Alice In Borderland Season 1
Episode No 2 Recap And Review
Usagi stares at the eerie red and black cityscape. The reds, of course, represent all who die in the game. Holding a playing card, he vows to survive.
After their experiment with the game, Chota wonders if it was an electromagnetic pulse that caused all of this to happen. It's not a bad theory to be honest and is supported by the fact that not all electronics work. To add insult to injury, Arisu's phone dies.
As the children sit and eat, they discuss their previous lives and what happened before they entered this game. Shibuki happened to be working for a big company, but slept with its boss to get a promotion. He dances around this fact, instead changing the subject to the game itself.
It's a strange time here, especially after seeing rotten fruit in one of the cars.
Arisu is convinced that there is a game master out there pulling the strings. Given the high-tech lasers, he wonders if it could be the government or an IT company. Chota, on the other hand, believes that it could be God's work. However, it is clear that he is in bad shape as he shivers in pain from his burn injury.
As he recovers, Karube and Arisu discuss the implications of who this game master could be. As they speak, lights suddenly pierce the darkness as we cut to the Toei Sendagaya Apartment block. There, the entire group of players stand ready, including Usagi. They're not alone, as both Karube and Arisu show up to join the ranks.
With 13 opponents and 5 spades to play, a shadowy man in black called Nitobe introduces himself and tells them it's a game of betrayal. It turns out that the higher the level (playing cards), the more days they have to earn a visa. Of course, this also increases the level of tension and risk.
Their mission this time is to find a safe zone while playing a game of tag. You have 20 minutes to complete it and a series of explosives will all go off together and kill everyone if they don't make it. Then there is no pressure!
As Chota prays for God's help, Shibuki comes and listens to him. Chota feels like the odd one out of the trio, while Karube and Arisu both have their own quirks.
Shibuki asks if he will die for his friends or not. Chota seems to understand how difficult his life is.
Elsewhere, a 13-man match of tag begins as all the different competitors stagger around the complex.
As the intensity of the game increases, the man in the strange mask starts picking off opponents one by one with a machine gun. Arisu and Karube do their best to avoid the conflict, but eventually realize that they must work together to defeat it.
When Arisu starts yelling for the others to join in and work together, it's Usagi who answers the battle call and begins to follow the tagger's movements.
With 8 minutes to go, things are definitely tense, but the 7 survivors manage to work together to hunt down and defeat the tagger while checking the search zone. Given that Arisu is a climber (supported by her previous flashback), she can easily jump from floor to floor while avoiding the assassin.
Only, it doesn't work considering this killer has superhuman strength. Throwing aside the blows, they continue to attack when Arisu finds a safe zone.
The killer spoils it, but Arisu stumbles into a safe room...requiring two people to press buttons at the same time. When Karube is caught in apartment 403 with a tagger and a safe room, a mad scramble to get to the exit ensues.
Arisu fights another tagger who appears just as all hell breaks loose. With little time left, Arisu and Usagi work together to press the buttons... which they do with 1 second left.
They clean up the game and manage to win. The killer turns out to be a woman wearing a collar that explodes as the game ends.
It is clear that they are not alone in this struggle, and whoever is behind it has made a very bad game. Karube finds a radio in his tagger's pocket and repeats the same message over and over: "We have the answer, return to shore."
Episode Review
With drip-fed bits of exposition about the game and who's in control, episode 2 instead focuses on the theme of teamwork and establishes Arisu as a natural leader and selfless individual. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, his quick thinking to coordinate the attack helped everyone survive in the end.
The sound design in this series has been very good, at least so far. There's a good balance between pulsating instrumentals and stark silence that help create the atmosphere. Nowhere is that more evident than in this deadly game of tag.
The rules of the game slowly begin to reveal themselves over time, but who made this game and why remains a mystery. Hopefully we will find this season!
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