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comment by FirebrandRoaring
FirebrandRoaring  ·  2230 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What's everyone watching these days?

Seen Altered Carbon.

Halt and Catch Fire sounds neat.





blackbootz  ·  2227 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Thoughts on the former? I haven’t seen it and have heard interesting things.

FirebrandRoaring  ·  2227 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It's an interesting cybernoir story. The issues of body/person dissonance were explored and presented from multiple points of view, including the unsettling reality of it. Action is solid.

I feel like Joel Kinnaman finds himself quite well in the main character's place: brutish, straightforward warrior-turned-detective with occasional glimpses of deep-seated charisma. Support cast is mostly well-rounded, as well, though I wish I'd seen more of their facets.

The plot starts off with a big mystery, which made it very interesting to me, but I feel like it didn't pay off by the several reveals in a row. The answer is clear from the very beginning, but why this is the answer doesn't become apparent until the culmination of the last couple of episodes. There are multiple interlocking plots, most a direct effect of "sleeving" (the local term for switching one's mind into a new body).

The setting is one of those worlds that are unusual for the sake of them, and that's okay. It's not weird, but you don't feel like you know what it's all about. It's your planet, it's your species, but then things turn out unlike you expect. Sleeving is one such thing: the person you once knew is no longer in the body you knew them by, and someone else is now occupying it. Vice versa. Artificial-intelligence hotels might feel a bit off, but then you get to things the super-rich do, and you're shaking from unsettlement.

I'd recommend watching it if you're a sci-fi, cyberpunk or noir fan. It plays out well, and the ending does not subtract much from the flow of the series. It's still an interesting story set in a cool-looking world.