The Coup
Hatter begins episode 6 of Alice In Borderland by vowing to create a utopia at the beach while talking to Aguni. This is, of course, a flashback as we jump back to the present and see Hatter sitting at his table stashing a group of playing cards in his box. After a hard night of partying, a hungover Arisu is awoken by Usagi who comments that Hatter has taken a fancy to him. Because of this, he should use this newfound power to his advantage and gather as much information as possible from those inside the Beach resort. Along the way he hears numerous different theories, each as depressing as the next about who the game master is and what they’re all doing there. Arisu and Usagi refuse to be seduced by this place though, seeing through the façade of it being a utopia and discovering the ugly truth of what lies hidden from everyone. And that truth comes in the form of a dumpster full of dead bodies. Or “traitors” as Kuina and Chishiya call them when they show up moments later Taking Arisu to the rooftop, the pair both comment on how much information he’s gathered and want to know what he’s planning. For Arisu it’s simple – he wants to survive and learn exactly who or what is behind the games. Right now, he’s only staying alive for Usagi and gaining vengeance for his friends. It turns out Kuina and Chishiya are planning a coup of their own and ask Arisu whether he wants to join them in changing the status quo. Both of them are smart enough to realize the militants will take over soon – it’s only a matter of when not if. When they do overthrow the Hatter, Chishiya is going to steal the cards and make a break for it. Before then though, Arisu and Chishiya are brought before the Hatter who happens to be passed out in his room with a gunshot wound in the chest. Hatter didn’t manage to clear his game and all clues point to Aguni and his goons being responsible. By force, all the different players are eventually forced to vote for Aguni as the new leader. With Aguni taking his place at the head of the table, Chishiya rallies the troops ready to put their plan into action. While Aguni delivers a speech to the others in the main atrium, Chishiya stays on lookout duty while Arisu tries to break the safe open. Unfortunately the combination fails and as he turns around, Arisu stares in the face of Aguni’s goons and Chishiya who seems to have betrayed them all. With both Usagi and Arisu captured, Arisu is forced into a dark, dingy room and tied to a chair. Usagi meanwhile, finds herself in a desperate situation with Niragi looking to force himself on her. With both of our protagonists out the picture, Kuina and Chishiya put their plan into action, finding the safe hidden behind a picture of a stag on the wall. It turns out the safe Arisu found was just a decoy and they used him as bait. Kuina stands outside the door on lookout duty while Chishiya manages to find the cards and prepares to take off. On the way out the door though, Kuina has second thoughts and feels bad for Arisu. Unfortunately that’s the least of their worries as a strange field of lasers appears around the Paradise Hotel. A new game is about to begin and this one happens to be for the 10 of hearts card. As all players assemble in the lobby, a girl called Momoka happens to be lying on her back with a knife through her heart. The game they’re about to play is “Witch Hunt” and all the men and women inside must find and burn the one responsible for Momoka’s death.
The Episode Review
With a shorter episode this time around, Alice In Borderland focuses more on the kids inside the Hotel and their plan to overthrow Hatter. It’s been coming for a while and the gunshot to the chest seems to hint that it’s someone from inside the walls. It’s clear Aguni and the others had a hand in this but was it premeditated murder or something else? The idea of the game suddenly changing and adding a new battle arena inside the hotel is a good one and there’s clear Among Us influences in this as the kids have to try and figure out who’s responsible for Momoka’s death. Who will they pick? Given it’s a heart game, it’s not going to be easy and I’d imagine we may see an innocent bystander killed for this. Until next time…
