Alice in Borderland season 2 premiere recap: King of Spades & King of Clubs

Alice in Borderland is finally back after a 2+ year wait between seasons, and we could not be more excited!

The Alice in Borderland season 2 premiere kicks things off with all kinds of intense thrills and chills, proving that Arisu (Kento Yamazaki), Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya), Kuina (Aya Asahina), Chishiya (Nijirō Murakami), and the rest of the survivors are in for a serious spike in difficulty now that they’re facing off against the mysterious face cards.

The first episode of the season introduces us to two new opponents, the King of Spades and the King of Clubs.

Spoilers ahead for the Alice in Borderland season 2 premiere

Like the end of season 1, Alice in Borderland season 2 starts with everyone running for their lives as an assailant brutally guns people down. But unlike season 1, we don’t know the identity of this mysterious attacker—except that it’s the King of Spades. His identity remains hidden behind his ominous hooded black cloak throughout the episode.

Alice in Borderland season 2 premiere recap

Unlike every other game we’ve seen depicted in the show so far, the King of Spades proves that the face cards play by a different set of rules, namely, none. That makes sense for this particular challenge since the spade cards are meant to test player endurance and survival skills. What better way to see how well people survive than by throwing them into an insane situation and seeing if they prevail?

Arisu, Usagi, Kuina, and Chishiya quickly figure out that they need to run and stay as far away from the King of Spades as they can as he mows down several of the Beach survivors. Luckily for them, help arrives in the form of Ann (Ayaka Miyoshi) and Tatta (Yutaro Watanabe), who have found a car to get around. But Chishiya gets separated from the group before he can get inside the vehicle.

It doesn’t take long for the King to catch up with the group, stealing a car of his own (after murdering every passenger) to speed after them. Even with Ann taking over the defensive driving, they crash their car and must flee the King on foot once again. This time, Ann gets separated from the others.

Usagi, Arisu, Tatta, and Kuina find refuge in an abandoned building and decide to bunker down there for now until they figure out the next step. In a game like this one, where the entire district is the arena, there’s no registration, no weapons of their own, and no discernible rule; it’d be all but impossible to defeat the King of Spades. They need to figure out what their next move is.

Arisu and Usagi venture out to get supplies while Kuina and Tatta find another car. While grabbing food at a convenience store, things take on a somber tone between Arisu and Usagi. Their adorable flirting turns rather depressing as they start talking about returning to the real world, and Usagi reveals that she’s not sure she would return if given the chance.

After everything the press and media put her through regarding her father’s death, Usagi has seen the worst of human nature and has no desire to venture into it again. Arisu tries comforting Usagi, vowing to protect her if they ever return, but she’s doubtful. It feels like a rejection, and it makes things awkward between them.

Kuina immediately senses something is amiss when she and Tatta arrive to pick them up in their new car. Once back in their hideout, the group decides to keep playing the games, not that they have much of a choice. Arisu is desperate for answers to all this. Why are they in Borderland? How do they get out? He thinks playing the games is the only way to get more answers.

But trying to out-maneuver the King of Spades isn’t their best option. Instead, the group decides to escape the King of Spades by entering another game arena, marked by the blimps hanging out in the sky. Arisu thinks the King of Clubs is their best bet since it’s a game of teamwork.

Together, the quartet drives to the King of Clubs’ arena inside a shipping yard filled with hundreds of shipping containers. Outside they see a more traditional registration table like they’ve come to expect from the majority of the games. The table holds five bracelets, and once they’re on, there is no taking them off.

However, there’s one small problem: there are only four of them, and they need five to play. Enter…Niragi (Dori Sakurada). Yeah, he’s still alive somehow, and no one is happy to see them. But they don’t have much choice if they want to play the game.

Now a group of five, they enter the arena and meet the King of Clubs, Kyuma (Tomohisa Yamashita). Kyuma immediately stands out because he’s stark naked! Apparently, he’s a proud nudist. We don’t learn much about the game they’ll all be playing in this episode, but we know it will be Kyuma and his friends vs. Arisu and his friends (plus Niragi), or as Kyuma says, Arisu’s group will be competing against “citizens” of Borderland.

Playing cards from Alice in Borderland season 2 premiere

•  Seriously, how the heck is Niragi still alive!? Does he have nine lives?
• Chishiya makes two homemade explosive devices, one for himself and one for Kuina. They don’t get used in this episode, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they come back later in the season.