Sometimes a season of sci-fi television comes along that’s so unforgettable that you just have to go back and re-watch it. To many, that includes shows like Firefly, Severance, Black Mirror, Cowboy Bebop, Lost, Legion, and Fallout, among many others. But one Netflix Original can also be added to that list, and it desperately deserves more attention from fans. The show isn’t just sci-fi, it’s hardcore sci-fi, set in a cyberpunk world filled with the usual neon lighting, flying cars, robotics, and mind-boggling technology. But when that is combined with a story about what it means to be human, focusing on three-dimensional characters and containing great action, you get a perfect season of television. We’re talking about none other than Altered Carbon, and it’s your next binge-watch on Netflix.
The series is based on the trilogy of novels by Richard K Morgan and adapted by Laeta Kalogridis. The story follows Takeshi Kovacs, the only surviving soldier from an uprising against the aristocracy three hundred years ago, who is awoken from his “sleeve imprisonment” by a wealthy businessman to help him solve a murder. Who’s the victim? The wealthy businessman. The official synopsis reads:
“More than 300 years in the future, society has been transformed by new technology, leading to human bodies being interchangeable and death no longer being permanent. Takeshi Kovacs is the only surviving soldier of a group of elite interstellar warriors who were defeated in an uprising against the new world order. His mind was imprisoned for centuries until impossibly wealthy businessman Laurens Bancroft offers him the chance to live again. Kovacs will have to do something for Bancroft, though, if he wants to be resurrected. Bancroft’s request of Kovacs is to solve a murder — Bancroft’s.”
It’s a story that sounds completely bonkers, but the series handles it with surprising complexity and depth. Joel Kinnaman gives a tremendous performance as the re-sleeved Kovacs, alongside James Purefoy as Laurens Bancroft and Martha Higareda as Kristin Ortega. Season 1 was modestly received by critics, holding a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But audiences couldn’t get enough of the show, giving it a near-perfect 91% user rating. Even if hard sci-fi isn’t your jam, you’ll lose yourself in the murder-mystery/action-thriller that Altered Carbon places upon its Cyberpunk setting.
‘Altered Carbon’s Second Season Needs to Be Re-Sleeved
Finding a new series that completely engrosses you is one of the best feelings in the world. But, when that show completely falls off a cliff in its second season, it’s absolutely devastating. That’s the phenomenon that Altered Carbon fans unfortunately experienced. Season 1 was 10/10, no notes. But, when the show returned for its second season, something felt wrong. With Takeshi Kovacs having been re-sleeved at the end of Season 1, Anthony Mackie stepped into the role for Season 2, which took Kovacs to a different planet as he searched for Quellcrist Falconer (such a cool name!). The series had the blueprint from Season 1, and a lot of audience hype going into Season 2’s first episode.
But the first episode of Altered Carbon Season 2 completely missed the mark. The pacing was slowed drastically, the fight scenes felt like cheap imitations of what came before, and the series lost its unique edge. Audiences immediately noticed, as the RT audience score went from 91% for Season 1 to 37% for Season 2. If you’re going to watch Altered Carbon, and you definitely should, we recommend stopping after the first season.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
