Alice In Borderland Season 3 Ending EXPLAINED: How Japanese Series Reveals Future Spinoffs, Joker Card And Epic Cameo

After five years, the top Japanese series Alice in Borderland has finally come to a close on Netflix. The third season penned by writer Yasuko Kuramitsu and director Shinsuke Sato moves slightly away from

Haro Aso's manga. But several of the key elements are retained from the original source material. As Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) and Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya) are once again forced back to the Borderlands to become players, the couple must journey separately to survive and make it back home. Here's what happened in the last and final episode of Alice in Borderland Season 3.

Final maze game which teases players' future

In a maze game echoing the first ever game Arisu played in the Borderlands, the remaining players must move through locked doors to find the exit after rolling dice. The doors show possible futures for them, some bad, others depicting their hearts' desires. It is here that Arisu and Usagi finally unite, and he lets her know that she is pregnant in the real world. The couple has even more incentive to make it out alive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8p6YkEPVco

Some of the contestants do not make it; Ryuji (Kento Kaku), who has lured Usagi back to the Borderlands, is assigned to kill her. Banda (Hayato Isomura)) wants to keep Arisu as a citizen of Borderlands, as he is bored with the other players. Arisu was the best to play the games, and if Usagi is dead, he will have no motivation to go back to the real world. Arisu must choose between life and death However, it does not go as planned. The self-sacrificing Arisu makes sure everyone is able to exit safely to what seems like the real Shibuya and stays back in the maze room. He is able to see the world disintegrate as the swirling waters surround them all. Usagi is swept away by the current, and Ryuji tries to help her. Somehow, Arisu manages to escape the maze room, and the others find shelter inside. Arisu swims to find Usagi amongst the ruins and floods and comes across Banda.ALSO READ:Alice In Borderland Season 3 Review: Thrilling Live-Action Adaptation Of Popular Japanese Manga Raises More Questions

Who is the Watchman? What is the joker card?

Arisu is saved from Banda's gun by the Watchman. The man in the hat and black clothing is revealed to be none other than Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe, who has also starred in films such as The Last Samurai and Inception. In fact, the way the finale moves is quite like the mind-bending Christopher Nolan feature. He ends Banda's life through the laser and converses with Arisu.

He sits down to play a card game with Arisu and reveals himself to be neither the god of Borderland nor the Joker. In fact, the Joker card is just a card, not a person. It is used as an invitation to bring prior players back to Borderland. The man in black also states that he is just a ferryman or Watchman between the land of the living and death. Arisu believes he wants people to choose death, but the Watchman insists that Arisu has a choice.

How does Arisu save Uragi?

With a chance to go back to the real world and life, Arisu still chooses to save Usagi. He is about to get her from the water when Ryuji tries to take her back to the land of the dead. He does not succeed; Ryuji remembers Arisu's last plea that he would get Usagi to safety and lets her go. The reunited couple swim back to safety and walk towards their old life.ALSO READ: Alice In Borderland Season 2 Recap: 5 Things To Remember Before Return Of Japanese Thriller Series Based On Manga

Fates of Arisu, Usagi and rest of the characters

Arisu and Usagi are safe now as they are picking out baby names for their child. Interning at a counseling center, Arisu meets former players Chishiya (Nijiro Murakami), Kuina (Aya Asahina), Aguni (Sho Aoyagi), and Niragi (Dori Sakurada), who give him happy updates about their lives. They do not recognise each other, but they are all in a happy place. Even the survivors of the last game have moved on and get to enjoy their hopeful futures they saw in the game.

What's next for Alice in Borderland?

At work, Arisu sees reports of earthquakes and tsunami warnings reported in Japan and the rest of the world. One key area is California, as the show shifts to a Los Angeles bar. Two friends are chatting about a basketball when the camera moves to follow their waitress. We never see her face, but the camera zooms in on her name tag: Alice. The original manga has a sequel and a spinoff, so the possibilities for the show to return in Japanese and have other spinoffs around the world are ripe. Like Squid Game, could we see an American version soon? The signs point to yes.