Snowed in over the last week, I've been watching a lot of TV. I came across the series Alice In Borderland on Netflix and thought I'd give it a try. I was a little hesitant at first because I thought it looked like a Squid Games knockoff. Although there are several similarities, each show has its own plot and personality.
The basic plot goes like this. Arisu is a gamer who seems very unsatisfied with life. After deciding to leave home he meets up with some friends at Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo Japan. Somehow they end up in an alternate reality or some sort of hidden dimension with two of his closest and dearest friends. Nobody really knows what happened or how they got there and the series really leaves you guessing.
It appears that everyone in the world has disappeared. They're still in Tokyo, but almost all the citizens are gone. The few people that remain are forced to play games in order to survive. These are children's games like "Hide and Seek" or "Tag" only if you lose the game, you lose your life if you weren't already killed inside the game.
The difficulty of each game is decided by a deck of cards. For example, if the game is a 2 of clubs, that would be much easier to beat than playing a 10 of clubs game. Each suit of the deck represents something as well. Clubs are generally teamwork, Hearts emotions, etc.
None of the players or "citizens" of this world seem to understand how they got there or what they're doing there. Throughout the series, they consider aliens, VR, and hidden dimensions. As the players continue to play they fall deeper and deeper into survival mode. Sacrifices are made, morals tested, and each of them finds out who they really are.
Arisu, our protagonist has to know what it is. His only ambition is to find out what this world is. He continues to play the games and search for answers as he makes enemies and allies in this strange new world. He's also a good man and tries to find ethical solutions to each game problem. His morals and ethics along with the other players are tested to the limit in each game they play.
The series really made you question what you'd do in a similar situation. Would you survive at all costs, no matter what the price? Would you sacrifice friends to survive? Would you help the weaker players? It really made you ask yourself some uncomfortable questions. As the games carry on, many of the players start to enjoy this new world, while many just want the games to end so they can go home back to the normal world. Or at least that is their hope.
The series really keeps you guessing as to where or what they are taking part in. I really liked the ending a lot. It was logical and I kind of thought something along the lines of how they ended it. However, it really kept me guessing right up until the end. I honestly had several ideas, but no real clue. I hate crappy endings, and I'm happy to report that this seemed like a very fitting, well-thought-out, and reasonable ending.
The last episode or finale was kind of all over the place. I get it though, like the entire first two seasons, they run through all the different scenarios that are probably going through every viewer's head. Is it aliens, some strange dimension, or a Matrix-like reality? They keep you guessing right up until the end.
Arisu finally gets his answer at the end and so does everyone watching. The series ends with a logical conclusion. That was my favorite part. I was convinced it was going to have a really stupid ending or really far-fetched ending. I will admit, I didn't guess how it would end, but it did end in a way I kind of expected.
Although season 2 gives the series proper closure, they did hint at the end that there could be a season 3. Rumors are already circulating online about a possible season 3. The series was a huge success on Netflix so this could be very likely. Regardless, the ending of season 2 answers all the viewer's questions.
Fun movie, highly recommend it. If you're into gaming, and graphic horror/action series, this is a really good one. At times it was a bit too gory. I'm not very squeamish but at times I'd cover my eyes. Some of the scenarios were really twisted. Kind of reminds me of Squid games meets Saw. I think the anticipation of what was coming was worse than what would actually happen. The series had a good way of bringing your imagination to life and using it against you.
If Netflix decides on a third season, I'll definitely give it a watch! Highly recommend this one.
I enjoyed it - S2 a bit dragged out IMO - final episode left to go so thx for no spoliersa!
I thought the final episode dragged out a bit. It seemed all over the place to me. Hope you enjoyed it. I try to do spoiler free reviews. Let me know what you thought of the last episode if you get a chance... Happy New Year!
I did get around to watching it, a bit dragged out too, but overall I thought it was a satisfying enough wrap-up and closure!
I just saw that on my Netflix feed, but have not watched yet. I did not watch Squid Game as the concept did not appeal to me. I'm sure it's clever, but I have other things to watch. I just started Witcher: Blood Origin and that is right up my street.
I'm actually thinking about giving the Witcher series a second chance tonight. I started it, but for whatever reason, I was having a hard time getting into it. The previews for the new series look really good,
If you weren't into the Squid Game concept, you probably won't be into Borderland. It's pretty much the exact same concept just with its own unique plot twist. The main difference for me was trying to figure out how they ended up in this bizarre world. Besides that, lots of gratuitous violence and gore. 🤣 Not my usual watch either, but kept me interested for two nights 🤣 They were good at ending episodes with cliffhangers too to keep you binging.
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I struggled a bit to follow Witcher, but it was generally entertaining. All the characters and factions can be confusing. A famous British comedian plays an evil mage in Blood Origin, so I need to get used to him as that.
I can only handle a couple of shows at any one time, so I have to pick and choose. There is just too much choice.
I think that was my problem too. I was having a hard time following but often work while watching TV. That can make following a series with a thick plot difficult. Maybe I can give it the attention it deserves this time around. I keep hearing great things about the series though which is why I want to give it a second chance. I love sci-fi and fantasy too. It's my favorite genre.
My formative years were spent in an era before cable tv. We had 7 channels on TV growing up. We had 3 local channels and because I grew up on the Canadian border we also got 3 or 4 Canadian channels but half of them were in French. That was a lot of choices back then.
My younger self would be shocked at all the content available online now. I never would have imagined having literally hundreds of choices at any given moment. Netflix alone is a treasure trove of content, add one or two more streaming services and cable tv to the mix and there's no way to even consume all that content in a lifetime even if you wanted to.
Surprisingly, I still have a hard time finding something to watch on most nights 🤣
We just had 3 channels for much of my childhood and didn't get to dozens until much later. Streaming has really changed things. We take broadband internet for granted, but I lived through times of slow dial-up. We are living in the future!
Stay tuned!
I'll have to check this out. Apart from the horror aspect it sounds real good.
It's not so much horror, just really gruesome endings for some of the players! 🤣
Got it! And I already added it to our TBW list.
Someone else told me to watch the same season a while ago. I will definitely watch this season whenever I have time. And I sincerely hope that this season will be good.
I hope you enjoy it. If you decide to watch it and get a chance, let me know what you thought.
Alright
A few days ago my friend also suggested this season to me that it is very interesting. This season has been talked about here as well. I will try to watch it this Sunday.
I saw a couple of reviews here as well. That was another reason I watched it. I also saw a couple of really good reviews about it on CineTV. I've been finding a lot of entertainment that way.
I enjoyed this series.. more that I thought I would. It just showed up as a recommended one based on something I had just watched..
:)
It came up in my recommended suggestions also. I gave it one episode to impress me and ended up binge-watching the entire series 🤣 I really thought it was just going to be another "Squid Games" but it was much different or just different enough to keep me interested. Like Arisu, I had to know what it was all about 🤣
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