It’s a world where death is not the final truth anymore. If you are insanely rich, you can live for gazillion years or until the end of time, whichever is greater. It is made possible due to the invention of a special chip called a cortical stack plundered from alien technology.
This is the premise of the 2002 neo-noir sci-fi novel Altered Carbon turned Netflix series. But, like many other shows, this one strayed from the books too, sometimes too far and sometimes not far enough. This worked in the show’s favor because the show offers a distinctive perspective and tons of high drama. Today, we will share with you 10 moments where the first season of Altered Carbon strayed too far from its sources.
Reileen Is Not Kovacs’ Sister
The most shocking change the show’s creators made was turning Reileen into Kovacs’ sister. In the books, they do not have any biological relationship at all. They had lost contact but were never relatives.
Neither did they have any shared childhood traumas. This fact undermines the whole plot of season 1 of Netflix’s AC. Because the lead antagonist Reileen did everything she did to get his brother’s love and to keep him closer. She strived to earn as much money as she could so she could purchase Kovacs’ freedom.
Reileen Did Not Betray The Rebels
In the series, Reileen gains the trust of her brother Takeshi Kovacs and the rebel leader Quellcrist Falconer and eventually joins the elite army. She even shares their food while living with them in the woods. However, when she receives an offer of freedom and insane money in lieu of destroying the Envoys, she readily accepts and infects them with a chemical bomb. A chemical madness ensues and they kill each other. In the books, however, Reileen has no relation with the Envoys and she certainly did not betray them. Although, the chemical warfare did happen and Envoys died. Disturbed by this, Kovacs abandoned them.
Quellcrist Was Not The Love Of His Life
The series has Quellcrist as the focal point of Kovacs’ life throughout the entire season. In fact, the second season is also dedicated much towards the quest of her cortical stack so that he can resurrect her.
Even when she is not on the screens, we kept hearing her words of wisdom from the past. She is the second lead heroin after Ortega in season one. In the books, however, Quell is just a renowned writer Kovacs likes to quote. She doesn’t have a romantic relationship with him, nor did she invent the stack. She is not the legendary fighter either. She is an anti-protectorate rebel though. The love of Kovacs’ life is Sarah in the novels.
The Wei Clinic Torture
Kovacs was indeed tortured in the novels, but the details are much more gruesome in the books so much so that it is almost impossible to film them. Not that the series’ torture scene was not ruthless. It was.
Kovacs’ limbs are sawed, his body is stubbed with burning cigarettes, and aliens violate his sleeve killing him over and over again. In the novel, however, when he is brought into the virtual chambers, he is resleeved into a menstruating female body. His kidnappers torment and abuse him sexually. We’re okay with the series sparing us that trauma.
Bancroft Family
The Bancrofts have a strong presence in the series. Laurens has a very powerful scene depicting class differences where he plays God in front of the infected refugees. Miriam is given ample airtime too. Even their son Isaac was featured rather abundantly. But, in the novel, they are not featured as often. Isaac does not exist in the books and their daughter does not wear Miriam’s sleeve. Their children are mentioned once or twice in passing references.
Who Is Reileen?
In the novels Reileen’s surname is not the same as Kovacs’. Reileen Kawahara is not his sister in the books, she was his boss instead. He had worked under her shortly after he abandoned the Envoys. She is indeed a filthy rich meth and owns several shady facilities including Head In The Clouds. But, the books never say they are related in any way.
Kovacs’ Childhood Trauma
The series showed a frightened Reileen and a doting big brother Takeshi as two children bonding over their mutual hatred for their father. They love singing Pacman and care for each other after their father killed their mother. But, when their father started looking for Reileen in the house, Kovacs killed him out of fear.
First of all, in the books, Kovacs and Rei are not related. Kovacs’ father is a brute who drinks a lot and abuses his mother, bu, no one is killed in the family. His father abandons them after getting an upgraded sleeve.
Ghostwalker Mister Leung
Are you a believer? The enigmatic Ghostwalker brought a layer of mystery and charm to the series’ tense dark settings. But, what is amusing is that he was a new introduction to the series and that this character does not exist in the books. In the novel, Reileen’s shady sidekick is a woman who carries out her orders, but she turns to Kovacs’ side towards the end. She even betrays Reileen and helps him.
Ortega Angle
Ortega exists in the book and has a small role in contrast with the huge screen presence she has in the Netflix series. Her family or religion is not discussed in the books. She also doesn’t indulge in lustful relations with Kovacs, nor does he generously pay for her high-tech robotic arm. She doesn’t have a partner named Aboud who is dating her mom. Finally, she also does not participate in that glorious fight with Mister Leung.
The Real Quell Of The Books And The Real AI
Virginia Vidaura is the mentor who trained Kovacs. She taught him how to control his mind and survive through the tortures of the virtual chambers. In the show, her original role was morphed with original Quell’s role and we got the show Quellcrist. In the books, the AI hotel and its rooms are named after Jimmy Hendrix and his famous songs, but, since the estate didn’t issue the license for the name to the production team, they renamed it after Allen Edgar Poe.
