Alice in Borderland’s series finale premiered to high expectations, but in the week since its release, reactions have been pretty mixed. Interestingly, viewers’ responses have fallen fairly in line with audience critiques of Squid Game‘s own finale. In a lot of ways, this makes sense, as the two shows shared a lot in common—but the extent of these similarities in season 3 was on a whole different level.
Squid Game followed Seong Gi-hun, portrayed by Lee Jung-jae, as he competed in a series of deadly children’s games for 45.6 billion Korean won. Similarly, Alice in Borderland focused on Ryōhei Arisu, played by Kento Yamazaki, as he played a series of deadly supernatural games in order to escape the Borderlands. Both characters survived their respective first games, and for different reasons, chose to return and play again.
In this list, we’ve compiled 4 of the biggest similarities and four of the biggest differences between those new games, judging which version was ultimately better in order to decide which series’ finales came out victorious.
Same: Rule Changes
Many of Squid Game’s deadliest challenges took place during season 3, and while it’s harder to break down the stats in Alice in Borderland, it’s obvious that these new games were also incredibly dangerous. However, one of the reasons behind this danger was due to a series of rule changes. Not all of these new rules were communicated to the contestants, and the ones that were didn’t always make sense.
Who Did It Better?
Along with creating new rules (such as the baby’s inclusion in the games, more on that soon), Squid Game broke its own rules several times, such as when the guards allowed the door to re-lock on Player 044 during Hide-and-Seek or when Gi-hun wasn’t killed post-rebellion. Alice in Wonderland didn’t have this exact issue, but there were times when something was explained too late, such as the rule about cans exploding under pressure during Kick the Can (…plus, it also had its own problem RE: baby competitors). In any case, the rule-breaking/rule miscommunications in Squid Game were almost distracting at times, whereas they actually added some tension to Alice in Borderland, such as when the contestants immediately had to journey to a new game after completing the last one. So, point one goes to Alice in Borderland.
Different: Background Characters
Technically introduced in season 2, the new additions to Squid Game’s competition were some of the best in the series. From the courageous Cho Hyun-ju, played by Park Sung-hoon, to the tragic Jang Geum-ja, portrayed by Kang Ae-shim, it was hard to find an unlikable character, even among the bad guys. Alice in Borderland also had a slew of new competitors, including a brother and sister duo, a domestic abuse survivor, and a man who really loved trains. But as evidenced by these characters being introduced by their main traits instead of their names, they didn’t leave quite the same impact. Whereas Squid Game offered up characters, Alice in Borderland gave us caricatures.
Who Did It Better?
It’s not really a contest: we have to give the point here to Squid Game. This might not be the fairest comparison, as the characters in Squid Game had an entire extra season to shine. However, we’d argue that that’s the point: Alice in Borderland should have had more episodes in order to flesh out its characters, as the ones we got were one-note. Really, the only one that stood out right away was Rei (Tina Tamashiro), and she quickly lost the sharp wit that made her so interesting. Other characters like Tetsu (Koji Ohkura) also shone, but we didn’t really start to understand him until his final episode, and by then, his game was over.
Same: The Villains’ Motivations
This might be the most unexpected entry on our list, but Alice in Borderland’s Banda (Hayato Isomura) and Squid Game’s Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun) had the same motivation: to corrupt the main characters. Banda wanted Arisu to join him in the Borderlands, and while it’s not directly stated that In-ho would have invited Gi-hun to work in the games, it’s implied, based on Oh Il-nam doing something similar in his own games. Obviously, we’re not saying that Banda and the Front Man are carbon copies of each other. Banda is far more sadistic whereas In-ho seems more beaten down. However, it’s an interesting parallel that, rather than be motivated by greed or vengeance or lust (…if you ignore 457 shippers), the two are seemingly driven by a desire to see someone sink to their level and join them.
Who Did It Better?
Frankly, Banda’s obsession with Arisu doesn’t make a lot of sense. Yes, he was a survivor, but he was far from the only survivor, and there were many others (such as Chishiya, portrayed by Nijirō Murakami) who would have made more sense to force back into the games. On the other hand, In-ho’s interest in Gi-hun makes perfect sense, as he saw much of his pre-games self within him. In that respect, In-ho wanted Gi-hun to join him in order to validate his actions, whereas Banda didn’t care about validation, he just wanted to be entertained. When you add all of these elements up, we have to give a point to Squid Game for having a much more logical, complex main villain.
Different: Reasons for Returning
As we just said, the villains of Alice in Borderland and Squid Game had some pretty sinister reasons for wanting Arisu and Gi-hun to return, but the actual reasons these characters came back were greatly different. Gi-hun was motivated by a desire to end the game, even if it meant putting his life on the line (and the lives of others). But in Alice in Borderland, Arisu was determined to save Usagi and his unborn child, while Usagi returned in order to be with her father in her dream.
Who Did It Better?
We have to give another point to Squid Game, if only because Arisu and Usagi’s reasons for returning to the game were a little forced. We understand that Usagi loved and missed her father, and the rush of memories returning was probably confusing, but it still doesn’t explain why she called Arisu, told him sorry, and decided to take an experimental drug with a man she’d just met a few days earlier. On Arisu’s side, sure, it makes complete sense that he’d go back to rescue her, but again, she shouldn’t have been there in the first place, which makes his return kind of frustrating.
Same: Baby Contestant
Babies and death games seem like an odd combination, so it’s really something that it’s happened twice this year. In Squid Game, Player 222 gave birth to a baby girl during Keys and Knives, whereas Usagi found out she was pregnant during the final episode. In both cases, the baby was then considered a part of the games, with Player 222’s baby replacing its deceased mother and Usagi’s child being added to the roster of contestants alongside her.
Who Did It Better?
Admittedly, this entry is why we wrote this article, because seriously, death games and babies? Arguably, Alice in Borderland handled the baby part better by basically not addressing it at all. It’s really only brought up in that final episode, and only then in a few scenes when they’re debating who should enter certain rooms or spend their points. So, we’ll give the point to Alice in Borderland, but it’s more like we’re not giving the point to Squid Game, since we think most viewers would agree that both series would have benefited from further downplaying or excluding the baby entirely.
Different: The Main Characters’ Fates
As main characters, Gi-hun and Arisu are incredibly different. Gi-hun isn’t especially clever while Arisu is a genius, and Gi-hun is at odds with his family whereas Arisu is just starting to grow his own. At the same time, they both began the series as “losers,” with Gi-hun having a gambling addiction and Arisu more generally being a slacker. So, it’s interesting to see how differently their lives ended up going.
Who Did It Better?
At the end of Squid Game, Gi-hun falls to his death in order to let the baby win. At the end of Alice in Borderland, Arisu escapes the Borderlands with his pregnant wife. This might be an unpopular take, but we actually think that Gi-hun’s ending was more compelling. Yes, it was a little contrived to have him and Player 333 basically forget to press the button before the latter fell to his death, but other than that, it made for a poetic ending to a tragic, hopeful character. On the other hand, Arisu’s ending was overly simplistic; he was given the choice whether to live or die and chose to live, which makes sense for his character and revealed little nuance or growth about him. Besides his darkest moment in Season 1, he would always have made this choice.
Same: US Tie-in
During the final few moments of Squid Game, the Front Man watched in awe as a US recruiter, portrayed by Cate Blanchett, played Ddakji with a potential contestant. And during the last few scenes of Alice in Borderland, Arisu responded with fear when he learned of a global earthquake, only for the camera to pan to a woman named Alice in the US. Both of these endings imply US versions to come, and while we’re not sure how to feel about either of them getting such a spin-off, one of them sets up the possibility much better.
Who Did It Better?
We have to give another point to Alice in Borderland, as the US tie-in makes much more sense here. As mentioned before, in Squid Game, the US recruiter was seen playing Ddakji, which doesn’t make much sense to be playing in the US. Additionally, In-ho seemed surprised to see the recruiter, which is confusing, as you’d think he would know that the games were taking place in the US, too. On the other hand, in Alice in Borderland, it’s implied that some world-shifting event is going to transpire. Similar to the meteorite disaster that started the show, it’s easy to believe that this new disaster could ripple into the US and beyond. To be clear, we’re not saying that we want a US spin-off or necessarily think it’s a good idea, only that Alice in Borderland does a better job of setting up the possibility.
Different: Overall Message
Squid Game and Alice in Borderland both had clear messages that they were trying to convey. When it came to Squid Game, that message was succinctly summed up with Gi-hun’s final words: “Humans are…” In Alice in Borderland, the meaning was instead found during Arisu’s meeting with the Watchman and his later counseling sessions when he asked what made the other players’ lives meaningful. In short, Squid Game was trying to assess what makes someone human, whereas Alice in Borderland was concerned with what makes life worthwhile.
Who Did It Better?
Both of these shows’ messages are important and worth heeding. However, the message of Squid Game was simply more cohesive and poetic. As mentioned earlier, Arisu only briefly struggled with the decision of whether to go on living or avoid pain, and that wasn’t even in Season 3. However, Gi-hun constantly struggled to understand what makes someone human and whether humans are redeemable. So, in the end, Squid Game has emerged the victor of our game, but when it comes to overall reviews and ratings, Alice in Borderland might still eke out a win.
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