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Five Thoughts On Altered Carbon‘s “The Killers”

By | August 4th, 2021
Posted in Television | % Comments

Welcome back to Multiversity’s 2021 Summer Binge of Altered Carbon! We’ve made it all the way to the end of season one and get to see how Takeshi Kovacs will escape his sister Reileen Kawahara’s ship in one piece. He has admission of guilt for her hand in Bancroft’s death but now he just needs to find a way to get off the ship and spread the word. So let’s just jump right into it in episode ten, “The Killers!”

1. Rei Goes Off The Deep End
Reileen has given glimpses into what she’s willing to do if Kovacs wouldn’t listen to her. In this episode, we get to see the power of it. She is fascinated with torturing Kovacs by kidnapping his friends and waiting to force him to kill them so that they can bond. Rei wants nothing more than to have her brother back, but because he’s been so against everything she’s done, she can no longer tolerate it. It’s not heart-breaking because we know how ruthless she can get, but the audience can understand to a certain extent how she became this way.

There’s a moment where Kovacs tries to bring back the little sister he remembers by bringing up their mom because of the necklace she wears. However, Rei destroys that idea by saying how weak their mom was and how it’s a reminder of what never to be. Being alone for so many years with the sole purpose of getting her brother back has forced her to become more isolated and insane with power. In her mind, she doesn’t see herself as a meth but as a true god. All her actions and destruction have no repercussion because they’re all justified.

2. Lizzie’s Revenge
Poe was one of the victims of Rei’s revenge, and in his final moments, he transferred Lizzie Elliot out of the virtual construct and back into the real world. She was hellbent on destroying anyone in her way during her training and kept that same mentality once she reaches the real world. Lizzie gets sent to Rei’s ship and takes control of a changeable sleeve, and starts to kill anyone that gets in her way, the first being a group of guards escorting her parents. This was the beginning of the action sequence when everyone starts to fight, but it’s pretty badass to see her training not go to waste.

Vernon Elliot’s face upon seeing his daughter back in the real world is both shock and happiness, but he quickly pushes it to the side to give her an opening to attack. Ava Elliot is more on the shock side, especially after being upset about her training. But her feeling of joy seeing her daughter back is something she can live with. It’s a small reunion moment for all three but coupled with some incredible fight sequences, so everyone at home is happy too.

3. Kovacs’s Tough Decisions
Despite everything his psychotic sister has done, Kovacs is pressed to pull the trigger against her. Rei tells him that she won’t go on ice, and if he doesn’t shoot her, she will never stop doing what she has been doing for years. It’s tough for Kovacs, but he knows he has no choice in the matter. Ultimately she deserves it.

In the aftermath, the audience sees both of them as children as he holds her dead body in his lap. It reminds the viewers that this is what he saw when he looked at her in Kovacs’s heart. He had tried since being reunited to find this little girl that he grew up with only to realize that she was long gone and a cynical woman had killed her many years ago.

One hard decision is followed by another when his double-sleeve, who had gone with Miriam Bancroft, was discovered, and he had to have a virtual conversation on which stack would be able to live. It was a bit comical because a game of rock, paper, scissors decided it, but they both had a tear running down their faces knowing that one would be facing real death. It’s another strong example of the growth Kovacs has made emotionally throughout the show.

Continued below

4. The Truth About Bancroft(s)
Using the footage of Rei’s admission to what happened to Bancroft, Ortega went to his home and made a formal arrest in front of his friends and family. The disgusting thing about Bancroft’s response is that he didn’t flinch about real-deathing a woman but denied that he would ever kill himself. He thought because he killed the clone who did it, he’d be pardoned, but Kovacs was quick to remind him that it’s the act, not the person, that brings the charges.

Laurens wasn’t the only Bancroft getting arrested in the finale. Miriam not only had a hand in drugging Laurens the night he killed that woman, but she had previously beaten up Lizzie after finding out she was pregnant. She tried to deny it, but the lawyer who was previously blamed for Bancroft’s death came in to admit her part in covering it up. Bancroft had already destroyed the lawyer’s reputation and livelihood, so accepting her role and charging Miriam’s rightful blame were just bonus points for her. It just goes to show that the rich continue to believe that the evil things they do will never have any real repercussions.

5. The Aftermath and Predictions for Season Two
With nearly all the characters storylines sealed up, what could be left for season two of Altered Carbon? In Rei’s final moments, she tried to bribe Kovacs by telling him that she had cloned Quellcrist Falconer, the woman Kovacs loved during his time as an Envoy. Now he must try to find where Rei hid her.

The final scenes also show Kovacs back in Poe’s hotel, but with him destroyed. It’s a question of whether he’ll be able to come back or if he’s gone. Without a computer resource, Kovacs may have to find a new person in his little crew. Although it is brief, Ortega and Kovacs talk about the pardon for Ryker (her old partner and boyfriend) and what that could mean since Kovacs had been in that sleeve the entire time.  (Spoiler: Anthony Mackie takes over, so Joel Kinnaman doesn’t become a side character.)

It’s been a fun crazy ride this first season, so I can’t wait to see what case takes over Kovacs life next season and if he’ll find Quellcrist.


//TAGS | 2021 Summer TV Binge | altered carbon

Alexander Manzo

Alexander is born and raised in the Bay Area. When not reviewing comics for Multiversity he's usually writing his own review for his Instagram @comicsandbeerreport. He's also a sports fan so feel free to hit him up on twitter with any and all sports takes @a_manzo510.

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