0-100
Episode 6 of Alice in Borderland Season 2 wastes absolutely no time picking up where we left off. Usagi tries to defend herself from the Queen, who knocks her down and chases after Arisu. Usagi does her best to hold her off though. Usagi manages to turn three of the guys over to their side but it’s no good. They’ve been convinced that staying alive and working under the Queen is the best thing to do. Usagi gives an emotional speech, telling them all that there’s something bigger they need to fight for – and that comes from beating the Queen, clearing every face card, and going back to their world. It’s a rousing speech, and one that convinces another of the men to come out from the shadows and turn to their side. However, they need to get another 5 and there’s only one solution – play the Queen at her own game. Arisu finds himself cornered by a whole bunch of the Queen’s goons, but he manages to grab hold of a chain and swing to safety. In doing so, the group walk right into their trap, and the Challengers manage to clear everyone onto their side… except the Queen of course. With the Queen defeated, Arisu confronts her on the rooftop and quizzes whether she was actually one of the players originally. The Queen remains cagey and simply tells him to clear all the games and only then will he learn the truth. And with that, the Queen jumps off the side of the site and leaps to her doom, but the laser hits her before she touches the ground. Arisu and Usagi take their leave, with the survivors all freed from the game. The pair continue on and come to the wreckage of the stadium, the one that Akane escaped from. They head in together and find a hot spring. Whilst relaxing inside, taking advantage of the water, they look up and are shocked to find several elephants there too. Eventually Arisu and Usagi end up kissing, but in doing so their romantic getaway is completely usurped by the truth of what’s around them. They notice a dead body crushed in the walls. Meanwhile, Kuina continues on and finds her old bed in the hospital, desperate to find her mum again. As her hope grows, so too does Ann’s, who contemplates her next move while in the wilderness. She finds a deer that’s been downed, which is significant given deer don’t give up hope. This works as a symbolic gesture for continuing, as she decides not to give up and head back to finish these games. Of course, we still have the King of Spades, but equally, at the Supreme Court, we have the King of Diamonds, to deal with. Chishiya happens to be there, competing in the latest game, called Beauty Contest. Contestants have 3 minutes to choose a number between 0 and 100. The average of those numbers is then multiplied by 0.8 and whoever chooses the number closest to that result is the winner. The winner stays on the same number of points but those who make it to -10 will be eliminated. And eliminated by having sulfuric acid dumped on them. The King of Diamonds seemed to have been a lawyer in a previous life, especially if the Supreme Court location is anything to go by. Master Kuzuryu takes an easy 2-0 lead, guessing the estimates both times. Through flashbacks, we learn that Kuzuryu was a righteous lawyer until he was convinced by his superiors to simply do his job and not even think about the right and wrong thing to do. He refuses to do so though, and after seeing how the sausage is made, Kuzuryu has seen exactly what goes into the justice system – and it’s not pretty. Two players end up at -10 points, and they’re downed by a nasty dose of acid, which burns into their skin. It’s absolutely barbaric and a horrific way to die. As a result of them being knocked down to the final three, new rules are included. If two or more players choose the same number, they will be disqualified from the round and both will lose a point. Secondly, choosing the correct number will cause the other players to lose two points instead of one. After everyone picks the same number, the next round Chishiya manages to come out on top after sussing out what his competitors are going to do. He manages to outsmart her by the round of deduction, leaving two players left. Chishiya and Master Kuzuryu. With the final two players, another new rule is added. If a player chooses zero as their number, the other player will win if they choose 100. It’s a rule that’s there to try and make things fairer, in a world where fairness seems to be determined by the balance of one’s chequebook rather than the goodness of their heart. Chishiya knows all about this though, having been at the heart of corruption himself when a donor patient was moved up the list of transplants ahead of a kid in desperate need of surgery. And perhaps that’s why, in the present, Chishiya tells Kuzuryu that he’s going to pick 100. Kuzuryu makes his choice… and allows Chishiya to win the round. It ends up at -9 a piece down to the last round. Chishiya picks 100, showing his choice off to Kuzurya and leaving it up to him to choose what to do. Kuzuryu decides to sacrifice himself, using his own ideals as a way of allowing the King to go out on his own terms. Kuzurya has no regrets and with his game all about fairness and choice, Chishiya come out on top and walks away from in one piece. Meanwhile, Akane heads out alone and decides to leave Aguni propped up against a tree, while Arisu and Usagi make a big decision and choose to fight. Kuina too makes the same choice, deciding to fight for salvation, setting everything up for an intriguing couple of episodes to close this season out with.
The Episode Review
Alice in Borderland returns with another good episode, this time with several new games shown off. The idea of splitting everyone up and allowing them to explore their own parts of the world actually works surprisingly well and there will undoubtedly be a couple of dramatic chapters to follow for sure. The series has done a solid job fleshing out the world further this year and it’ll be interesting to see exactly how everything is connected together. Quite what part Arisu and Usagi have to play in this is also unknown.
