Alice in Borderland Season 3 Ending Explained: What Happens to Arisu and Usagi in the End? What Do the Games Signify?

Alice in Borderland Season 3 Ending Explained: Four years after winning the horrific games of Borderland, Usagi and Arisu’s idyllic life takes a turn when she is abducted and taken back to the perilous world that they had once left behind. As Arisu follows close behind to save her, the two, now separated, must compete once again in the “Joker” stage to hopefully come out unscathed.

Alice in Borderland Netflix series is based on the manga “Alice in Borderland” by Haro Aso (published by Shogakukan). There are 6 total episodes, with an approximate runtime of around 60 minutes.

Alice in Borderland Season 3 Ending Explained

The season opens with Arisu being interviewed about the meteor explosion and his going into cardiac arrest. He tells the interviewer that he doesn’t remember anything about the games or anything else, and doesn’t remember dreaming, just that he blacked out. The interviewer is Matsuyama Ryuji, a man who lost a student and is now obsessed with figuring out what happened.

Matsuyama takes a special interest in Arisu and Usagi and asks if it would be okay if he interviews her the next time. Desperate to find connections and answers to the identical near-death experiences of people from different walks of life, Matsuyama follows an interesting lead where he gets to know a bit more information about the games and is eventually invited to a shady seminar.

There, Matsuyama and a few other people are asked to play a game of Old Maid for a chance to have a near-death experience. As the game starts, players start getting electrocuted to death either because they move from their seats or draw the Joker card. Completely unprepared, the players are left shocked and devastated, but must play on. In the end of a few agonising rounds, Matsuyama wins after he is left with the Joker card and is welcomed into the Borderlands.

Meanwhile, Arisu and Usagi have a normal, idyllic life together, thinking about buying a house and going to work. In the midst of a workday, Arisu gets a visit from Ann Rizuna, who still remembers her time in the Borderlands. Elsewhere, on her way back home, Usagi gets flashbacks of her time in the Borderlands, but is unable to make a connection. That night, Usagi goes missing, and Arisu gets a visit from a mysterious man who leaves a Joker card with him.

The police later approach him and tell him that Usagi and Matsuyama both consumed some sort of drug that has landed them in a coma, and seeing the Joker card among both of their things as well, he goes to meet Ann, who tells him everything about the Borderlands. With time running out, Arisu decides to take his chances and go to the Borderlands as well to save Usagi and get them both out.

What are the Borderlands?

Ann tells Arisu that the Borderlands exist between the time a person’s heart stops to the moment they die, which is about 2 minutes. In those 2 minutes, humans experience an altered state, a different world, where they are taken to this world, where they are asked to play these games. If they are able to win the games, they come back to the real world; otherwise, they die.

Why is Matsuyama interested in the afterlife?

One of Matsuyama’s students wanted him to perform a near-death experience on her so that she could experience what it’s like and eventually come back to life with all of her thoughts intact. Although Matsuyama is uninterested in using Yano’s wild claims at first, her insistence and his professional curiosity got the better of him, and he injected her with the drug. It, however, results in her dying. He eventually tries to do the same to himself and get into an accident, but it only results in him losing his leg, and nothing else.

Why does Usagi go to the Borderlands?

Heartbroken about losing her father, Usagi desperately wants to meet him again and decides to use this opportunity to find him in some way.

Why does Banda want Arisu in Borderland?

Banda, from the start, has been trying to get Matsuyama to get Usagi to the Borderland, knowing fully well that Arisu will follow suit to save his wife. However, the reason that he discusses with Yaba proves that he’s there just to see the world burn and is getting bored now that most of the good players are gone. Arisu, being a strong, level-headed player, would be a great addition to this world, and Banda desperately needs him to stay back. As a result, he asks Matsuyama to kill Usagi at the end of the game so that Banda can promise Arisu a life with her in the Borderland and force him to stay.

Also Read: Netflix’s Alice in Borderland Review and Ending Explanation: Energetic, Thrilling and Emotional

Does Arisu find Usagi?

Arisu spots Usagi in the opposite train during the Runaway Train game, and the two try to meet each other. Unfortunately, the train moves in different directions and the two miss meeting each other at the last moment. They eventually meet in the game Possible Futures and work together to get out in the end.

Do the couple survive? What happens in the end?

In Alice in Borderland episode 8, Arisu, Usagi and the others play Possible Futures, but Arisu eventually sees a future wherein Usagi and his baby will be killed, with him as well. To stop that future from taking place, he elects to stay in the last room and let the others move on. However, when he sees that the plan was always to kill everyone else, Arisu decides to destroy the room to save Usagi. Banda, however, is unhappy with his insistence and tries to kill him for disobeying his wishes, but is eventually killed when the “Joker” intervenes.

He plays one last game with Arisu, asking him to choose a card from a deck. Whatever he chooses will be his future. However, if he chooses the Joker card, then he will pick his future for Arisu. He shows him the road to life and death and asks him to choose. Arisu jumps into the vortex when he hears Usagi’s screams, and the two eventually reunite, taking the path to life together.

Also Read: Alice in Borderland Season 2 Ending Explained: Queen of Hearts, King of Spades and the Joker!

Life takes a sweet turn as Arisu and Usagi think about baby names while Arisu chats up with all of his old friends from Borderland at work. Although his patients don’t remember their together, Arisu seems to remember who they are.

The series ends with a rise in earthquakes around the world that leaves Arisu looking shaken, while we are transported to America, where the camera pans to someone called Alice waiting tables. It’s unclear what the connection between these two scenes is – is Alice their child? Does Alice bring about earthquakes? Is the series moving to America? We won’t know until we get more answers, but the series keeps things hidden, possibly for season 4.

What are your thoughts on the series? Let us know in the comments below!

Also Read: Alice in Borderland Season 3 Review: A Surprisingly Underwhelming Entry That Leaves You Wanting