It's been way more than a year since I last made a review but I feel the need to give my opinions on this series.

I'll be honest and say I would've given this a 9.5 if they managed to keep up the incredible directing and writing the first four and a half episodes had to offer. But it felt like things were starting to go a bit downhill since the Queen of Spades game started and the story became less interesting and all over the place at times.

I was gushing over this drama for the first episodes for various reasons. Season 2 provided excellent story-telling as they provided backstories for a lot of the characters and also gave more context about the games they were playing as if to state that the games weren't only an obstacle a player needs to get past, but also a lesson a player can learn from. The games were exciting and the stakes couldn't be any higher; it truly felt like the games were more difficult than the numbered cards back in season 1. The drama felt more interactive from the perspective of the viewers because I felt like I needed to be more attentive to the details of the story so I can make assumptions and hypotheses in correlation to how the story will unfold and how the players could possibly beat the games. The first half of season 2 felt like it was perfectly making use of the groundwork season 1 provided.

As I said, things were going a bit downhill from the half of episode 5 where they play the Queen of Spades game. From there on out, games started to become less interesting and difficult, we're introduced to a few less interesting characters, the actions and consequences of the players would feel nonsensical and weird at times, and overall I feel like they could've done a much better job with how things transpired. At this point, I was beginning to think everything was falling apart and the story totally progressed in the wrong direction, but things changed after the long-awaited conclusion.

From the things that happened between episodes 4 and 10, things would only make sense with the ending they provided us with; if it was a different ending, nothing would make sense at all.

Alice in Borderland explained:

So from my understanding, Borderland is the place between life and the afterlife. The players found in Borderland are the victims of the accident that happened in and around the ward of Shibuya. Players didn't all enter Borderland at the same time because not all of them entered a state of "death" at the same time as well. Time worked differently compared to how time worked in reality, so people who entered Borderland first would've made a lot of progress already before other players would join. And this is where one of my questions about survivability was answered thanks to the ending. Some players died early, some players would die easily, some players just have a knack for staying alive no matter what happens, and that is all decided by your fate or your will to live. If you died early or easily it just means that you were fated to die or that your will to live was not strong enough, but if you survive and beat all the games, you'll be given a choice to stay in Borderland or come back to life in reality. Beating games and being given the choice to continue living or dying gives the players realizations about their life and whether or not life is worth living; Borderland is a place where unless fate decides for you, you yourself have the power to make your own decisions stemmed from how you value life. In the end, those who truly longed for a second shot at life prevailed and got a chance to live the remainder of their life with a renewed perspective.

The ending was satisfactory, but there is a world where I'd prefer a different ending where Borderland was also part of reality just in a different world.

Things that I really liked about season 2:
- Arisu being the smart, caring, awkward virgin protagonist we all needed.
- Chisiya being the coolest character
- Usagi's cuteness
- The charismatic duo Ann and Kuina
- The immortal Aguni
- Overall the characters were a joy to watch, and their actors/actresses we amazing
- And the best thing I liked about season 2 is the storytelling