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. Jagen
    Sep 28, 2022
    5
    A real disappointment after the previous generally good season. I liked the change of cast to fit the transhuman theme, but poor writing really let the season down.
  2. Br3ntKH
    May 10, 2022
    1
    With very few interesting SciFi shows, season one was a breath of fresh air to the space. Season two was super disappointing with no character development and a forced storyline. I would skip it.
  3. notings
    Aug 27, 2020
    0
    Popłuczyny po sezonie 1 Słaba gra aktorska brak interesującej fabuły. Pytam się jak można było zepsuć tak dobry serial ?
  4. dc127
    Aug 15, 2020
    3
    I read the Altered Carbon novel and thought it was decent but not amazing. I had the same thoughts for Season 1 of the show. I thought it was a worthwhile adaptation and a decent show to binge. I started Season 2 since with Covid running rampant I have a lot of down time. It isn't good. In fact is just bad. The writing is terrible and the acting is atrocious. Anthony Mackie is wooden asI read the Altered Carbon novel and thought it was decent but not amazing. I had the same thoughts for Season 1 of the show. I thought it was a worthwhile adaptation and a decent show to binge. I started Season 2 since with Covid running rampant I have a lot of down time. It isn't good. In fact is just bad. The writing is terrible and the acting is atrocious. Anthony Mackie is wooden as the lead and the supporting cast isn't any better. The changes to Falconer that they made from the book just don't work. She isn't an inspirational character and I just don't care about her character at all. They have her set up as this messianic figure but really she is just an angry child. She just wants to murder, murder, murder, and cause uprisings. It was also kind of odd how they really upped the wokeness quotient. All of the leads are non-white, with one being a lesbian, while the badguys are mostly men and white with a few exceptions. This is pretty standard fare with Netflix, but with how terrible the acting was it felt like they put identity over quality.… Expand
  5. metacritiqueur
    Aug 6, 2020
    1
    Season 2 is pure trash. Characters sucks (Mackie is a bad actor), story ... hmmm story ? Season 1 was so good, with dark atmosphere like Blade Runner...
  6. Izex
    Jun 28, 2020
    2
    Super bad compared to first one. And cant for the love of god see what critics liked about it. Dull take and dark and beautiful world. And new Takeshi eas way way of.
  7. Codex
    Jun 19, 2020
    0
    This season was awful. Each episode was a chore to watch. I kept watching hope it would get better that we would get a glimmer of the genius of the first season. Sadly it left me completely disappointed. As far as I'm concerned, altered carbon only had one season. I don't know how Netflix always drops the ball with 2nd seasons
  8. Dan11219
    Apr 27, 2020
    1
    An amazing 1 series, ruined in a 2nd series by new show runners trying to change things to make it more ‘mainstream’. Season 1 filled a much needed void in TV, fans of dystopian cyberpunk noir have little to flock to from modern day TV & Film - Bladerunner 2049, Upgrade, Dredd to name a few. AC season 1 took the gritty, urban, futuristic theme and smashed it out of the park. People areAn amazing 1 series, ruined in a 2nd series by new show runners trying to change things to make it more ‘mainstream’. Season 1 filled a much needed void in TV, fans of dystopian cyberpunk noir have little to flock to from modern day TV & Film - Bladerunner 2049, Upgrade, Dredd to name a few. AC season 1 took the gritty, urban, futuristic theme and smashed it out of the park. People are craving this style of show right now, just look at all the hype around Cyperpunk 2077, probably one of the most anticipated video game releases in recent memory (Although this is also down to CDPR as a company) What do the new show runners do with series 2 of AC? Remove the gritty feel

    Remove the dystopian urban landscape

    Completely mess up the casting to the point where Kovacs isn’t Kovacs

    Remove the dark plot line intertwined with the universe around it

    What do they replace it with?

    A set design that looks like any cheap generic sci-fi show found on daytime TV, mainly in small offices, caves, or woods

    An actor (a good actor, mind) that is terrible for the role, he cannot portray anywhere near the depth of Joel as Kovacs and in my mind didn’t understand the character he was playing

    A ‘fairy tale’ love story completely disassociated with what people are actually looking for when they tune in to a gritty, futuristic metropolis of a universe.

    I genuinely forced myself to finish series 2, where as series 1 is one of my favourite shows of all time. This review is the only reason I made a metacritic account, it’s annoyed me this much. Netflix sort yourself out for this one please. TLDR; new show runners are muppets who don’t know what they’re doing, bring back the charm of series 1.    … Expand
  9. ManRammer
    Apr 27, 2020
    0
    This season was a super big letdown. Mackie is just completely a wooden plank compared to the previous Kinnaman. No offense to Mackie as a person. He's just a very bad fit. The story has so many McGuffins and Deus Ex Machinas that it felt like pure fan fiction aimed at teenagers. That film noir cyberpunk detective feeling, setting and acting is all just gone. Environments look boring, darkThis season was a super big letdown. Mackie is just completely a wooden plank compared to the previous Kinnaman. No offense to Mackie as a person. He's just a very bad fit. The story has so many McGuffins and Deus Ex Machinas that it felt like pure fan fiction aimed at teenagers. That film noir cyberpunk detective feeling, setting and acting is all just gone. Environments look boring, dark and brown. The actors are so bad that it feels like I am watching a low budget day time TV soap opera. None of the moral and emotional complexity of Kovacs is there. His sharp envoy mind is set aside to become entirely a character with no proactive moves, and acts only reactively to how the story wants him to move. The bounty hunter girl with the coils has the stage presence of a tame lunch lady, and just can't even in the slightest way convey that she is a badass bounty hunter. It also has the New Star Wars syndrome of 'why are these characters all friends now and trust each other when they don't know each other and they have all grown up in dirty murderous environments.' It is just.. bad. So bad. DO NOT WATCH… Expand
  10. metarykb
    Apr 12, 2020
    0
    I couldn't finish this season so consider that my review is only the first 5-6 episodes i think. Getting through that much was a slog. The storytelling was bland and in no way kept my interest. I found myself putting on in the background just to get through it and thats when i realized it wasn't worth it. Shame, I LOVED season 1. Mackey did fine i think, i just think the story was horribleI couldn't finish this season so consider that my review is only the first 5-6 episodes i think. Getting through that much was a slog. The storytelling was bland and in no way kept my interest. I found myself putting on in the background just to get through it and thats when i realized it wasn't worth it. Shame, I LOVED season 1. Mackey did fine i think, i just think the story was horrible and there wasn't even enough action for a sci-fi action show. Probably the most disappointing season 2 of any show i've ever watched.… Expand
  11. Beauner
    Apr 11, 2020
    0
    Damn.. What a disappointment.. The new cast is a serious downgrade and the plot is generic, boring garbage. They replaced almost all the writers from season 1, and the result is a very watered down pg-13, sci fi version of Twilight that I can only see being enjoyed by teenage girls.
  12. Plmnkoijbvhu
    Apr 9, 2020
    0
    Complete trash. The first season was incredible but they ruined it in every aspect.
  13. AthanasiosT
    Apr 4, 2020
    5
    Not as good as season 1. Nice production and cyberpunk atmosphere, but lacked in story and acting. With such abrupt changes between seasons, I always get the feeling that the show's writers changed. It's a shame, because the 1st season was very promising.
  14. Agentsmith35
    Apr 2, 2020
    2
    Really failed to capture the dirty desperate cyberpunk atmosphere of season one. Plot was less intriguing. You got the feeling they were working with a lower budget.
  15. inZa
    Mar 19, 2020
    1
    Season one was awesome dystopic, cyberpunk story. Season 2 is mild weak and boring. The main hero lacks his personality from season one and act and behave totally different. What a ruination of promising serie..
  16. Droidorat
    Mar 18, 2020
    1
    Witcher called and said Netflix did that Netflix thing again

    It’s just so bad I cannot compare them two seasons really
  17. hailtothethief
    Mar 16, 2020
    1
    The second season is a space soap opera that only recycles ideas from the first season without developing the story in any interesting way.

    They don’t expand on the world, or give characters any depth (all Kovacs talks about the whole season is how he loves Quell). They don’t address any questions on human ethics, mortality, gender roles, wealth inequality or the growing divide between    The second season is a space soap opera that only recycles ideas from the first season without developing the story in any interesting way.

    They don’t expand on the world, or give characters any depth (all Kovacs talks about the whole season is how he loves Quell). They don’t address any questions on human ethics, mortality, gender roles, wealth inequality or the growing divide between social classes that the first season does. There’s no mystery to keep you hooked. Instead we’re given a noticeably lower budget space romance with a predictable plot.

    I won’t criticize the acting because these low cost writers they hired could make any actor look bad. The last fight scene somehow reminded me of power rangers... and now it will for you too.    … Expand
  18. Voodoo123
    Mar 15, 2020
    6
    Acs2 is not as bold as season one, a more restrained approach to the scope of the plot has some benefits but ultimately I felt less emotionally connected to the characters and the screenplay seemed bareboned stood next to the complex weave of dialogue in s1. Mackie does ok here but his takeshi plays it more cool and serious so seems less desperate snarky and vulnerable which is something IAcs2 is not as bold as season one, a more restrained approach to the scope of the plot has some benefits but ultimately I felt less emotionally connected to the characters and the screenplay seemed bareboned stood next to the complex weave of dialogue in s1. Mackie does ok here but his takeshi plays it more cool and serious so seems less desperate snarky and vulnerable which is something I miss from kinneman's version (which brought a much needed sense of balanced humanity to this ridiculously op character!). Overall this was an entertaining if less memorable trip this time around.… Expand
  19. thelettere
    Mar 12, 2020
    6
    I'm a sucker for sci-fi, particularly sci-fi that explores issues in non-idiotic ways. Altered Carbon is the rare show that accomplishes this - yes, including in this second season.

    I definitely missed the actor from season 1, and was skeptical about Mackie - but he won me over. He's not terribly charismatic and the humor was definitely not there like the first season, but he was solid    I'm a sucker for sci-fi, particularly sci-fi that explores issues in non-idiotic ways. Altered Carbon is the rare show that accomplishes this - yes, including in this second season.

    I definitely missed the actor from season 1, and was skeptical about Mackie - but he won me over. He's not terribly charismatic and the humor was definitely not there like the first season, but he was solid and toed the line between being convincingly tough and also capable of displaying emotion that conveys to the viewer. I found him watchable and was rooting for him - so he did his job.

    The writing, while rarely brilliant, was never stupid - something one cannot say about something like 99% of sci-fi shows. So that's a big win. And at moments it gets close to poignant.

    I do need to watch season 1 again for comparison to see if I agree with the consensus here about a drop in quality. But I do remember the last episode being so dumb I stopped watching it - which didn't happen here. So while it perhaps does not quite reach the heights of season 1, it also doesn't descend to the same depths.

    Edit: just watched season 1 again. Can confirm there is a definitive drop in the quality of the cinematography, and a slight one for the writing. In contrast season 2 comes off like a WB show, as other reviewers have noted. So not a great look, but still watchable.    … Expand
  20. Trav9912
    Mar 10, 2020
    0
    Season 2 is absolute trash! Not even the same show, everything is gray and bland. The first season states "Your body is not who you are. You shed it like a snake sheds its skin. Leave it, forgotten, behind you." Going further they have the theme with Kovach he is a badass because of his mind and will power making him a complete bad ass that you believe he could kick your ass in any sleeve.Season 2 is absolute trash! Not even the same show, everything is gray and bland. The first season states "Your body is not who you are. You shed it like a snake sheds its skin. Leave it, forgotten, behind you." Going further they have the theme with Kovach he is a badass because of his mind and will power making him a complete bad ass that you believe he could kick your ass in any sleeve. Season 2 gives him an "upgraded sleeve" throwing all that out the window. What makes it worse, is that he lost a fight to his younger self that didn't have envoy training. Doesn't make any sense.… Expand
  21. Joinseekers
    Mar 8, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. *Some season 1 spoilers ahead; no season 2 spoilers*

    Altered Carbon is one of my favorite book series - it's a Film Noir private eye sci-fi with big ideas, amazing characters and plot twists that make your head spin. So I was extremely excited when Season 1 launched. While they didn't stick to all story elements, the trade-off the production did were quite good. I didn't particularly like what they've done to role of Envoys (a core element in the books that was basically beaten to a pulp in the series), the identity of Ray (Tak's former boss rather than sister), or the background of Quell herself (inventor of stack technology?! Where did that come from?) - but there were other decisions that made up for all of this. The casting is extremely good for all roles, there were small, pleasant surprises such as elevating the hotel AI to a quirky character and using a goon's body to host Ortega's grandma. Overall it was a great viewing, and I was really waiting for season 2.

    Which is a big f***ing disappointment.

    If you've read the books (Broken Angels, Woken Furies) I'd say it's not even worth watching - it will simply ruin them for you. The plot takes elements from both books, throws them together against the wall like sticky pasta, and serves whatever drops to the ground. It's a hodge podge. It has terrible casting for almost all characters. The locations are extremely limited and under-developed. It takes scenes that could have been immortal and makes them lame. I'd say that the ONLY good thing about season 2 is the role of the AI characters - this part was done really well. But everything else is just horrible, and not worth the watch. It's better to stick to season 1, and imagine season 2 was never made.    … Expand
  22. viroodiem
    Mar 7, 2020
    6
    Definitely a step backwards.

    The second season kicks itself off with a huge mistake. With basically two years since the last season, there should have been a season 1 recap built into the first episode. While that is not a fatal flaw, it is indicative of the problems that the season faces. The entire premise was always one that was convoluted by its very nature. Characters popping    Definitely a step backwards.

    The second season kicks itself off with a huge mistake. With basically two years since the last season, there should have been a season 1 recap built into the first episode. While that is not a fatal flaw, it is indicative of the problems that the season faces.

    The entire premise was always one that was convoluted by its very nature. Characters popping back and forth between actors is ambitious but its implementation is questionable and season 2 illustrates why.

    It takes a special kind of actor to be able to pull off multi character acting in the same show (think Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black) and while the actors in this show are decent actors, none of them are that level of chameleon actor to pull these types of characters off.

    Beyond that, everything looks much more generic this season. As if the budget for the second season was dramatically reduced. Which with how well received the first season was, there is no excuse for that.

    The writing also took a bit of a hit this time. Becoming much more sci fi trope-y than the first season. Pushing toward the dreaded Firefly effect of being a sci fi show where everyone is a bad ass in their own right which is not only been dull since it first started emerging, in recent media its been done to death.

    The upside is that the narrative in this season did a better job at fleshing out the world and history, it was still drip fed and not really all that intriguing.

    So definitely a step backwards, but did some positive world building that can be improved upon IF it manages to eek out a third season which at this point does seem questionable.    … Expand
  23. ali_khunaizi
    Mar 7, 2020
    0
    Season 1 was Great, in all aspects.. at least from the point of my view, season 2, they will try to make it look like we are just racest and having black actor, not our thing but no my dears, it's not the matter of color at all, the acting was too bad even for the avenger falcon who was soo great in marvel worlds, so obviously it's the director fault in this season,
    the scenes will appeal    Season 1 was Great, in all aspects.. at least from the point of my view, season 2, they will try to make it look like we are just racest and having black actor, not our thing but no my dears, it's not the matter of color at all, the acting was too bad even for the avenger falcon who was soo great in marvel worlds, so obviously it's the director fault in this season,
    the scenes will appeal to your eyes like a mesh mash of expensive production and cheap acting and directing,
    other things were just fine, it's too unfortunate to see good piece of art, lost its way and becomes a cheap project failing to oblivion.    … Expand
  24. mercury1987
    Mar 4, 2020
    0
    Again netflix did the most netflix thing they could, turned a white main character into black. At least they had an excuse to do so but still the new cast is terrible in this season.
  25. 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
  26. ComandanteCobra
    Mar 4, 2020
    3
    Season One: Very good.
    Season Two: Not good. Dull. Only pew pew pew and sadly very bad ones too.
    In just 3 episodes you will see every one-line, every stereotype and every pre generated character of every action sci-fi movies (or videogame) ever . Plot suffer of the same problems. It's look like a fan fiction, sadly. I didn't read the books so I can't make comparisons with original    Season One: Very good.
    Season Two: Not good. Dull. Only pew pew pew and sadly very bad ones too.
    In just 3 episodes you will see every one-line, every stereotype and every pre generated character of every action sci-fi movies (or videogame) ever .
    Plot suffer of the same problems. It's look like a fan fiction, sadly.
    I didn't read the books so I can't make comparisons with original materials.    … Expand
  27. ozymandias79
    Mar 3, 2020
    5
    Backing up the first season was always going to be difficult, but damn, talk about dropping the ball. They probably shouldn't have blown half the budget on the Avenger (he was awful btw). Bad acting, predicable story line, almost non-existent special effects. Bring back the people responsible for the first epic series, because season 2 was average!
  28. vander1998
    Mar 3, 2020
    0
    I couldn‘t imagine „Altered Carbon“ without Joel Kinnaman but was willing to give it a shot because I loved the Character of Tak and the Bladerunner-World and - the writing.
    Unfortunately the first two episodes of season two are horrible. I always disliked Goldsberry‘s Quellcrist but now she is totally unbearable. Worst if all: Anthony Macky is boring, weak and lost in a leading role he‘s    I couldn‘t imagine „Altered Carbon“ without Joel Kinnaman but was willing to give it a shot because I loved the Character of Tak and the Bladerunner-World and - the writing.
    Unfortunately the first two episodes of season two are horrible. I always disliked Goldsberry‘s Quellcrist but now she is totally unbearable. Worst if all: Anthony Macky is boring, weak and lost in a leading role he‘s not cut out for. The story is boring and flat.
    Sorry, I‘m out.    … Expand
  29. Juhapekka
    Mar 3, 2020
    0
    The first season of AC blew my mind! The visual boldness, the cyberpunk world, and Kinnamans excellent stoic portrait of Kovacs played well with the gumshoe main storyline. The casual nudity that underlined the casual relationship people had with their sleeves were justified and made the whole more compelling. Well, season two took all that away from us. The show runner changed and wantedThe first season of AC blew my mind! The visual boldness, the cyberpunk world, and Kinnamans excellent stoic portrait of Kovacs played well with the gumshoe main storyline. The casual nudity that underlined the casual relationship people had with their sleeves were justified and made the whole more compelling. Well, season two took all that away from us. The show runner changed and wanted to make the show more politically correct and pg-13. Also you can see that most the writers had changed. As happened in Game Of Thrones season 8, so happened in this season. Writers went off the source material almost completely and made a generic scifi show with all the magic sanded out by the show runner. The plot is full of holes and the motivations of the characters don't make any sense. I feel like I waited for Christmas for two years and learned the day before that Christmas is cancelled. In my little world Altered Carbon had only one season and it was 10/10.… Expand
  30. Chernobog
    Mar 2, 2020
    0
    "I'm strong woman that don't need no man" writing doesn't belong in this franchise. Way to ruin amazing source material with garbage writing and political squandering. If you loved the first season like I did don't bother with this trash.
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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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
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