The world of Netflix’s Altered Carbon is bloody, grim and joyless. This is a world in which the average human lifespan is directly connected to how much you’re worth. Or perhaps it’s limited by the depths of your own depravity.
The Sleeve I’m In
In this world, the human consciousness has been formatted to a “stack”. A digital hard drive that stores a persons’ memory, personality, and intellect. This essence of being is saved on a small disk that’s inserted into the base of the neck of every human. The Human body is even more utilitarian, almost disposable. If it’s destroyed the conscious can simply be downloaded into a new shell or “Sleeve”. Death has lost meaning to anyone as victims can be “resleeved” in order to testify against the perpetrators. Mortality is anything but final for all save for the most religious.
Digital Pulp
Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinneman in the present, Byron Mann in flashbacks) is a mercenary, a criminal, and a veteran of the uprising against the Protectorate. His stack is brought back after spending 250 years on storage. However, this is not due to any sort of kindness on the behalf of his new employer.
Laurens Bancroft ( James Purefoy) is rich, powerful, and has zero respect for the value of humanity. An arrogant man with a severe God complex, he has used his immense wealth to live for over 300 years. While most people can afford to get resleeved at the end of their lives, they are unable to update their bodies and most go through the full aging process each time. In stark contrast to this, he and his wife have infinite sets of synthetic sleeves and constantly regenerate every 48 hours. People such as these are referred to as “Meths” by the general populace as a reference to the Biblical figure Methuselah.
He has brought Takeshi back from his sentence in storage to solve a murder. Bancroft’s own. The police believe that Laurens committed suicide, but he his convinced that he was murdered. The only other person who seems to share this belief is his wife, Miriam ( Kristin Lehman). Determined to prove he’s right, he’s made Kovacs an offer he can’t refuse. Take the case, find out the who and why, or go back on storage permanently.
Well, Fuck Them. Make It Personal.
Kovacs however, is not the sort to be bullied. He refuses and decides to spend his limited freedom however he can. This world is foreign to him and he’s more aware of it than even most would be. Despite his immediate disdain for Bancroft, events transpire than convince him to take on this investigation.
Protect and Serve…and Judge
Kristin Ortega (Martha Higareda) is the officer tasked with investigating the “suicide” of the Meth. She remains convinced of the official verdict and is resentful by Bancroft’s decision to employ his own investigator. More than just that she shows an unguarded disdain for Laurens and his kind. However, she seems to be obsessed with monitoring the scenario as it unfolds. Going so far as to place an unauthorized tracker on Kovacs.
Structure Or Filler?
This first two episodes of this version of what our dystopian future may hold are full of exposition that helps establish the world the characters inhabit. We spend much of the nearly two hours listening to the views of the major players. This can be a bit weighty to weed through, but the universe here is dense and complex. That said, we do spend more time hearing about their values and opinions instead of learning about their characters or potentially driving the story forward.
A better approach here may have been to set them up and then spend portions of the following episodes delving into why they feel that way.
A World Only Rick Deckard Could Love
In reading several other discussions of this adaptation, I’ve seen many mentions of the similarities between Blade Runner and the world Netflix has created here. However, the connections reach deeper than just that. There are references to several of Dick’s works including Paycheck (1953), We Can Remember It For You Wholesale (1966), and A Scanner Darkly (1977).
Altered Carbon
There are a number of seemingly minor changes that are evident even through these first two episodes. Two of the most major of which involve a significant relationship in the overarching story.
The other is the alteration of Kovacs training in the Envoys. In the books, they are an elite government force that focuses less on physical prowess than forging the mental mettle of its members.
Also of note is that the supporting cast receives more of a boost, background characters are fleshed out and even new ones created. Time will tell how these changes will impact the overall story, but they’re significant enough to note.
“Take What Is Offered And That Must Sometimes Be Enough”
Despite the pacing and exposition issues, I found myself hooked and wanting to continue with the series. Part of my issues lay with the changes made from the source material. However, these will only be a problem if you’ve read the book. Otherwise, I think you’ll find a solid beginning to an intriguing if a very bleak piece of cyberpunk that cribs from some landmark sources while building a world uniquely its own.
