Bridgerton is considered the most-watched Netflix drama series, but when Squid Game Season 1 arrived on the platform in 2021, it didn’t take much time to surpass the former’s viewership. To be precise, Squid Game became the most-viewed Netflix show in the first four weeks of its release. The show with South Korean actor Lee Jung-Jae in the lead role revolves around a group of contestants who decide to participate in some death games to overcome their financial hardships.
With Squid Game season 2 now available to stream, I decided to shed light on another show that is the better survival show with more meaningful risk and better character development. The show is, of course, Alice in Borderland.
Alice in Borderland Stays In Your Mind for Longer Because Of Its Characters
Alice in Borderland features a set of characters whose growth in the series makes it a must-watch. The show gives us many chances to connect with the complex yet relatable characters. While Squid Game shows the contestants risking their lives for the sake of the huge amount that the winner will get, Alice in Borderland’s players are forced to play the games only to survive until the end.
In Squid Game, we meet several supporting characters, but none could impact us as emotionally as the ones in Alice in Borderland. For instance, both shows feature some terrifying deaths, but the characters’ fates in AIB give us goosebumps. Of course, Ali’s death was emotional in Squid Game, but without spoiling anything, let’s just say that the sacrifice of two characters in Alice in Borderland hit everyone differently.
There’s no denying that the South Korean show Squid Game and the Japanese thriller show Alice in Borderland both featured top-notch performances. However, if we compare both, we can say that Alice in Borderland is the winner. Unfortunately, the lack of marketing didn’t let the J-drama gain as much popularity as Squid Game. However, the latter popularized the ‘Survival’ subgenre and allowed the fanatics to know that a show like Alice in Borderland exists.
Alice in Borderland Always Leaves You Guessing As to What Will Happen Next
At the start of Squid Game, we meet Lee Jung-Jae’s Seong Gi-hun, a divorced man and a gambling addict who lives in a small apartment with his mother. He is approached by a mysterious man at a metro station, and that’s when Gi-Hun learns about the Squid Games. He decides to try his luck and accepts the invitation. After that, we are introduced to some characters who arrive at the Squid Game premises for the large cash prize. So, we already know what the survival game has to offer.
However, when Alice in Borderland introduces fans to the carefree trio — Arisu, Chota, and Karube, the Japanese thriller doesn’t allow us to predict anything about the upcoming events. So, we were kept in mystery throughout the series. That’s what we call good writing, isn’t it?
Now, talking about the games, what makes Alice in Borderland stand out in the crowd? Well, that’s the difficulty level that forces the players to use their brains and level up. In Squid Game, we see the contestants playing children’s games like Tug of War and Red Light Green Light, which eventually turn into nightmares. However, we know about the nature of these games, right?
In Alice in Borderland, the players participate in games that only the ones with excellent intellect, physical strength, and stamina can win. While in Squid Game, we knew that the games were being overseen by the masked Front Man, AIB doesn’t let us know about the one behind all this.
In addition, the concluding moments of the first season of Squid Game revealed that the old man named Oh Il-Nam, whom we thought had died during the games, was the mastermind behind it – but it wasn’t as impactful as it should have been. On the other hand, in the second season of AIB, we finally uncovered the mystery behind the games, and it was truly mindblowing. It wasn’t anything that the fandom expected. Also, just when we thought that the story was over, the series threw in another card, or should we say another level, in front of the players.
Squid Game is a great show, and it deserves all the popularity it has been getting. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Alice in Borderland came before Squid Game. When fans discovered it on Netflix, they all asked the same question – “Why didn’t we watch this earlier?”
Alice in Borderland Seasons 1 and 2 are available to watch on Netflix, and there is a chance that the third season might be released sometime in mid-late 2025.
