Ask a room full of Alice in Borderland fans which character they are most eager to revisit in season 3, and the loudest answers will probably be Arisu and Usagi. That makes sense. Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya are confirmed to return, and the Netflix adaptation has always leaned on their survival-story chemistry. Yet the figure with the most tantalizing unfinished business is Chishiya. As 2026 unfolds, with season 3 still one of the streamer’s most closely watched mysteries, Chishiya is the supporting player who could quietly become the main event.

Here is the uncomfortable truth about Alice in Borderland: the games work because the supporting cast is strong enough to carry entire episodes without Arisu in the room. Chishiya is the best example. He is clever, dry, and morally slippery, the kind of character who can make a betrayal feel like a math problem. The live-action show changed plenty from the manga, including personalities and which games certain characters played, but it nailed Chishiya’s appeal. He is not a hero in the traditional sense. He is a survivalist with a locked room where a conscience should be—until season 2 pried the door open. Chishiya’s conscience is like a smoke detector with a dying battery: technically present, easy to ignore, and impossible to miss once something is already burning.

The Choice That Left a Door Open

The season 2 finale gave Chishiya one of the show’s most important decisions. The Borderland is a state between life and death following a catastrophic accident in Tokyo. Beating the games means surviving in the real world; accepting the invitation to stay means dying in reality and becoming a citizen of the Borderland. Chishiya, despite his nonchalant approach to life and his long-lost faith in humanity, declined to stay. He returned to the real world without his memories. That detail is crucial. He does not remember the games, the betrayals, or the people he met, but he can feel that something is different. He is no longer the same person he was before.

That is the hook for season 3. Arisu and Usagi’s return is the emotional anchor, but Chishiya’s return—if it happens—would be the show’s most interesting character experiment. A memory wipe is not a reset button. It is more like waking up in a hotel room where someone else packed a suitcase: the shapes are familiar, but the choices feel foreign.

The Beauty Contest Changed Everything

Chishiya is arguably the character who changes the most across Alice in Borderland, and the King of Diamonds’ Beauty Contest is the reason. During most of the series, Chishiya thinks only about himself and does what is necessary to survive, including betraying Arisu and Usagi in season 1. Season 2 separates him from the Beach survivors and gives him two major games. The Jack of Hearts’ Solitary Confinement is perhaps the coolest to watch, but the King of Diamonds’ Beauty Contest is the one that truly affects him.

Against Keiichi Kuzuryu, Chishiya opens up as they argue about the value of life. Viewers learn that Chishiya was a doctor in the real world before the events of the show. His career was cut short after he participated in a scheme in which rich patients received the transplants they needed after bribing the hospital. Chishiya refused to participate at first, but eventually gave up fighting and became part of the scheme. That is why he stopped caring about people and life itself. The Beauty Contest plays out like a chess match conducted in a hall of mirrors: every move reflects the opponent’s philosophy back at him. Kuzuryu is similar to Chishiya and even more cynical, and the game becomes a personal battle between two people with similar backgrounds. Kuzuryu seems to be looking for someone who can prove him wrong. Chishiya is smart enough to learn the right lessons from one of the show’s most twisted games. By the end, he is open to reconsidering his life choices.

A New Chishiya for a New Season

The frustrating part is how little time viewers get with the new Chishiya. He is shot by Niragi and barely participates in the final episode, which means the show teased a transformation and then pulled the curtain down. That is exactly why season 3 has such a compelling opportunity. A less cynical and more hopeful Chishiya is hard to imagine, but that is the point. His old self is like a photograph developed in the wrong chemicals: recognizable in outline, but the colors are off. Season 3 could show what happens when that photograph is developed again.

A few directions seem especially promising:

• 🎲 Memory echoes: Chishiya may not recall the Borderland, but emotional residue could make him hesitate before old habits return.

• 🎭 A test of hope: A smarter, softer Chishiya is still sharp enough to see the worst in people. The question is whether he acts on it.

• 🏥 The doctor’s past: His hospital backstory gives the real world its own moral minefield, no cards required.

• 🃏 The Joker card: The finale’s Joker card remains the biggest open door, and Chishiya is the kind of character who would notice a game still in progress.

Alice in Borderland has yet to confirm which supporting characters will return in season 3. That uncertainty is part of the suspense. Arisu and Usagi may be the protagonists, but the show would not be as good without its supporting players, and Chishiya is the one who left the most intriguing loose ends. Season 3 could reinvent him, take him in unexpected directions, or simply let him exist as a quieter, more human version of the strategist fans loved. Any of those outcomes would be worth watching. That is why, in 2026, Chishiya remains the character to watch.