The huge success of ‘The Squid Game’ is going to have many repercussions and it is clear that we have only just begun to see them. One of the most obvious is that it has revived public interest in ‘Alice in Borderland’, another original series by Netflix with a similar theme that had been forgotten for several months.
It is clear that ‘Alice in Borderland’ does not compete in the same league as ‘The Squid Game’ in terms of popularity, but there is always the question whether a better series has not been overshadowed by another that simply did not arrive at the right time. . I personally don’t think that is the case and below I’m going to go over the reasons for it.
Below you will find SPOILERS of both series
A matter of focus
Hwang Dong-hyuk, creator of ‘The Squid Game’, commented at the time that one of the main distinctive features of the series is that it was “the history of losers“, something that extends to your DNA to the point of making it a unique approach to survival games, adding a touch of bitterness that goes far beyond who lives or dies.
That leads to the human side is of paramount importance in the seriesHence, the emotional impact of the sixth episode works so well or that the revelation about who was behind it all goes beyond a good surprise on the part of the script. That success is an approach to raising the interest of the series beyond its ability to trigger the adrenaline of the viewer when it comes to playing some of the games.
Being fair, ‘Alice in Borderland’ also tries something similar, but with much less effort. The great example of this we have in the third episode, where the dramatic impact shoots up, causing a kind of reboot for the series from there.
Also then, there is a slight impact on how far we can be willing to go to survive, but there is a sense of urgency that limits its emotional reach, since it seems more like a definitive resolution than the way station that it ends up being. Plus, you get to it too quickly, so the loss of the protagonist’s friends feels more like a narrative play than something the series has actually earned.
You will tell me that adds a touch of unpredictability to the story, but the truth is that as the episodes go by, it becomes more clear that it was nothing more than an elongated introduction for our protagonist. And the worst of all is that that can also be applied to his entire first season with that ending that is no longer a start over without actually having finished anything.
Yes, ‘The Squid Game’ also leaves the door wide open to a second season, how strange it will be that we do not get to see it, no matter how much its creator does not seem to be too seduced by the idea. However, there was more the certainty that the injustice behind something like this taking place is still there, while in ‘Alice in Borderland’ it is something else.
More details to decant the balance
Nor do I forget the characters, better defined in ‘The Squid Game’ in those with real weight in history. It is true that in some there was a tendency to certain exaggerations to highlight their role in the series, but there was a well-defined balance from which everything else was built.
In ‘Alice in Borderland’ there are hardly a couple of characters worked from the script and excess seems to be the trend to follow in many cases, especially after arrival on the island. There I have to grant him that this way at least he managed to avoid falling into repetition before his time, something with which he was already flirting after just a handful of episodes, but that did not prevent a clear drop in interest that he tries to compensate by bringing the feeling of danger always on the edge.
This point is something that ‘Alice in Borderland’ was already betting on since its first episode, as if wanting offset from adrenaline the fact of shedding little light on what is happening. And it is that here the players participate forced before the threat of death, while in ‘The Squid Game’ they are given the option to leave.
In both cases it is played with shock, about how a normal situation gets out of hand in a totally unexpected way. The point is that in ‘The Squid Game’ that simplicity is maintained by offering a perverse rereading of children’s games. It wasn’t completely new and there were even accusations of plagiarism, but it felt a lot fresher than the ‘Alice in Borderland’ solution of betting on sadistic challenges in the style of ‘Saw’.
Another key aspect is the fluidity, a very successful element in ‘The Squid Game’ and that leaves some doubts in ‘Alice in Bordeland’. And it is not the first time that the adaptation of a manga insists on replicating certain iconic moments of it -or follow it in the most faithful way possible-, thus weighing down the adaptation narrative to a greater or lesser extent. It is not something especially serious in the case that concerns us, but there are moments and designs that leave the feeling of being there because they know they are cool and not so much because they fit well.
Conclusions
In the end I am clear that everything is a matter of personal preferences and that the similarities between ‘The Squid Game’ and ‘Alice in Borderland’ are smaller than their commonalities, but the former is more different and, above all, consistent. I have already developed why I believe this to be so and now I pass the baton on to you.