Alice In Borderland Season 1 Recap: Did Arisu & His Friends Survive The Deadly Game?

Alice in Borderland S1 follows Arisu’s fight for survival in deadly games after Tokyo vanishes. Here’s a recap before Season 3 drops on Sept 25, 2025.

- September 3, 2025 | 10:28 AM IST

Alice In Borderland Season 1 Recap(Photo Credit –Netflix)

Alice in Borderland Season 1 took viewers straight into a twisted world where survival was the only rule. The show mixed suspense, action, and emotion as ordinary people were forced into dangerous games with life-or-death stakes. While the Season 3 release is around the corner, here is a quick recap of Season 1 of Alice in Borderland. The final card of the show is set to premiere on September 25, 2025.

Entering The Borderland

The season began with Arisu hanging out with his best friends, Karube and Chota. Out of nowhere, the busy streets of Tokyo went silent, and everyone disappeared. The three soon learned they had entered a strange place where survival depended on playing dangerous games called Borderland. Each game was linked to a playing card, with the number showing how difficult it would be. Every win gave them extra days to live, while losing meant death.

At first, Arisu depended on his friends to get through. But the games were ruthless. In one heartbreaking moment, Karube and Chota sacrificed their lives so Arisu could keep going. Broken and alone, Arisu almost gave up, but then he met Usagi. Like him, she had lost people she loved. Together, they found strength in each other and began fighting side by side in this strange world.

#AliceInBorderland was an amazing manga & the sequel manga was dope too, from the philosophical themes to the characters to the art & paneling, to the story/narrative. Arisu was a great protagonist. Overall, it was a 9/10 💯. Haro Aso fucking cooked with this manga💯. pic.twitter.com/fv7kKO9REn

— Noctis (@Noctis_Fallen) August 27, 2025

Did Arisu & Usagi Find The Masterminds?

As they searched for answers, Arisu and Usagi reached a place called “The Beach.” It was a community of survivors led by a man named Takeru Danma, also known as Hatter. He believed that collecting all 52 playing cards would send them back home. It looked like a safe space on the outside, but inside, it was full of power struggles and mistrust. After Hatter’s sudden death, everything at the Beach turned chaotic.

The most brutal test survivors faced was when they played the Ten of Hearts game. In this, players had to find out who the “witch” was among them. During the game, participants panicked, and people turned against one another. This ultimately led to a bloody massacre. Meanwhile, Arisu stayed calm and used his mind to solve the puzzle. His sharp thinking revealed the truth and ended the deadly game.

The season ended with a shocking discovery. The people running the games, called dealers, were not masterminds at all. They were just players forced to set up challenges. The real controllers were still hidden. Before Arisu and Usagi could rest, new and even more challenging face-card games were announced.