New, not so great world – review of the second season of “Altered Carbon”

Like a large crowd of people around the world, I also got on the hype train that started on the occasion of media reports about the new CD Projekt RED production. The slogan cyberpunk was circulating in my head until it finally brought my eyes to the first season of Altered Carbon . The climate was a little different, but the setting was right. So what more could you want? Without thinking for a long time, I started watching the series and I must admit that it made quite an impression on me. By the way, I refreshed the Android Hunter , both the old and the newer, which allowed me to take root even more in the subject of cyberpunk . Hype trainit was moving at full speed, which was of course influenced by the high quality of the Altered Carbon , which turned out to be what I needed. The dirty world, saturated with corruption, far from the noble assumptions that guided the building of the new reality, drew me completely. A great, extensive plot went hand in hand with an adequate acting, especially in the case of the main role. Joel Hinnaman did great as the somewhat cynical Last Emissary. He suited the task better than the real Takeshi Kovac impersonator. There was also no bad word for the rest of the cast. The problem was elsewhere, however, as the show lost some quality in the second half of the first season. Either way, as a whole it fared well. But how will it be with its continuation?

welcome home

Despite the passage of years, Takeshi Kovacs still struggles with his demons, who stubbornly refuse to leave him, and he himself does not quite want to part with them. Good morning, the Last Emissary is once again drawn into the Mata game. One of them hires Kovacs for protection, but the state does not last long. Takeshi gives bodies, Mat and his associates fall dead, and the main character becomes entangled in a complicated plot that reaches the height of his power. Along the way, however, it turns out that the past is beginning to catch up with our hero. I cannot say that the plot is trivial, after all, over the course of these few episodes, there were some interesting twists and events, but the scheme is almost identical to the previous season. So we have an elite, a plot, and at some point, in all this mess People very closely related to Kovacs play a key role. We’ve seen it somewhere before, right? Yes, last season.

These are just coatings

You can feel a breath of fresh air in the cast. Several new, interesting characters appear, while Takeshi Kovacs himself is played by a completely different actor. Joel Kinnaman has been replaced by Anthony Mackie, who unfortunately doesn’t handle the character as well as his predecessor. The Last Envoy was a “wisdom,” but he had a certain amount of charisma, which prevented him from being a purr. In the second season, the main character lacks a kind of “claw”, which makes him a bit average. The situation is saved by other characters, especially Kovacs’ computer helper, Poe (Chris Conner), who turns out to be much more human than it might seem. Torben Liebricht, who plays the role of Colonel Carrera aka Jaeger, and Simone Missick, the bounty hunter, Trepp, also deserve praise.

Cyber ​​or punk?

The world in the second season of Altered Carbon is not characterized by the same depth as in the previous edition. Watching the following episodes, I had an overwhelming impression that it was somehow artificial, like a cardboard model. I can’t tell where it feels from, but it looks like the producers don’t have much idea for the set. It lacks the atmosphere and a bit of that darkness that the first season had in it. The sound design is also not amazing and can be considered average. In this respect, there is nothing that seems to be anything but thrilling.

Summary

The second season of the Altered Carbon series is unfortunately not as good as the previous one. The series loses its atmosphere, the story is painfully repetitive, and the new actor of the main role is unable to live up to the class presented by Joel Kinnaman. It’s even hard to say whether this production can be clearly called cyberpunk , because in my opinion it is much closer to ordinary science fiction . Even aliens appeared.