Alice In Borderland Theory: What Happened To Those Who Stayed?

Netflix's "Alice in Borderland" succeeds by doing one of the things that manga and anime do best: starting with a unique premise and then slowly unraveling the mystery behind it. This should come as no surprise, being that the series is based on the manga of the same name by Haro Aso, but it's impressive nonetheless how perfectly the series fits as a live-action television show.

All the same, now that Season 2 of "Alice in Borderland" has come and gone, it looks like the genie is out of the bottle for good. We now know that the Borderland is a place between life and death, a sort of twisted purgatory where the winners can get back to the real world and resume their lives following a chaotic natural disaster.

While the solution does make sense in the world of "Alice in Borderland," some might find themselves wondering what happened to those who chose to stay in Borderland rather than return to the real world. Well, as it turns out, that's where the Game Masters in the other world come from in the first place.

That's right, the Game Masters in "Alice in Borderland" are successful contestants who decided to remain in an alternate reality rather than return to their real bodies in their dimension of origin. However, not all contestants who decide to stay become Game Masters. Instead, some just stay and play the games forever, considering it a more exciting alternative to the mundanity of day-to-day existence.

Though this might appear to be a plot hole for some fans of "Alice in Borderland," it's actually based on the mind-bending concept of the series. Seconds in the real world can add up to days or weeks in Borderland, and mere minutes can add up to months or years. This is compounded by the fact that not every character entered the Borderland at the same time.

Basically, if you were able to understand "Inception," you should be able to get your head around the ideas at the center of "Alice in Borderland." Either way, while the series seems to be wrapped up for good as far as the Netflix adaptation goes, it's possible that the show could still continue for another season if the top brass at the streamer think that it's a worthwhile investment.