natyok9378

Isn't Retry just one game, with Usagi not even entering the Borderlands? Are you really going to tell me that people would suddenly call that meaningful? Like, directly adapting Retry would be just as unnecessary as this season. Also, pretty sure they actually kept some elements from Retry, so clearly the source material was still taken into account. I'm not sure your point really holds up honestly.

"This season is unnecessary"

Well, yeah, what do you think people have been saying for almost 3 years now? And let's not pretend that there wasn't a demand for S3 after S2 ended, even though the story was clearly over. It was pretty obvious this was gonna be an unnecessary bonus season, so I'm not sure why people seem surprised? Heck, I went into this expecting exactly that, and I had a blast with it.

You know, I get they needed a time jump and all, but the way they went about it felt so random? It's like the writer suddenly decided that the time jump had to happen in this episode. Also not a fan of how they immediately made it about the romance again, but that's mostly because I feel like the main romance they're trying to push here is the least interesting element of this drama.

Well, yes and no. The stories of the characters are wrapped up, and while answers are offered regarding the Borderlands, certain aspects of it are still very much a mystery.

The drama definitely teases that things could continue with new characters, but the plot itself doesn't suddenly take a big turn just so they could justify that. It's just that the very nature of the Borderlands will always allow for more stories to be told. This was confirmed to be the final season though.

That was literally always the message though? Why do you think everybody refused to stay in the Borderlands at the end of S2, despite the constant struggles they faced in the real world? They all chose life. This is connected to the whole metaphor you brought up: it's always been about life.

The Borderlands is still very much like that metaphor. The Borderlands is a place you go to when you're in a near-death state, so obviously, if you willingly put yourself in that position (like Arisu & Usagi), you're going to the Borderlands. Their survival still depended on everything you mentioned: if they didn't have the will to live, they would've died.

Usagi's father wasn't in the Borderlands, but she didn't know that (remember, they had no memories of that place until they actually returned to it). So pair the obvious trauma she has of what happened to her father with some sneaky manipulation, and I think her going to the Borderlands is fairly understandable.

This was the final season. It's really just to show that it's a global thing, and it will never end, because that's how it works. Much like the Joker card at the end of S2 is just a card, this is just to show that more disasters & games are inevitable. It doesn't have to mean anything more than that.

That's not a loophole, that's the exact solution. But as always, ideal solutions quickly go out the window when you're dealing with human nature in stressful situations. The games always bring out the best and worst of it, and it's always been a big part of this drama. There are multiple games where nobody actually had to die if people would just stop and think for a second.

Yes, but also no. You don't have to clear all the cards. Somebody has to clear the cards, but it doesn't necessarily have to be you, since you're fine as long as your visa doesn't run out. Some won the game with their skillset, while others just got lucky.

Yeah, I get some of the criticisms, but this one is just weird. Like, the writers knew they had to give Arisu & Usagi some kind of reason (and it had to be based on something previously established to make sense), but they can't just do that for everyone. Let's be real: nobody here would've actually wanted to see all these characters get send back to the Borderlands for no real reason after we already watched 2 seasons of them fighting to survive. It works with the new characters because we didn't know them before, so we don't really think of how incredibly unfair all of this actually is.

I mean, yeah, turning everybody into a zombie would've been the ideal solution. But also: stressful situation have a habit of bringing out the worst of human nature, because everyone is desperate to survive. Rei said it perfectly: either the zombies win through exponential growth, or the humans gets scared and start killing all of them. The humans heavely outnumbered the zombies at the start, so obviously nobody actually wanted to become a zombie, because they didn't wanna die.

And I think Arisu was just playing the long game to see which way things would turn out. He obviously also wanted to save his team, because that's just how he is, even if it might put himself at more risk. So based on how things were initially going, finding the vaccine cards was the smart play, which always could've been used to turn him into a human at the end.

Okay, but the music used when they were escaping the Borderlands is so good? They used it in S1 as well, and in certain other moments, but it elevates literally every scene it is used in. I love it.

A mix of manipulation but also never being able to move on from her father's death. Sure, her direct decision not being shown could cause confusion, but I think her struggles were clearly shown, making it understandable. Her father wasn't there, but she didn't know that. It's not exactly a coincidence that almost as soon as she was in the borderlands (and had her memories back), her focus shifted back to "survive and live".

Honestly, I always treated this season as a "bonus round". Not necessarily a direct sequel to S1 & 2, but a follow-up that takes elements that weren't fully resolved in S2 to tell a new story, while also serving as an epilogue of sorts. It's different, but I also think that it should be different, since the original story was concluded, and this isn't that story. And I think this season works best if you follow this logic. Do I think this season is necessarily as good as the first two? Honestly, no. Do I still think it's great television? You bet I do. Do I think it's a satisfying conclusion? Also yes.

I liked the new characters, and ended up rooting for them fairly quickly. And I like how it wasn't actually immediately obvious who was gonna live or die (the brother being the only exception I think), which made the games even more thrilling. I thought the games were great, and they really showcased human nature at it's worst, but also sometimes, at it's best.

Arisu & Usagi were obviously at the heart of everything, and they were as great as ever, even if Usagi might not have as many physical elements this season (she still had a lot of moments to shine though, and let's be real, I'm not sure Arisu would've been able to climb those rocks in the finale on his own).

I did notice some interesting parallels with the S2 finale in this finale. Ultimately, Ryuji was moved by Arisu & Usagi's love, much like Mira was as well. And much like Arisu got one last moment where he saw his friends before leaving the borderlands in S2, Usagi gets the same with her father this season.

And, no, I don't think the ending is necessarily setting up an American version. It's just that the Borderlands is a global thing, and I'm actually glad that the next big disaster might be in the US, as it means our characters in Japan are safe (and I did have a good chuckle at the Alice nametag).

All right, throw that love triangle away, it's lazy and predictable, just pair up Jong-hui with the brother.

Though what I want most of all is for both of these women to have a happy ending that's not just them ending up with a guy, and also for their friendship to have a happy ending. I'm still recovering from You and Everything Else, I can't handle another cryfest.

99% sure it's not the wife. Preview seems to hint at her being pregnant, which would be a logical continuation of that story. I am suspecting her friend though.

Also, unpopular opinion, but I'm not even that mad at the police team. Yeah, digging into his background was out of line, but that's what all your half truths and lies get you. It's his last lie that really ruined it I think. Na-hee asked him point blank if he was hiding anything else, and he lied to her face. He really should've been honest in that moment, and things probably would've gone over a lot better. Heck, even Su-yeol seemed to have realized that lying accomplishes nothing, since the next thing he did was be honest with his wife.

No.

Sang-yeon was incredibly complicated, and yet, I never hated her. She was deeply flawed, and her relationship with Eun-jung clearly wasn't exactly healthy, and yet I always found myself understanding her, or at least trying to. I think all of this works really well, because the drama is aware of all these things. It never glorifies it, but it also refuses to paint Sang-yeon as the antagonist. The relationship between Eun-jung & Sang-yeon was the highlight here, and putting a single label on what they had couldn't even begin to do it justice, but in the very end, I do think what they had was painfully beautiful. That final episode had me crying over and over again, and I don't regret a single second of it.

I think my main problem here was Sang-hak. Like, he wasn't bad, don't get me wrong. There's definitely a charm to him in the beginning. But also, he didn't really have a story, or a reason to exist beyond just being a love interest and to come between the two women. That's fine in the beginning, it works, but by the time we get to the workplace arc, much of his initial charm is gone, and I think he really begins to overstay his welcome. Like, I was honestly relieved that they ended that story in episode 13, and didn't feel the need to bring him into the present-day story. I just think that story went on for longer than it should've.

Honestly, it's not even that hard to do. You just need to make sure both leads actually have an equal chance, or at least appear to. But when promotional materials, and even this first episode, already push the Yeong-rye/ Jae-pil pairing, your love triangle basically failed before it even properly began. If you make it obvious who the audience is supposed to root for in a love triangle, that kinda makes the whole thing pointless. You don't really need multiple seasons for this.

The most important question before episode 2 though: will they actually watch Madame Aema? Will these innocent souls be tainted forever? Like, you can't leave me in suspense here.