‘Alice in Borderland’: the “deaths” of season 2 show the problem of the Netflix series

‘Alice in Borderland’ season 2 spoilers ahead

‘Alice in Borderland’ really knows how to put its players to the test. The first season was a bloodfest, but season two gets fiercer by sending a brutal card game master (The King of Spades) to torment the players.

Somehow, Arisu (Kento Yamazaki), Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya), and the others manage to come together to orchestrate a very calculated attack on the King of Spades. Yet his response moves as smoothly as a river of blood (her own). In their determination to defeat the King, the party suffered… a lot..

To put all this in perspective, Arisu fared better in the haphazard battle and crashed through a window, caught by the tail of the explosives he had just set off. His attempt to finish off the King of Spades once and for all worked… well, sort of.. The King is hit enough for a bullet to easily finish the job.

Live! Finally, His reign of carnage is over, but this victory came at a price.. The others were quite injured and had serious injuries. We’re talking multiple stab wounds to the ribs and legs, while more than a handful were pierced beyond belief by bullets.

Therefore it is surprising if not unlikely that they all survive, especially Ann (Ayaka Miyoshi). None seemed to be in worse shape than her (although Heiya was very close to her after taking a bullet from what appeared to be her navel to her throat), but it was Ann whose two shots left her gasping for her last breath. .

His last words to Kuina (Aya Asahina) touched us deeply. The two lay bled on the ground. Ann, lingering on the precipice of death, said the following: “If we meet again (we suppose in another life) we will be friends”. (*sob*). Cut to her glassy eyes and her still, unresponsive body. (*extra loud sob*). Nobody was prepared for that. Later, when the surviving players are given the option to become residents, Kuina looks at the lifeless Ann, takes her hand, and says, “Let’s go back together.” As if she had a choice. Did she not she see how the soul left her body? We certainly saw it.

It was a brutal ending for the fiery Ann, made even more emotional by the violin music that shook our tear ducts like a marionette. Imagine our surprise when, in an unexpected twist, Ann was rescued from the brink of death and thrown into the “real world” only to be left clinging to life in a coma..

Live! She’s alive, but something about this decision isn’t quite right. Did we want Ann to die? No. But undermining the emotional impact of her death by stepping back allows the earlier emotional moment to collapse. Besides, it’s indicative of the series’ real problem: it’s lost its high-stakes feel.

In the first season, the core friendship between Karube (Keita Machida), Chota (Yūki Morinaga), and Arisu was expected to be long-lasting. They were prepared to survive the difficulties that lay ahead. But in a ‘Game of Thrones’ move, the creators removed Chota and Karube just as we filed them under the ‘untouchable’ column. The death of Arisu’s two friends was a complete gut punch, but it added the necessary emotional depth and nuance to the story by exploring what extreme measures will push people to take.especially when their lives are on the line.

His death served as a motivation for Arisu’s survival, but also as the beginning of a guilt that torments him. Killing them was more than just a wow factor, it was an exploration of human nature. He was crucial in establishing an integral precedent for the series’ DNA: the fact that no one is truly untouchable.. What creates the tension in ‘Alice in Borderland’ is the constant undercurrent of unease. It’s never knowing who or when someone will die and how.

The act of desperately wishing for your favorite characters to survive only works if we fans know that they really can die. A nervous excitement that can only be achieved at the cost of losing main characters. Revoking Ann’s path to the afterlife not only took away Kuina’s emotional goodbye, but rendered it meaningless.. Ann’s undeath isn’t the only sign that the series has lost its nerve when it comes to high-risk deaths.

Keeping others alive despite their fatal injuries also detracts from the story.. His decision to team up to fight the King of Spades was based on courage in the face of the impossible and a willingness to sacrifice himself for the chance of a better future, even if it meant they wouldn’t be there to see it.

However, we see Kuina pierced by the King’s sword countless times. We witness how Heiya (Yuri Tsunematsu) receives a rather lethal shot. Then Aguni (Shô Aoyagi) takes a bullet to the head, but then it turns out that it’s not a big deal, just a brush. Let’s also not forget that it was Heiya’s seemingly inevitable demise that gave Aguni the fire he needed to take on the King of Spades.. It was a pivotal moment made less shocking when she dragged her weakened body to safety. How? How was she not she was she dead and her?

If all of this isn’t bad enough, Niragi’s earlier attempt to go toe-to-toe with Chishiya and Arisu resulted in both him and Chishiya (Nijirô Murakami) being severely injured.

Although no one will waste a single tear for the loss of the deplorable Niragi (who has dodged death twice), Chishiya’s death would have meant something. Arguably, these would have been the wrong circumstances for him to die, as it didn’t feel like his personal journey had peaked, but if you’re going to take the story that far, at least commit to it.

The only time we witnessed this season really commit to a significant death of a central character was that of Tatta (Yutaro Watanabe). The adorable, loyal but easily forgettable Tatta. Yes, he sacrificed himself so others could live and was rewarded with the first burial in the series, but the impact of this loss was somewhat fleeting since there are much more attractive characters.

It was the core member designed to be expendable. Fans will respect this decision, but the sadness of his death will not last. He will be frozen in that moment along with the heroism of him and him.

Despite the apparently optimistic ending of ‘Alice in Borderland’, the presence of the Joker card suggests that a third season is on the cards (watch out for our play on words). If the series is renewed, we desperately hope we’re not left laughing on the brink of heartbreak. Push us off the cliff. We are ready for the fall and, like in the first season, when Arisu faced the death of his friends, we will be much stronger to face it.