Being a fan of Altered Carbon season one, I had to see what the next season of adventures had to offer. To add to the excitement, Anthony Mackie is the lead character and the one-man wrecking crew known as Takeshi Kovacs. In case you are new to Altered Carbon, it is a place 300 years into the future where society is transformed by new technology: consciousness called “stacks” can be digitized; human bodies called “sleeves” are interchangeable; and death is no longer permanent.

Black Panther 2.0

Like Black Panther, the black women in the series kick the most butt! Especially QuellCrist Falconer played by Renee Elise Goldsberry. She goes into complete berzerker mode through the whole series destroying everything that gets in her way. During the series, I could see this version of QuellCrist was not only souped-up with the ability to erase “stacks”, she is also able to overpower almost any opponent, even the enhanced Kovacs…but does she??

Another badass is played by Simone Missick, she’s a bounty hunter named Trepp with the ability to track down her reward and take out multiple enemies. After watching her in this series and on Netflix’s Marvel shows, I am beginning to think that Simone Missick is truly a badass in real life and could really mess someone up. 

Technology and Socioeconomic Status

The “Sleeves” provide a sense of immortality, but this season people are actually threatened with mortality. As we watch QuellCrist hunt down her targets during the series, we also see her destroy the stack that withholds the consciousness of the person doing the killing with no possibility of resurrection. This puts fear in the hearts of the wealthy who feel untouchable and immortal.

Like season one, the more money you have, the better of a body in which you can house your consciousness. One would assume that the ability to change bodies would decrease discrimination, but it doesn’t and those who lack finances suffer most. Interesting how much more diverse this version of the future looks, and how women seem to be the most powerful in combat and in government.

Anthony Mackie Assemble!

 At the end of Avengers: Endgame, *SPOILER ALERT* we saw the Avengers make their exit from MCU action. Tony Stark died and Cap finally aged, passing on his mantle to Sam Makie’s Falcon. There has been some talk about how he will take on the role moving forward, beginning with the Falcon and Winter Soldier series. They should have the Falcon character souped-up like Kovac’s character. He is equipped with a new body that includes enhanced healing, superhuman strength, bio tracking, personalized weapons augment, and much more. Did I mention he can summon his guns with his hands like Thor summons his hammer? His abilities are like Captain America, Iron Man, and other Avengers combined. If only he could have these upgrades in the MCU, I’d be a happy guy. 

 The Kovacs character has his virtual assistant from season one, Poe, which is akin to Iron Man’s assistant J.A.R.V.I.S. Poe provides Kovacs with information and data from the web. The best part of this character is its struggle with glitches and how it’s faced with the decision to reboot, risking the possibility of losing all of its memories. There’s so much humility in this machine, I’ve genuinely grown to appreciate the virtual sidekick. 

 I love the season two cast with Mackie and Missick, but I don’t think it’s worthy of binge-watching status. If you are a Marvel fan or a Blade Runner fan, you will enjoy season two of Altered Carbon, otherwise you may find yourself less invested. 

 Altered Carbon Season Two stars Anthony Mackie, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lela Loren, Simone Missick, Chris Conner, Dina Shihabi, and Torben Liebrecht. Will Yun Lee and James Saito guest star.

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