Science Fiction

Altered Carbon – I Wake Up Screaming

  • Title: Altered Carbon – I Wake Up Screaming
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Altered Carbon - I Wake Up Screaming television review

The episode where Takeshi Kovacs (Anthony Mackie) fights himself (Will Yun Lee), literally. Breaking both law and taboo, Carrera (Torben Liebrecht) spins up an earlier version of Kovacs to hunt the missing Envoy and Quellcrist Falconer (Renée Elise Goldsberry). Using the sudden appearance of Quellcrist Falconer to stir up panic, Governor Loren (Lela Loren seizes more power and declares martial law, cementing her position against further threats from Carrera. In the race for power and the chance to prove which one is the season’s more villainous character, it remains a stalemate.

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Darth Vader #4

Darth Vader #4 comic reviewWhen last we left the Dark Lord of the Sith, Vader had returned to Naboo and was working with Sabé, former handmaiden to Padme Amidala, to discover how his wife died. Believing Vader responsible for the deaths of both Padme and Anakin, Sabé and the others laid a trap hoping to use a Sando aqua monster to remove all traces of Darth Vader from the galaxy. Things didn’t go exactly as planned.

After surviving the attack and killing the creature, Vader then took on the remaining forces (including some recognizable faces from his time on Naboo). They didn’t fair that much better as Vader just as quickly, and impressively, pushes onward on his journey to Padme’s tomb in search of answers of how his wife died and how his son ended up a moisture farmer on Tatooine.

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Altered Carbon – Shadow of a Doubt

  • Title: Altered Carbon – Shadow of a Doubt
  • wiki: link

Altered Carbon - Shadow of a Doubt television review

As Takeshi Kovacs (Anthony Mackie) and Quellcrist Falconer (Renée Elise Goldsberry) spend time together reconnecting, the Governor (Lela Loren) takes certain steps to hide her activities from Carrera (Torben Liebrecht), and Tanaseda Hideki (James Saito) is forced by the soldier into a difficult choice concerning his old friend and a debt he can never repay. Kovacs wants Quell, Carerra wants Kovacs, but it’s still unclear just what the Governor is ultimately after (other than continuing to solidify her legacy). “Shadow of a Doubt” confirms the targets of the still not yet fully aware Quellcrist Falconer as the founders of Harlan’s World (two more of whom are killed in the episode). As to who, and what, is lurking behind these attacks (and why her splintered mind isn’t aware of them) we only get tiny fragments of Hideki’s failing stack leaving Kovacs with more questions. The episode also features some strong scenes between Dig 301 (Dina Shihabi) and a despondent Poe (Chris Conner) reconsidering reboot after failing Kovacs yet again offering hope that the most human character of the series may not be finished just yet.

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Altered Carbon – Nightmare Alley

  • Title: Altered Carbon – Nightmare Alley
  • wiki: link

Altered Carbon - Nightmare Alley television review

With Takeshi Kovacs (Anthony Mackie) falling into the hands of his enemies, who still believe him to be the assassin they are after, “Nightmare Alley” provides the opportunity for the season’s torture episode. After identifying as Kovacs, our hero is sentenced to death in the Circle where warriors in sleeves of his closest friends are sent to kill him in the middle of an arena. Helping to tilt the odds against Kovacs, Carrera (Torben Liebrecht) pumps our protagonist full of drugs prior to sending him into battle. The structure of the episode allows for supporting characters from the show’s First Season to return as Ato Essandoh, Martha Higareda, and Dichen Lachman all return as the sleeves of killers out to win the big prize. Quellcrist Falconer (Renée Elise Goldsberry) is meant to be the fourth killer, but the real one shows up adding extra drama to the night’s proceedings.

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Darth Vader #3

Darth Vader #3 comic reviewLooking for answers concerning the fate of Padme Amidala, Darth Vader returns to Naboo with Sabé encountering a pair of familiar faces in Gregar Typho and Tonra and more painful memories.

As with the previous issues of the series, Darth Vader #3 presents several flashback scenes brought on by Vader’s retreading in the steps of Anakin Skywalker. The Dark Lord of the Sith grudgingly accepts the help of Typho and Tonra for answers, but gets more then he bargained with in an encounter with a Colo claw fish followed by betrayal in the dark oceans of the planet.

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