The Altered Carbon is a Netflix cyberpunk sci-fi series based upon the book of the same name by Richard Morgan. The seconds season has just been released and comparisons have started already. The first season was brilliant with incredibly realistic settings, stellar visual effects, and a mysterious main plot. Fans expected the same from the second and were not disappointed. In fact, this installment delivered much more than the previous, on some levels. Today we are going to share with you ten things this season has done way better than the first.
Not Much Violence
If you intend to just jump to the S2 of the Harlan’s world, you would not be able to tell a difference. But, if you have watched the first season beforehand, you would feel that it is missing its essence throughout the season.
This is because there is hardly any violence or extreme scenes. It is a good thing on its own as it opens the curtains of this brilliant series to a much wider audience.
Minimal Nudity
Nudity is dramatically toned down. While S1 had abundant full frontal nude scenes of lead actors as well as supporting ones, this one completely lacks that. It has hardly any of those scenes and they do not expose much. In fact, this season can easily be broadcasted on cable TV. Some fans speculated that Netflix feels it has established this world’s manners enough in S1, and that’s why it no longer has to rub that in our face anymore. But, the showrunner Alison said in an interview that this is so because S2 deals with a different story altogether.
Intimate Scenes
If you have watched the first season, you know what we are talking about. S1 needed no excuse at all, to feature intimate scenes every few minutes. More often than not, lead actors indulged themselves and every once a while, you could see random people making out. In comparison, the second season barely has any of this.
Whenever there are such scenes, they have been pretty delicately filmed. Not everything is out there and the acts are rather symbolic.
Women Objectification
The show’s first installment was hugely criticized by critics and fans for women objectification and misogynistic treatment. In their defense, the story had brothels, prostitutes, and crimes at its center. The whole story was weaved around ruthless violence and intimacy. So, the series had to be shot that way. On the other hand, the new one spirals around Kovacs and Quellcrist instead. So, it has been given a different treatment.
Shower Scenes
This one is a fresh change, but, disappointing for some. The books have a ton of graphic intimacy scenes, so, the showrunners felt it essential to transform them on-screen somehow. The shower scenes were a means to portray those types of scenes softly, without getting too R-rated.
Regardless, S1 had one too many shower scenes which felt a bit annoying and yet, that was definitely one of the USPs of the show. S2 barely has 2 or 3 of those.
Graphic Torture
S1 was filled with graphic scenes of torment in the Wei clinic and the military virtual chambers. This season has violence too but it is drastically toned down. S1 was basically a gumshoes story dealing with a murder mystery. The story not only had a murder at its core, but intimate crimes as major operatives. However, this season mostly deals with the main plot involving the stack, the Uprising, the government’s perspective, the military, and the vengeful Quellcrist.
More Humane And Warm Kovacs
Kovacs is no longer an anti-hero. He can not always be found mulling over things, rather, he seems a lot more emotive. This man is back for some game now. He is always in action, always expressing something or the other.
When push comes to shove, Mackie Kovacs does not hesitate to scold Poe or even fire him. He is much happier too, of course. He has been successful in his quest. The love of his life, Quellcrist is back with him.
Much More Diverse
S2 is a lot more diverse with people of various races coming together and building a world. Trepp, a main character from the books has been introduced. A black girl with a kid and a lady love, she is a bounty hunter and was the first one to catch Kovacs on the run. Our favorite punk hero Kovacs has been resleeved in a military spec that happens to be a black man. Even the marketplace is teeming with people from rich ethnicities. Different genders, sexualities, and races have been represented throughout.
Stereotype & Character Development
There aren’t many clichéd characters in S2. Even supporting roles have got chances for character development, unlike the previous season. Kovacs is still the lead protagonist in a new sleeve, but, this time his character offers a lot more shades and expressions. Poe is not a loyal sidekick all the time. He makes his own decisions, reaches out to other people and AIs. Trepp is a new addition from the books. She brings her own charm to the table. Everyone’s got things to offer and we could rarely spot any typecast.
The Cortical Stack Technology
S1 is built on the same premise too, and the setting is more or less the same with all the focus on Harlan’s World. The first season, however, was gravitating towards a whodunnit suspense (which to be honest, kept the fans on the edges of their seats). But, many fans were later found saying that the series should have explored the basic premise a bit more, since it’s a sci-fi series. The makers have done that this time. It delves a lot deeper into the plausibilities and consequences of building such a world.
