WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Alice in Borderland season 2.
Alice in Borderland season 2 answered the show’s biggest mysteries, but there are still a few questions a possible Alice in Borderland season 3 must answer. If not for the Joker card tease, Alice in Borderland season 2 could have worked perfectly as the show’s ending. Though Alice in Borderland season 3 doesn’t necessarily have to happen now that the show has adapted the original manga in its entirety, there are more than enough ways to continue Arisu’s story past his return to the real world.
The easiest way to continue Alice in Borderland would be to adapt the manga sequel Alice in Borderland Retry, although that story is not as long as Alice in Borderland. Alice in Borderland season 3 can also have an original story, although that can be challenging as proven by the most recent Game of Thrones seasons. Either way, Alice in Borderland season 3 would have the chance of answering questions that not even the main Alice in Borderland manga got to. That includes who created the Borderlands, the true meaning of the Joker card, and other questions posed by Alice in Borderland season 2’s ending.
Who Was Behind Alice In Borderland’s Games?
The Alice in Borderland manga, on which Netflix’s Alice in Borderland is based, does not answer who was behind the Borderlands. The original Alice in Borderland manga ends quite similarly to how the Netflix series ended, with Arisu and the other characters waking up in the real world after spending one minute between life and death. Similarly to the Netflix show, the Alice in Borderland manga doesn’t dive into what the Borderlands really were and what or who was responsible for creating that unique world. The Alice in Borderland manga sequel Alice in Borderland Retry also didn’t answer that question.
How the Borderlands really work and what is behind the deadly games was better explained in the Alice in Borderland spinoff manga Alice on Border Road, which follows a different set of characters and doesn’t feature Alice in Borderland’s Arisu or Usagi. If an Alice in Borderland season 3 happens, it’s difficult to imagine that it would adapt Alice on Border Road as that would mean changing the show’s entire cast. As an original story, Alice in Borderland season 3 could borrow some of the reveals from Alice on Border Road to properly explain who or what created the Borderlands.
What Does Alice In Borderland’s Joker Card Mean?
Alice in Borderland season 2’s Joker card can be interpreted in many different ways. In the Alice in Borderland manga, the Joker is a shadowy figure who confronts Arisu right before the characters have to decide between staying or leaving the Borderlands. The Joker actually took the form of Arisu, as if Arisu had to confront all his fears before making his decision. In the manga, the Joker also works as the ferryman – the entity responsible for navigating Arisu and the other Alice in Borderland characters back to the world of the living. Alice in Borderland season 2, however, did not incorporate that storyline.
Still, Alice in Borderland season 2’s final shot was the Joker card, suggesting that it can still be important to the story. Given that Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Alice in Borderland has already covered the original manga in its entirety, the Joker card can be a tease for an original storyline should Alice in Borderland season 3 happen. Instead of going with the manga’s ferryman Joker, Alice in Borderland season 3 could reveal that the Joker was the entity behind the Borderlands all along. The Netflix series could also have the Joker as the final game the Alice in Borderland characters have to beat, although that would retcon the ending.
Who Were The Game Masters In Alice In Borderland?
Alice in Borderland season 2 strongly suggests that Game Masters such as the King of Spades or the Queen of Hearts were once players who chose to stay in the Borderlands. However, if that is the case, how long have the Game Masters been in the Borderlands? Alice in Borderland’s Arisu and Usagi as well as the other characters audiences have been following since season 1 all entered that world after getting caught in the meteorite explosion, although not everyone arrived at the same time. Time works differently in the Borderlands, as the entire season of the Netflix series adaptation happened in just one minute in the real world.
Did All The Borderland Citizens Come From The Meteorite Accident?
When exactly the Face Card Game Masters entered the Borderlands also leads to another question – were all the Borderland citizens people who are at the hospital due to the meteorite accident? All the main Alice in Borderland characters like Arisu and Usagi did enter the Borderlands due to the meteorite accident, but there is nothing to guarantee that “winners” of the Borderland Battle Royale games like the Queen of Spades were also in Tokyo when the meteorite hit. In fact, none of the Game Masters appeared during the explosion scene. It is possible that the Borderlands’ purgatory was not limited to that one specific catastrophe.
Did Chota & Karube Ever Have A Chance Of Beating The 7 Of Hearts?
Usagi’s legs were injured in the real world in the exact same way her legs got hurt during the King of Spades game. The same applies to all of the characters’ injuries, suggesting that, no matter what their decisions during the Alice in Borderland games were, their fates were already sealed. If Chota and Karube died in the explosion, did they ever have a chance of surviving the 7 of Hearts game? In other words, was there any free will at all in Alice in Borderland? That is a question season 2’s finale raises and that Alice in Borderland season 3 can answer.
An answer to the show’s “free will or fate” mystery can also settle the Alice in Borderland plot armor debate. The King of Spades fight saw most of the characters get critically injured, and while it seemed like they all had died, all characters survived until after the Queen of Hearts game. While this can be interpreted as plot armor, Alice in Borderland suggests that it was all predetermined as the characters had similar injuries in the real world. If Alice in Borderland season 3 returns to the Borderlands, it must explain whether Chota, Karube, and other characters who died ever had a chance of surviving.
Did Arisu Really Get Back To The Real Word?
There is no catch in the Alice in Borderland manga ending. Arisu wakes up in the real world and only returns to the Borderlands a few years later in the Retry manga for a very brief game. However, Alice in Borderland season 2 went for a more open ending that leaves room for Alice in Borderland season 3 to happen. Thanks to the Joker card shot, it cannot be said for certain that Arisu really woke up to the real world. If the Joker is the final game to be beaten, then Arisu might still be in the Borderlands or, at the very least, connected to the Borderlands somehow.