Why Altered Carbon Season 2 Is Good

The action develops in the world of the future, where people have learned to transfer consciousness into electronic stacks and use bodies only as shells. In the first season, former military man Takeshi Kovacs woke up 250 years after the death of his body. He was given a new shell, and the mercenary began to investigate the murder of a maf - a rich long-liver who can clone his own body. As it turned out, the crimes are related to the past of Kovacs himself.

In the finale of the first season, the protagonist returned the shell to its first owner. Therefore, in the continuation of the series for the role of Kovacs, instead of Yuel Kinnaman, they took Anthony Mackie, known as the Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The choice of the actor was very successful. In general, fans of the series will surely like the new season. True, from a certain moment the story changes its tone too much.

Boulevard detective in a cyberpunk atmosphere

In the new season, the maf from the planet Harlan wants to hire Kovacs as a bodyguard. In return, the hero is promised a new body with many genetic improvements (this is exactly what Macs are) and information about his beloved Callchrist Falconer, who has long been considered dead.

But waking up, Kovacs sees that his employer is dead. Now the hero needs to find the killer in order to get on the trail of Kellchrist. It turns out that everything that happens is connected with his past and with a global conspiracy.

Altered Carbon can hardly be considered a full-fledged cyberpunk. Explicitly using the themes and techniques of the genre, the series, like the original books, is close to the classic tabloid detectives. No wonder the plot is centered on a cool hero who works with his fists no worse (and sometimes better) than his head, and deals with the "bad guys" with might and main. And of course, it is not complete without love, alcohol and pretentious conversations.

Sometimes it seems that Anthony Mackie deliberately plays a little exaggerated. All the necessary clichés like “I work alone” or “You don’t understand who you contacted” sound from the screen every minute.

Altered Carbon Season 2: Anthony Maki as Takeshi Kovacs

And the charismatic villain Ivan Carrera, played by the not-so-famous German actor Torben Liebrecht, constantly talks about the difference between a dog and a wolf. His quotes will surely spread throughout all sorts of "kid" communities.

But in fact, all this is presented with self-irony and fits perfectly into the images of the heroes, so I absolutely do not want to find fault with the cliché.

Action, brutality and genre change

The sequel to "Altered Carbon" is built on the classic principle of sequels: the authors took all the best and brightest from the first season and tried to double it.

Altered Carbon Season 2: Takeshi Kovacs & Po

First of all, we worked on the pace. The series was shortened by two episodes for a reason. The action develops briskly from the first episode. Added action-scenes, which were sometimes lacking in the first season. They are staged very cool, and Maki again fits perfectly, recalling his superhero roles.

Shootouts and fights with melee weapons replace each other. Sometimes, however, it looks like a completely unrealistic choreography. For example, when Carrera's team is tossed with one pistol.

But finding fault with the believability of such a fantastic plot hardly makes sense. Looks nice.

Grotesque blood is also added to the action, either cutting people in half, or turning the court into a duel of gladiators. And again, everything is logical, the rules of the world allow this, because people are not so careful with temporary bodies. But they are very worried when the stacks are destroyed. And the creators of the series successfully play in this contrast.

The dynamic plot almost does not sag. It's just that sometimes the action turns into drama. Perhaps, somewhere they go too far with the emotions and self-digging of the heroes, and the philosophical reasoning (there are also more of them) is not too original.

But almost always too pretentious and slow moments are diluted with some interesting twist or at least a beautiful scene. There are even musical numbers in the series, and they were shot very cool. Therefore, you will not have to be bored.

In general, the first half of the new season looks like just a perfect continuation of the story. But further events can be confusing.

Gradually, more global lines appear in the plot, almost reminiscent of James Cameron's "Avatar". This is not to say that it completely changes the atmosphere of the series. Still, a rather simple detective thriller, albeit in a fantastic atmosphere, was beautiful in its own way. And large-scale plans on the verge of philosophy translate history into a slightly different genre.

And yet, intrigue and an excellent combination of crime, personal revenge and political thriller remain at the center. All this will keep in suspense until the very end.

New bright characters

Interesting newcomers appear literally one after another. In addition to the already mentioned Ivan Carrera, the planet where the action takes place is represented by a very bright ruler Danica Harlan (Lela Loren). As with many other characters, in her case it is difficult to know which side she is on.

Altered Carbon Season 2: Lela Lauren as Danica Harlan

And in the Kovacs team, two cool girls appear at once. First, the bounty hunter Trepp (Simon Missick from Luke Cage). She becomes a kind of replacement for Ortega from the first season, only the relationship of the characters is even more complicated.

Second, Callchrist Falconer (René Goldsberry). Previously, she figured only in the memories of Kovacs, but now a lot of intrigues and doubts are tied around her. Indeed, in the world of "Altered Carbon", someone completely different may be hiding behind a familiar appearance.

From old acquaintances, the artificial intelligence of Poe (Chris Conner) pleases. His role this season was made even more important, and indeed he turned out to be the most touching character. Kovacs is constantly at war with his own past, but Poe is trying with all his might to preserve at least the memories of a loved one.

In general, the topic of replaceable bodies and immersion in virtual reality is used to its fullest.

It turns out a new level of detective, when it is not enough to track down a person. It is also necessary to understand what kind of personality is hidden in the shell.

And death itself is treated differently here. In the new season, they worked even better on the significant difference between the death of the body and the fact that a person really disappeared forever.

And the rules of this world allow you to return your favorite actors from the first season in new or already familiar images at least for a short while.

The second season of Altered Carbon fulfills its main purpose: it preserves and even somehow improves the atmosphere of the series. It will delight fans with both the visual component and the plot.

Perhaps at some point it will seem that the action has gone into too global problems. But a very personal ending will save the day and keep fans waiting for a sequel.