Altered Carbon

:

Season 2
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Feb 2, 2018
Season #: 2, 1
User Score
3.7

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 142 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 142
  2. Mixed: 30 out of 142
  3. Negative: 81 out of 142

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User Reviews

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  1. papadrew7
    Feb 27, 2020
    7
    I loved the first season and watched it twice but this season is just not as good. The new main character, anthony mackie, did well enough to keep me watching but I feel the previous actor did a better job. Where this season failed were side plots that I didn't care about. I don't care that your A.I. friend has issues with his programing. Just fix it and be done with it! The new bountyI loved the first season and watched it twice but this season is just not as good. The new main character, anthony mackie, did well enough to keep me watching but I feel the previous actor did a better job. Where this season failed were side plots that I didn't care about. I don't care that your A.I. friend has issues with his programing. Just fix it and be done with it! The new bounty hunter kovacs deals with I didn't like and I didn't buy that she was some great warrior either. The one who keeps me interested in the show is the mesmerizing Falconer. Amazing acting by Renee that steals the show. I mainly gave this a 7/10 because the story felt like it was going anywhere and the show didn't pay any attention to why the stacks robbed humans of their humanity like season 1 did. Also this season felt more like a PG-13 series while season 1 felt edgy and tastefully used violence to tell its story.… Expand
  2. Nthy
    Mar 1, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Amazing show. A philosopher once said, no man can step into the same river twice, for the second time it's not the same river and he's not the same man. Last season was a "noir detective story"-inspired mystery, and a Kovacs fresh off a long spell on ice, and he was sad to be brought back into a world he had fought so hard to stop. In the intervening time much has changed. Now we have a Kovacs who has a purpose of his own now and is driven, almost obsessed, with the idea that he might have a chance of finding her. This season is more akin to a James Bond story. Kovacs finds himself fighting to unravel the threads of a dangerous plot before those threads strangle him. Everything goes wrong for Kovacs right from the start and the result is a fast paced ride through a compelling story of ghosts, love, fear, ambition, retribution, crimes, history, and loss. As always the series reflects on what it even means to be human in a world where consciousness has been digitised. We can be transferred from sleeve to sleeve or beamed across the stars, but can we still retain what makes us who we are? Series 2 delves even deeper into the world, exploring things we only got the tiniest taste of in season 1. Each of the actors old and new does a fantastic job, and the writing is excellent. The only sin this tv show has committed so far is that it's too good for this world, and I can't shake the feeling that shortsighted corporate bean counters are going to pull the plug on it eventually.… Expand
  3. Victor2049
    Mar 4, 2020
    8
    Right off the bat the characters of season 2 are a lot more like-able than season 1. Anthony Mackie portrays Tak well enough and he’s a good addition. However, season 2 was a rollercoaster. The first episode was pretty great, but episodes 2,3, and 4 were very shaky and sometimes very average. The second half of the season is where it all picks up and the finale is fantastic. If there’s oneRight off the bat the characters of season 2 are a lot more like-able than season 1. Anthony Mackie portrays Tak well enough and he’s a good addition. However, season 2 was a rollercoaster. The first episode was pretty great, but episodes 2,3, and 4 were very shaky and sometimes very average. The second half of the season is where it all picks up and the finale is fantastic. If there’s one thing this show is consistently good with is finales. On the other hand, season 2 feels a lot less grand and deep than season 1. So many intriguing ideas are given in this season but aren’t explored much or at all it feels very superficial and shallow at times. The sets feel less grand/ cyberpunk-y (but that may be a purposeful choice to fit the narrative of desperation). Overall, the first season was stronger than season 2 but not by much. I’d give Season 1 (8/10) and Season 2 (7.5/10).… Expand
  4. kingkay
    Feb 29, 2020
    8
    I do like Anthony Mackie as an actor and I think he did a good Kovacs. He made Kovacs more empathetic, which was a necessary improvement in my opinion, which I appreciate. Speaking of empathy: Poe was my highlight of the season. What a guy. Overall I felt like the season improved on what was already good and fixed what might fell a little flat like the visuals. No need for a few scenes ofI do like Anthony Mackie as an actor and I think he did a good Kovacs. He made Kovacs more empathetic, which was a necessary improvement in my opinion, which I appreciate. Speaking of empathy: Poe was my highlight of the season. What a guy. Overall I felt like the season improved on what was already good and fixed what might fell a little flat like the visuals. No need for a few scenes of big CGI Cities which swallow the budget and already look outdated like in the first season. Instead the overall visual quality improved. The image is sharp and the camera work, while at first a little jumpy improved a lot, which made the whole series look more cinematic. And while the sets were sized down their overall quality have been improved, which made them more realistic, which helped with the atmosphere in return.
    The story was less of a space Noir and while the overall pacing is different it is still good - just in a different way. Some character fates seamed too inconsequential in the end but over it felt like a less gritty but more polished season of altered carbon.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Most Discussed TV Season of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Salon
    Reviewed by: Melanie McFarland
    Feb 28, 2020
    60
    Missick's addition to the cast changes up the chemistry in good ways, mostly owing to the actor's winning persona and its great fit with Mackie's Kovacs. ... The story itself its somewhat downgraded from a provocative examination of the role mortality plays in defining our humanity to a soap opera with a whole lot of gratuitous punching, kicking, and bleeding – much of it occurring in the premiere.
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  2. IndieWire
    Reviewed by: Ben Travers
    Feb 27, 2020
    67
    The distinct episodes help keep viewers invested when “Altered Carbon” goes too heavy on diegetic mumbo jumbo or changes its own rules to set up silly twists.
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  3. Consequence
    Reviewed by: Clint Worthington
    Feb 27, 2020
    67
    The philosophical underpinnings of a show about revenge, redemption, and the little tragedies that come from solving mortality, often give way to schlocky action and slick neon-soaked production design. But under Schapker’s direction, and a new cast comprised chiefly of extremely charismatic actors of color, Altered Carbon may have just found a way to cheat its own death.
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