There were also tons of exciting, action-packed scenes that will have you on the edge of your seat. The second season had viewers on another wild ride with many unique twists and turns.

Unsurprisingly it's down to Arisu and Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya) to defeat their last, formidable face-card opponent. However, like much of the tasks thrown their way ...

In any case, they decide to walk together in the hospital gardens and the uplifting, grandiose music almost has you believing they've achieved their happy ending. A trickster card that has lured them into this false sense of security by wiping their memories and landing them 'home,' when really they, like Dorothy, couldn't be further from Kansas. Mira convinces Arisu that he is in a hospital receiving psychiatric treatment from her, his doctor and that Usagi is a patient with whom he has formed a strong attachment to. Just in time too, as Mira was close to getting him to 'quit the game' in order to relinquish the delusion's hold on him. He continuously presses Mira about what happened to the real world and she toys with him. Not perfect, but at the very least they are home. The catastrophic damage claimed many lives but they survived. However, like much of the tasks thrown their way thus far, this challenge is anything but easy and is blighted with twists. Her cryptic words are shortly followed by her being shot through with a laser and killed. The only one left standing in their way is the Queen of Hearts, aka Mira (Minako Kotobuki). Their unified assault on the King of Spades has resulted in victory. At this point Usagi's wounds need urgent attention – she is limp but obliges when Mira insists they sit for tea.

Episode 4 of Alice in Borderland Season 2 starts with us back at the prison. Chishiya is alone but he manages to convince Matsushita (the emo-kid) that ...

In the present, rumbling ensues as the King of Spades catches up to Arisu and Usgi, his blimp flying overhead. Meanwhile, Arisu and the others try to work out the next phase of attack. With a razorblade in hand, Banda and Yaba have their way, eventually resulting in the Jack of Hearts blimp exploding. Chishiya is convinced that he’s the Jack and warns that he’s going to start getting aggressive soon. They were communicating through the snacks they picked up, with Chishiya realizing that the colour of the packaging correlated to their symbols, helping them through the game until this point. Chishiya is alone but he manages to convince Matsushita (the emo-kid) that Sunato Banda (the man he’s hanging around with all game long) is a serial murderer and it was all over the papers.

After preventing a dying Niragi from raping Usagi, Arisu goes to concede to Kyuma, to shake the hand of the man who showed him who he truly was. Kyuma reminds ...

In an ironic twist, it’s the exact opposite impulse that causes Chishiya’s confidant and ally, Ippei, to abstain from voting and essentially commit suicide, stripping Chishiya of his only means of safely surviving each round. After the breathless pace of the first two episodes, resolving the first game in this way is surprisingly earned and satisfying; the King of Clubs blimp exploding in a fireball is just the icing on the cake. [Alice in Wonderland](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland) and pulls the strings of a big-ish group until, predictably, distrust begins to foment among them and they virtually all end up dead. The action then moves to Teio Prison, where a note instructs players to put on a collar and report to the central guardroom. [Episode 2](https://readysteadycut.com/2022/12/22/alice-in-borderland-season-2-episode-2-recap/) of Alice in Borderland Season 2, Tatta was given the unenviable task of guarding the base during the game of Osmosis. This ties into the outcome of the Osmosis game.

Expect more mayhem, mysterious violence, spirited gameplay, and character reveals in season 2 of Netfllix's Alice in Borderland.

But it revels in making or breaking the rules it’s created for its topsyturvy world, and the core characters are compelling and fully rendered. [Squid Game](https://decider.com/show/squid-game/), the runaway Netflix hit that functions on a life-or-death axis of competition similar to Alice in Borderland. Once we do that…” Arisu has always put his faith in the natural rules of gameplay. (The latter’s transgender identity was explored in one of last season’s most powerful and emotional flashbacks.) The moral compass is totally destroyed in Alice in Borderland, along with the trappings of our daily existence. Parting Shot: So far, the King of Clubs and his accomplices haven’t shared much about their identities or intentions beyond their leader’s promotion of a nudist lifestyle, and Arisu wants answers. The Gist: At the conclusion of that first season of Alice in Borderland, Arisu, Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya), Hikari Kuina (Aya Asahina), and Chishiya (Nijiro Murakami) fought their way from the carnage of the Beach back to the city center and a whisper-quiet Shibuya Station. Our Take: Alice in Borderland continues to trade easily on the fates of its non-player characters. But from a viewer’s perspective, everyone in the background of the main characters’ gameplay seems to be cannon fodder for advancing their narrative. Opening Shot: In a flashback that itself is a flashback to the beginning of the first season, obsessive gamer Arisu (Kento Yamakazi) is in his bedroom, playing first person shooters on repeat instead of attending job interviews. Once it’s determined that joining a different game might avoid more immediate destruction, the group roars off in Tatta’s commandeered Mustang convertible and approaches a part of town apparently controlled by the King of Clubs. [Alice in Borderland debuted on Netflix in December 2020](https://decider.com/2020/12/11/alice-in-borderland-netflix-review/), as the world reeled from lockdowns and the pandemic. As refugees from the Beach are shot down around them, Arisu and Usagi infer that it’s the King of Spades causing all of this mayhem.

How did the players end up in the Borderlands? What does the Joker card mean at the end of Alice in Borderland season 2? Here's how the shock cliffhanger ...

The cards are blown away and the final thing we see is a shot of the Joker card. If the Borderland's Joker operates in the same way as a Joker would in a card game, then it's going to act as a massive wild card. What does the Joker card mean at the end of Alice in Borderland season 2? None of them remember each other or what happened in the Borderlands. In this reality (which we assume is the real world), the players are found and taken to the hospital. At the end of season 2, all the players end up in hospital recovering from their injuries. At first, Mira explains that the Borderlands are a virtual reality game that Arisu and Usagi have chosen to play, and she is the administrator of the game. The Borderlands are essentially the border between life and death. After making their choice, it's then revealed that on the day the players ended up in the Borderlands, they were actually struck by a meteorite that destroyed a 10km radius in Tokyo. Basically, the whole thing is one massive mind game created by Mira in order to guilt trip and persuade Arisu that no one needs him and he shouldn't be alive. Here's how the shock cliffhanger ending sets up Alice in Borderland season 3. Almost immediately, they're thrown into the thick of it against the deadly King of Spades and fight their way through countless games against some dangerous opponents.

Last season ended with former gamer turned best boy Arisu (Kento Yamazaki), climbing enthusiast Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya), and the rest of the survivors making their ...

It’s implied that everything that happened in Borderland was a limbo of sorts, either a collective hallucination or a realm between life and death that Arisu experienced during the single minute he was “dead.” We even see what happened to the little kid Arisu and Usagi protected during the Queen of Spades challenge. Only the fireworks that Arisu, Chōta, and Karube saw weren’t fireworks but a meteorite. Only two people — the winners from the Jack of Hearts, Banda and Yada — decided to stay in Borderland. All of this misery started the day that Arisu and his friends Chōta (Yūki Morinaga) and Karube (Keita Machida) saw fireworks around the Shibuya train station. She explained that if this was all part of Arisu’s imagination then he wouldn’t actually care about her, and that simply wasn’t the case. The only people able to tackle the final face card were Arisu and the barely-able-to-walk Usagi. Usagi, Arisu, and a very unlucky kid managed to face off and win against the Queen of Spades. Chishiya tested his intellect against the King of Diamonds, a man who sacrificed himself so that Chishiya could live. He was taking on the Jack of Hearts. The suit of each refers to the type of game — Spades are strength, Clubs are team battles, Diamonds are battles of wits, and Hearts are games of betrayal — and the number refers to the level of difficulty. First up was the King of Clubs.

As much fun as it was to spend some hours in the company of Arisu (Kento Yamazaki), Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya), and Chishiya (Nijiro Murakami) in Alice in ...

In all card games, the Joker is a wild card that usually subverts the pre-established rules, and that last addition would fit in perfectly with the Alice in Borderland world. If that’s the case, there could be blind spots to the game master’s world, and that would be a nice element to explore in the future. If there’s one thing we learned from Season 2 is that the citizens – who initially seemed to be a level above the rest of the players – don’t know much. On top of that, in the same videos, there is some evidence of people who managed to live outside the realm of the Borderland games. By the end of Season 2, we still don’t know who are the game designers, who controls Borderland and other details that we don’t even imagine. Halfway through the season, Arisu and Usagi find some home footage in which there is a girl who claims she remembers everything about the day everyone was taken from Tokyo. And they all – or most of them – ended up in the afterlife because a meteorite exploded over central Tokyo and killed them all. All the players we rooted for throughout Season 2 decline, and they are transported back to Tokyo and find out that only a few minutes had passed. The way that Season 2 ends provides closure for most characters – especially the main ones – and wraps up the citizens' arc. While [Season 1](https://collider.com/alice-in-borderland-season-1-recap/) provided us with virtually no information about the game makers, Borderland itself, and what exactly are the rules, Season 2 had the job of finally helping us understand what the heck is going on in the Japanese series. But now, we finally have the answer: What are the games and Borderland after all? She adds that he will be presented with two choices and no matter what he chooses, the answer will be given.

Alice in Borderland season 2, episode 4 recap - this article contains major spoilers for the Netflix series.

It’s also a useful way to reintroduce both the King of Spades and Arisu and Usagi eventually stumble upon an RV and the film of a man named Kaito which allows them to connect some dots about the inception of the city-wide games. [Episode 3](https://readysteadycut.com/2022/12/22/alice-in-borderland-season-2-episode-3-recap/) saw Chishiya temporarily incarcerated with a bunch of other players, trying to deduce who the Jack of Hearts was in a game of trust and manipulation.

Alice in Borderland is (finally) back and hopefully providing some answers to the meaning behind the game world. A recap of season two, episode one of ...

It’s what much of the audience is looking for too: an explanation of why this world was constructed and to what end. He leads the group to the outskirts of Tokyo to start a new game with the King of Clubs. For now, we’re left with the promise of more answers about the organization of this world and the possibility of escaping back to our reality — should these characters want it. The episode ends without revealing much about who the King of Clubs is and what his game might require of Arisu and his friends (um, and Niragi). The King of Spades was a major dick, but the King of Clubs seems like he could be fun to hang out with. And the players have a foe to escape or defeat, so Arisu comes up with a plan: They can’t effectively fight the King of Spades with the resources they have, but they may be able to avoid him by joining a different game. Niragi was set on fire by Chishiya and tackled over a railing by Aguni in last season’s finale, but he’s still kicking and is looking to join the King of Club’s game with Arisu and his friends. [Toyota Crown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Crown) that makes for the best part of the episode: a seven-minute car chase with the King of Spades through the streets of Tokyo that starts with Chishiya getting left behind (he’s fine — probably) and ends with our crew somehow walking away from a rollover. As no-names get struck down viciously and viscerally around them, our protagonists duck, weave, and commandeer a classic Toyota Crown in an attempt to avoid the King of Spades. When we’re not in the car with the characters, we’re racing behind with the camera, fitting through even smaller spaces at just as fast a speed. The end of season one left us with the critical reveal that people who were seemingly players in the games could be involved in orchestrating them. Most of the first third of the episode is devoted to our wide-eyed gamer Arisu, stoic mountaineer Usagi, terminally underwhelmed Chishiya, trans badass Kuina, forensics expert Ann, and the behatted Tatta’s sprint to escape the clutches of the King of Spades, and it’s proof that this show still has it.

They attack the game with a fighting spirit that Arisu's ragtag bunch lacks, apart perhaps from Arisu himself, who retains the determination to protect the ...

Just a handful of points have the King’s team in the lead by the time we cut to black — definitely a small enough deficit to overcome, depending on whether Usagi can get away from Niragi or if Tatta gets his act together. But once Arisu heeds Kyuma’s words and decides to go for broke, the game gets a lot closer. As the King of Clubs he presides over a teamwork-based game, driving Arisu to find the best way to distribute the game’s points, divvy up assignments, and so forth. Not the rules of the game that Arisu and company are playing mind you — those are the most convoluted in the history of the series, though you can get the hang of it quickly. They attack the game with a fighting spirit that Arisu’s ragtag bunch lacks, apart perhaps from Arisu himself, who retains the determination to protect the lives of others at all costs rather than sacrifice them as he (ultimately unwillingly) sacrificed his friends back near the start of Season One. The in-it-together nature of a struggling band winds up being what gives the King his strength as an opponent: Not only does his team only act when everyone agrees rather than relying on a majority-rules vote or a single leader calling the shots, but they’re also ready and willing to die for one another.

They haven't stood up on a stage and bared their souls to a crowd of strangers as a music-making team. Kyuma, Goken Kanzaki, Uta Kisaragi, Sogo Shitara, and ...

If they touch a player of the opposing team while possessing infinite points, they will gain 10,000 points, and the other player will lose 10,000 points. • On a related note, Shitara did come up with Osmosis, which you think would give his team an edge in the game. While it’s been two years for the viewer since Arisu lost his friends in a game of hearts, it’s been mere days for Arisu. If Kyuma is right and the games in this world reveal a human’s true nature, then Arisu shows us who he is: a team player. Arisu comes up with the strategy for his team, splitting the group up into pairs composed of a faster player with fewer points and a slower player with more points: Kuina (fast) with Arisu (slow, supposedly), and Usagi (fast) with Niragi (slow, actively coughing up blood). Kyuma, who loves to wax poetic about game strategy and the nature of humanity in between battles, tells Arisu the band is winning because they value each other equally and aren’t afraid to risk it all for one another. Arisu uses the final minutes of his life to thank Tatta for always cheering him up, and then he runs. With 15 minutes left in the game and Arisu’s team behind by 3,000 points, morale is low. Shitara — he of the grunge rock mane — dies in the effort (RIP), but his three bandmates gain 10,000 points each, making them more or less undefeatable in battle and giving their team a substantial lead. The rules of Osmosis are as follows: Each team begins with 10,000 points to be distributed across the five members at the start of the game; each player must have a minimum of 100 points. The most valuable and risky of the methods, players can gain 10,000 points if they touch the other team’s base — a tall, thick pole with a plasma orb affixed to the top. While Arisu, Usagi, Tatta, and Kuina may have bonded while escaping The Beach, they haven’t lived together in crappy apartments and on tiny-venue tours.

This sprawling Japanese manga adaptation is rarely subtle, but its ability to deliver on expectations of scope make it a true TV standout.

When the main group from the end of Season 1 is forced to split up, “Alice in Borderland” shrewdly finds challenges to cater to each of their individual strengths. Avoiding that middle ground leads to some messiness, all the way up until the last episode starts to fill in some of those strange gaps. When it lands on genuine character relationships and sacrifices that feel motivated, “Alice in Borderland” also earns its chance to head to whatever challenge is next. Where “Alice in Borderland” does land on some semblance of subtlety is in leaning into being a pandemic parable. So the first season of “Alice in Borderland” was a primal story of survival. Of course, it’s hard to describe the logistics of “Alice in Borderland” without putting words like “real” and “home” in the imaginary quotes that the show’s characters basically put around them when spoken out loud. A lot of the philosophizing here can get repetitive over the course of the season, especially when it comes to different players psychoanalyzing each other mid-game. Staring into the eyes of the mastermind of each challenge makes it less of an ambiguous test and more of an elimination round. There’s the one that its characters find themselves in and the one that they want to return to. Before long, Arisu and the gang are thrust right into the heart of one of the most thrilling car chase sequences on any-sized screen in recent memory. Picking up right where the last season left off, there’s barely time to take a deep breath before the real threat of violence comes charging up the abandoned avenue. [Netflix](https://www.indiewire.com/t/netflix/) show based on Haro Aso’s manga, Arisu is just one of a roughly undefined group of people looking to stay alive in their new alternate reality, where each person staves off death by playing wickedly manipulative games designed to pit players against each other and themselves.