Alice in Borderland Season 3, Episode 6 finally unveiled who the Joker is, and the revelation is not something viewers expected. Netflix's highly anticipated thriller series finally returned with brand new episodes to learn more about what happened to Arisu and Usagi's comeback to the real world following clearing all the games in the borderland. However, Season 2's ending hinted that the chaos is far from over due to the sudden emergence of the Joker card.
While Usagi and Arisu were already happily married at the start of Season 3, Usagi was manipulated by newcomer Ryuji Matsumaya (who was obsessed with the afterlife) into returning to the deadly games, prompting Arisu to come back to save her again. Throughout this ordeal, the Joker card appeared, hinting that this special card may have something to do with how different and more dangerous the new set of games is.
Directed by Shinsuke Sato, Alice in Borderland returns with a new series of deadly games, but the main difference is the fact that Arisu and Usagi are on different teams as they try to survive. Alice in Borderland Season 3 premiered on Netflix on September 25, 2025.
Who Is The Joker In Alice In Borderland Season 3?
There were many cop out moments in Alice in Borderland Season 3 where it heavily teased that Joker is a person. For example, Ryuji Matsuyama's obsession with the afterlife led him to join a game that would bring new citizens into the Borderland, and many thought that he would become the Joker after winning the game (but it didn't end that way).
When Banda (a serial killer who became a resident in the Season 2 finale) appeared in front of Arisu to persuade him into returning to the Borderland, he placed a Joker card inside his pocket, leaving viewers to wonder if Banda ultimately became the Joker. However, the Joker's true identity was revealed in the finale during Arisu's final confrontation with the Man in the Hat.
After Banda was killed by the red laser beam while trying to shoot Arisu in cold blood (read more about who died and lived in Alice in Borderland here), the Man in the Hat appeared to confront Arisu and gave him a choice between life and death. Arisu asked if he was the Joker, but he gave an unexpected answer.
Alice in Borderland Season 3's finale, through the Man in the Hat, confirmed that the Joker is not a person. It is not even an entity that controls the Borderland, "nor an entity that oversees the games we play." Instead, it is simply a card that fills in the gaps between life and death, embodying a representation of that realm.
The Season 3 finale’s major revelation is wildly different from the original Alice in Borderland manga, where the Joker is depicted as a mysterious ferryman-like figure guiding souls to the Netherworld, rather than a symbolic card.
So is the Man in the Hat the real Joker? Although he has a similar role to the Joker of the manga, the Netflix series confirmed that he is not, and instead introduced him as the Watchman. He is simply there to watch the space between life and death, serving as the overseer at the gates of death.
What Does the Joker Card Mean In Alice In Borderland?
In a pivotal conversation between Arisu and the Man in the Hat, the Joker card’s significance was unveiled after Arisu’s final game, where the two cards he was tempted to choose are revealed to be both Jokers.
The Man in the Hat pointed out that every deck of cards has four suits of 13 cards each. When one adds up the value of each card, the answer will be 364 for the whole deck. Once one adds a Joker in the deck, the value becomes 365, matching days in a regular year. When adding a second Joker, it becomes 366, the same number of days in a leap year.
Based on his explanation, the two Joker cards are necessary, mainly due to the truth of "human time constructs." As explained above, the Joker symbolizes the gaps between life and death in the same way the Joker card fills in the gaps between the cards.
Given that the two cards Arisu was supposed to choose were both Joker cards, the Man in the Hat pointed out that it was "not entirely a coincidence," meaning that Arisu's fate lies within him, which led him to be given a choice.
The Man in the Hat offered him a choice between life and death. If he decides to choose life, it means that Arisu will return to the real world "filled with many trials to endure." Meanwhile, choosing to die means "accepting the way of the universe until you reach its natural end," and he will be sucked down to the vortex of death.
Arisu ended up choosing to live and be with Usagi and their new baby, even though the Man in the Hat had already given him a warning that something drastic would happen soon, which would cause the Borderland to be filled with countless souls trying to find their way between life and death.
