The much-anticipated Altered Carbon Season 2 has dropped on Netflix. And it’s really good. Set 30 years after the events of Season 1, Takeshi Kovacs and Poe are back after searching 42 planets for Kovacs’ flame Quellcrist Falconer with little to show for their efforts. Kovacs is quickly pulled into a mystery involving “true death” of Meths on Harlan’s World.
Kovacs is provided a suped-up combat sleeve in the form of Anthony Mackie by a Meth who gets killed before Kovacs finishes downloading. Poe tags along with Kovacs by way of a portable transmitter. Poe has seen better days as he is plagued by glitches, more on that in a bit. As the two companions continue their investigation, they discover multiple mysteries merging into a connected web of deceit and death.
NOT A REPEAT OF SEASON 1
Altered Carbon’s Season 2 is not simply a repeat of its freshman outing. Mackie’s performance as Kovacs is the most consistent element connecting the two seasons. He channels the calm intensity that Joel Kinnaman delivered in Season 1. That’s where the similarities end. Altered Carbon’s second season has a completely different feel.
For one, it’s far less gory. Instead of people slipping on blood and brains while fighting, the violence is shrewder. There is still a ton of violence, but it’s more John Wick than Saw. There’s also far less gratuitous female nudity and objectification, which is a good thing.
Additionally, the story is more linear than Season One’s never-ending flashbacks. Relationships and consequences from Kovacs’ past continue to play out, but the majority of the story takes place in the present (year 2412, that is). Showrunner Alison Schapker delivers a consistent and interesting story across two seasons. Under Schapker’s skilled guidance, Altered Carbon continues the cyberpunk promise of a dystopic future that is both exciting and horrific.
CHARACTER-DRIVEN MAYHEM
Mackie is brilliant as the tortured Kovacs. He is a talented actor with an amazing range of emotion and he brings it in this installment. Mackie’s Kovacs is focused in the most extreme sense. Like Captain Ahab’s obsessive hunt for Moby Dick, Kovacs pushes the line and pushes away allies in his pursuit of finding Quellcrist.
The most evolved character this season is Chris Conner’s Poe. In fact, Poe is the glue that holds the many threaded plot together. He also serves as the heart and soul of the series. At times, Poe is more human than the actual humans. It’s ironic that as humans achieve what is essentially immortality, they start to lose their humanity.
Poe is also a tragic character as his glitches increase due to his reluctance to reboot to fix corrupted data in his programming. His reason is so human. Poe is afraid of losing the memories of his adventures with his human friend.
Poe is not alone in this soulful AI existence though. Poe entreats a purposeless archaeological AI named Dig 301, played by Dina Shihabi, to aid his quest to save Kovacs. The relationship that develops between the two AIs is a bright spot in contrast to the dark, dystopian backdrop.
A terrific addition to the main cast is Simone Missick (Misty Knight from Luke Cage). Her character Trepp is a bounty hunter, wife, mom, and part cyborg. She’s a complicated person but can be counted on to get the job done. The role is a perfect fit for Missick who is a master at playing powerful and complex characters.
The bad guys are mostly two-dimensional, but that’s how they’re written. They are a means to an end. The antagonists are performed well by the actors to their credit.
HAPPY ENDINGS
I don’t want to give too much away. The ending is definitely worth sticking around for. Let’s just say there are some important deaths.
As you know, no one is ever dead forever in Altered Carbon (except for “true death,” of course) and that includes Poe. He hangs on as long as possible to help Kovacs before rebooting. After more than three months of defragging, Poe pops back into existence. He’s not all there yet, but Annabel (formerly Dig 301) believes all of his memory will return in time. Annabel realizes that an enormous amount of data was backed up with Poe. That discovery hopefully foreshadows a third season.
If we do get a third season of Altered Carbon, it will be interesting to see which actor gets to play Kovacs next. Any suggestions?
