Altered Carbon Review Season 2 Episode 6

Article Written by J. Y. Calcano

Altered Carbon Episode 2.6: Bury Me Dead

Written by Adam Lash & Cori Uchida

Directed by Jeremy Webb

Synopsis: As Quell reconnects to her past at Stronghold, she leads the clone into an underground chamber teeming with secrets. Gov. Harlan shows her true colors.

Quell finds herself.

     An episode of secrets revealed, almost enough of them to make up for the overall lack of external tech visuals that made Season One such a Sci-fi fest. It probably comes as no surprise that Reileen Kawahara (Dichen Lachman) kept Quell (Renée Elise Goldsberry) in cryostasis for 300 hundred years, waking her once or twice just to stoke her misdirected hatred with petty barbs.

     

 Reileen gloating.

     This installment is full of dramatic tension. Clone Kovacs (Will Yun Lee) witnesses the betrayal, malice, and insanity of his sister. Seeing the depths of her cruelty cuts him to the quick. Danica Harlan (Lela Loren) and Carrera are thrown together. The malice between the two is so thick it pulsates out of the screen.

Kudos to the tech that knows how to keep his head down.  

     Kemp (Matt Ellis), the current leader of the Uprising, saves Trepp (Simone Missick) and Kovacs (Anthony Mackie) from the Wedge. In a complete twist, Trepp’s quest to find her brother comes to a sad end when she notices his broken stack hanging around Kemp’s neck like a trophy. That revelation leads to the season’s best surprise. Kemp is exposed as Danica’s puppet. She created a fake rebellion to lure would be traitors, consolidate her power, and keep the Protectorate at bay. 

     

 "This bitch is not going anywhere." - Danica Harlan

     The surprise at discovering Danica has been playing the long game is electric and a great story choice for the production team. It adds a layer of sophistication that finally elevates Danica beyond the lukewarm role of the early episodes. Everyone has been playing on her web. She is the master manipulator behind critical plots within the season. She is someone to be feared not only because of her army, but her mind.

     Just to add insult to injury, at the very end of the episode, the action rises to another level when Quell, somehow, connects to the alien satellite network and rains Angelfire down on Danica’s troops.

     This thrilling episode has it all: great drama, the closing of plot lines, the revelation of adversaries, a solid bump of the stakes, and action to spare.\

References

"Altered Carbon: Bury Me Dead." Netflix. March 1, 2020. www.netflix.com

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