Altered Carbon Review Season 2 Episode 1

Article written by J. Y. Calcano

Altered Carbon Episode 2.1: Phantom lady
Written and Created by Laeta Kalogridis
Directed by Ciaran Donnelly

    

      Written and Created by Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island (2010)), the Netflix Original Series, Altered Carbon follows the adventures of reincarnator and rebel Takeshi Kovacs. In a multi-planet Protectorate where the human mind is downloaded into cybernetic “stacks” murder or death only exists when someone’s stack has been destroyed. Human bodies become nothing more than “sleeves” to be replaced at will. As can be imagined, immortality, brings forth all matter of social problems which the series explores through the deaths and incarnations of its characters.

Kovacs Re-sleeved into Anthony Mackie

    

 In the opening episode of Season two, Kovacs is recruited as a bodyguard for Axley, a powerful Methuselah, who sleeves him into the new main body for this season Anthony Mackie. Payment is the whereabouts of Quellcrist Falconer. Things quickly deteriorate. 

His employer is murdered even before Kovacs fully re-sleeves, which forces Kovacs rely on the A.I Poe (Chris Conner) and a return to the seedier side for accommodations. The world is Harlan’s World. Kovacs has come full circle to the home of the Uprising.

     Much like the 1^st Season, Altered Carbon weaves violence along with technology. It studies themes of life and soul through the unique circumstances of its characters. The scenery is dark and brooding and carries the viewer into dark landscapes much like Shutter Island did Leonardo DiCaprio. Dark gray hues dominate the episode, with the occasional splash of arterial red or neon to contrast the moodiness.

A.I. Poe

     Anthony Mackie is a known name to the audience given his role as Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the audience might have a difficult time transferring perceptions from the bright, heroic character Anthony played to the ethically challenged, killer that is required for Kovacs.

Certainly the clean cut of Mackie’s goatee and bearing contrasts with the rugged, dirty bitterness of Joel Kinnaman’s performance in Kovac’s previous incarnation. Mackie doesn’t seem invested. There is a disconnect between the deep emotions Kinnaman’s interpretation conveyed and the handsome blandness of Mackie’s expression.

    
     Perhaps the most telling factor of this season’s opener is that it doesn’t present anything really new. Kovacs has another murder mystery involving a Meth and still searching for his lost love. The world is the same ugly place it was from season one. As always, things are not as they seem with Axley’s death spanning further and farther than mere business rivalry.

     One important factor can’t be denied. The freshness of Altered Carbon’s fascinating premise is gone. In the absence of the macabre and the inhumanity of humanity, the series must now evolve new life via the strength of its script and cast. Only time will tell if season two lives to match the quality of the first. Certainly Mackie needs to up his game.

References

"Altered Carbon: Phantom Lady," Netflix. March 1, 2020. www.netflix.com

"Altered Carbon: Full Cast and Crew," IMDb.com Inc. March 1, 2010. www.imdb.com