Alice in Borderland (TV Series) Episode 2 (2022) User Reviews

A lot to digest

[Mesina02 · 9/10 · 22 February 2023]

I'm not quite sure where I stand on this episode. I do think the game they played was interesting but I also do think it was another variation of the tag game they played last season. The clubs characters were alright. Besides Kyuma, the rest of that group I didn't really care for not because of what they did but because of the lack of time we get with them.

On top of that, I do think this game should have ended in this episode. They already introduced it at the end of the first episode and for them to prolong until the third is kind of wasting time. The episode itself can feel like a drag but I don't think it made it that much of a problem.

To me, the best part was Kyuma. He's a unique character that goes by a certain philosophy that had quite an impact in this episode. The first decision he made in the game was questionable but every decision after that was motivated off the fact that everyone in his group was willing to accept death and i'm glad they expanded on that idea and were able to showcase why they think that way.

Looking at this episode, it's pretty much a coin toss. I do think the themes that were brought up were interesting and the game as well was entertaining but I still believe that it should have concluded in this episode.

Not bad, Could of been better

[scaryoutcome1 · 7/10 · 24 December 2022]

I am still trying to figure out wether season 2 is better than Season 1, my answer is Yes and No.

I mean, action and brutality sofar upto episode 4 outways the brutality and Action that season 1 gave us, however, the first real game in season 2 took 2 and a half episodes to finish, which pretty much dragged with way to much talking throughout, with weird / unessary characters like the King of Clubs being naked through-out made absolutely no sense, and was distracting.

The twist was pretty decent, and the overal game itself was okay.

They could of cut the whole game to just 1 episode, considering each episode is over an hour long.

I am just hoping they pick up the pace.

An improvement...

[Leofwine_draca · 8/10 · 6 February 2023]

Episode two marks an improvement over the first one, although it's still not great. It takes ten minutes for anything to happen here, and some sequences just smack of padding. You never had this in season one which was straight in there with the exciting gameplay whereas at an hour in length these episodes feel like they drag somewhat. The good news is that when this game does get going, it proves thoroughly engaging, recalling the best of season one. I particularly liked the tactics and the back-and-forth nature of the gameplay as each team strives to outwit and thwart the other. As before, it's all about mental rather than physical agility.

I like it so far

[FlorianLaur · 8/10 · 8 February 2023]

I'm in episode 3 now, because I try to delay gratification.

My friend who had binged season 1 and 2 in 3 or 4 days told me he's disappointed. We both didn't quite like the turn in season 1 when mid season, they change it from tension to cheat mode (weapons to kill the tigers and such) and party all the time.

I did feel however that despite one or two rather "meh" episodes in the middle, season 1 was overall very strong.

I am also surprised to see how many reviews of the first 2 episodes so far complain that the show is "too slow", "too much talking" or "not enough action".

This may sound racist, but I assume those people are Americans or Western people? People who like the boring and generic superhero or action movies that are all going by the same cookie cutter pattern since 2011? I for one like this show because it is so Japanese. Not that I'd call myself an expert on Japan, I only spent a few months living there, but I feel most Japanese or Korean or Asian movies are often very dialogue-heavy and action is only used when it's really making sense! This is very different to US productions where action and CGI covers up that there IS no story or dialogue to speak of.

I thought it was actually good that the game was rather slow and not some blind killing. Even though we barely knew the adversaries, I felt the pain they must have felt when their team member (and creator of the game!) died.

Also, for those who don't know, Osmosis is when a liquid passes through the smallest cells to nourish a plant. One could see the whole game as a metaphor then where our heroes team has to pass through the enemy lines to flower their continuation of their journey, but they have to water it with the blood of others (the way it sadly has been the whole show).

People need to stop seeing shows like this as mindless, they aren't! It doesn't mean we have to overthink everything either, but I thought it's really good to have a more humanized enemy here, one that we could have even rooted for.

Heck, who knows...they killed his best friends in season 1, I wouldn't have been totally against it if our hero had died here and we would have seen the King's team from now on. Isn't it those unexpected surprises that make a show good?

All in all, I very much enjoyed the episode and thought it was plenty exciting and I didn't feel bored for a second.

Just a nice episode

[funnycommentor · 8/10 · 10 February 2023]

Yay, we had the chance to watch the first game of season 2! Of course, it was a really intense game and I really enjoyed it. However, I think the games of season 1 were kinda better. Moreover, I noticed that the kills of season 2 are way more bloody than the kills of season 1. The ending scene of episode 2 was kinda expected and I really can't wait to watch episode 3. So far, season 2 is really good and I hope the next few episodes will be super intense and full of plot twists. The filming location of episode 2 was only one and it was just okay. Last but not least, the acting is as good as it was, on season 1.

Easy win actually.

[spiritcrusher1385 · 6/10 · 16 December 2023]

The TV show creators actually overlooked a simple way to win.

At 15mins left when they are all in despair, 4 people are inactive and they have 1 active (guy that was defending the base). The other team had 4 ppl left. Inactive touching active player shocks both.

So, attack with all 5, 4 inactive take out 4 enemy with shocks and the 5th guy gets 10K points, easy dub.

The TV show creators actually overlooked a simple way to win.

At 15mins left when they are all in despair, 4 people are inactive and they have 1 active (guy that was defending the base). The other team had 4 ppl left. Inactive touching active player shocks both.

So, attack with all 5, 4 inactive take out 4 enemy with shocks and the 5th guy gets 10K points, easy dub.

So slow.

[harris_everton01 · 3/10 · 22 December 2022]

Loved the first season. Two episodes in and so much of the second season is standing around & just talking. No one seems to be aware that it is life and death games. The games lasts forever - there's no urgency at all. The clock goes as slowly as they need it to.

In fact now I'm into episode 3 and a game has lasted far too long. The last season ended with a potential for 12 new games. The one they've chosen to focus on is literally just standing around and talking. Where has the intensity from the first season gone??

I was genuinely so excited tor this season and they've seriously missed the mark so far.

Alice in Borderland.

[bombersflyup · 4/10 · 25 December 2022]

It's an interesting game in this episode, but there's silliness abound and it's drawn out too much.

It's a game of life and death, so like why aren't they physically killing each other. Why wouldn't you put most of the points into two or three people and they venture out, so they couldn't lose a battle and the rest remain at the base. The character that's been defending the base is a bit annoying too, just sitting when he can win the game still and probably will simply because Arisu acknowledged him. Though it ends without resolution, though already drawn out. The container parkour's also bs.