Alice in Borderland Season 3 Ending Explained: Why Arisu Chose Life and What It Means for the Future

The season finale of Alice in Borderland Season 3 was as twisted as the series itself. After winning the final game, Possible Futures, Arisu decides to stay back and entrust Ryuji to take Usagi back to their world. However, since all of this is a clever scheme of Banda, Arisu somehow survives and escapes.

Outside in the Borderlands, a great flood takes place, and all the winning players are swept away. Arisu jumps to save Usagi, but suddenly, time stops, and he meets the Watchman. The Watchman or the Man in the Hat is just a ‘watcher,’ keeping a watch over the land between the dead and living.

Not only does he kill Banda, but he also gives Arisu two choices: death or life. Arisu chooses life and saves Usagi, while Ryuji Matsuyama chooses death. The scene then cuts to the real world. Our protagonist is happy, and all the surviving players have found their happily ever after, too. However, back at the Borderlands, the Watchman had explained that a great tragedy would soon happen, flooding the place.

Just as he had warned, Arisu sees on the news that several earthquakes are happening worldwide, with massive tectonic activity. Scientists warn that this signals that a grave calamity might be taking place. The scene cuts to a restaurant in the United States, and the last shot of the episode zooms in on a waitress’s name tag (whose face is not shown), which reads, “Alice.”

Why Arisu Chose Life At the End?

Despite the Watchman’s warning that human life is full of tragedy and sadness, Arisu takes his chances and chooses life. His decision to live is deeply tied to his character arc. In Season 1, he was a directionless gamer, detached from reality and weighed down by guilt over his friends’ deaths. The Borderland became both a prison and a test, forcing him to confront despair head-on.

By Season 3, Arisu had endured unbearable loss and faced countless moral dilemmas. His choice of life, even when there was a chance that Usagi might not be there, shows his transformation. By the end, Arisu has grown and matured as a human and understands that pain is part of being human. 

In some ways, it also highlights his promise and love for Usagi. Although the Watchman warns him that Usagi and his unborn child might not be present in the world of the living, he uses probability as his reason to keep going. Ultimately, rejecting Banda’s offer of becoming a Borderland citizen and Watchman’s offer of death is Arisu reclaiming his agency.

He is no longer a directionless and grief-stricken gamer or a passive participant in the deadly games, but he is now someone ready to face reality, no matter how uncertain or tragic it might be.

What Does Alice in Borderland Season 3 Ending Mean For the Future?

Usagi and Arisu might return | Credits: Netflix

Arisu’s choice has set the stage for a layered future. At the same time, a fourth season has not been announced yet. If we see Arisu or Usagi back in the Borderland, we know they have stronger reasons to survive: their marriage and child.

Moreover, the Watchman revealed that the Borderland is a land between life and death, and everyone must pass through it. Even when people die, the wretched place is like a bridge to the afterlife. 

Given that a world-ending catastrophe is on the way, Arisu and Usagi might not survive it like they did with the Shibuya Meteorite incident. Since the catastrophe is not limited to just Japan, and the end of the season finale hints at a ‘new Alice,’ a potential next season might have players from around the world and even deadlier games.

While for now they have safely made their way back and are happier than ever, the ending hints that the stakes might be greater and graver if there is another season.

What do you think about the season finale of Alice in Borderland Season 3? Was it worth it, or could it have been better? Let us know in the comments below.

Alice in Borderland Seasons 1-3 are streaming on Netflix now.