Love, Death & Robots
- Thread starter Fedor
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j00t
Silver Baronet of the Realm
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i think the audience is ready for ANY well crafted story. the reason why sci-fi is great ISN'T because of the shiny lights and future technology, it's the way that it addresses and expresses humanity in unique and creative ways. sonnie's edge for example... (spoilers because i think we've all seen it by now) what lengths did sonnie go to in order to defend herself? in order to feel ALIVE after being attacked by that gang, is she even human anymore? but isn't the thirst for life one of the key elements of being human?
with beyond the aquila rift, it's similar questions but from a different angle. "greta" can be interpreted to be purposely feeding off tom and anyone else she's been able to pull into her web. but, personally, i think it's more that greta is being fully honest and that she DOES care for everyone who gets lost there, but she recognizes that she looks so vastly different from humans that they need time to view her as anything but a monster. in reality, she's a caring, nurturing, benevolent entity. in an almost bizarro-world twist, she represents humanity at it's best. she has the capability to be a monster to those around her but she has decided to care for those around her that have become lost.
yeah, the cg effects are brilliant, and certain stories really benefit from good visuals (aquila rift for example, because a big story hook is trying to perceive what's real) but the stories themselves would work regardless.
tl:dr, people are starving for poignant, deep stories. lasers and neon lights are just a bonus
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This. The whole "let's push a bunch of bullshit" thing isn't working for a lot of people, myself included. I mean the quotes from that other Ben Affleck Netflix movie thread are "the movie shit itself." Cause of writing. Wasn't due to budget or acting, it was because of writing. You write a good story, people are going to watch it. Episode 1 is good because it feels like a world we could explore due to the writing. The little comments characters are making in the background, the coherent nature of the story structure, the twist...it's just solid writing, and so much shit today is just fuckawful writing.
Phazael
Confirmed Beta Shitlord, Fat Bastard
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I don't get the love for the SJW lesbian battlebot episode. It hit every single mary sue stereotype so out of the park I thought I was watching an episode of Discovery. Animation quality was nice, but all of the other shorts had better writing and were not going down a checklist of tropes. Beyond Aquilla was the standout, for sure, but all of them were pretty good on their own level. Really, the witness one was kind of meh, but at least stylish (which I guess the opener was kind of). Most of it reminded me of seeing Heavy Metal for the first time, with the little vignettes with short concise story telling and a neat little wrinkle or twist tossed in. Except the opener and Witness, which were both predictable and, in the case of the first one, basically putting imaginary future Mist on screen for millennials to get their anti-whitey capitalist wank on.
But that's ok, because the series as a whole was great and awesome as bite size short story sci-fi, which is a lot art in the age of the internet. It felt like getting an old sci-fi magazine to read and this short format is especially good when you want to focus on the twist or concept, rather than cram half of an episode schedule will world building like a lot of these Netflix or streaming Sci-Fi shows do. Each story, even the bad ones, were pure meat and you moved on to the next one. You older guys will remember all the 5 minute Aeon Flux episodes and even older guys will recall all of the sci-fi shorts that used to fill gaps in late night shows like Night Flight. This series had the best elements of that brand of storytelling.
But that's ok, because the series as a whole was great and awesome as bite size short story sci-fi, which is a lot art in the age of the internet. It felt like getting an old sci-fi magazine to read and this short format is especially good when you want to focus on the twist or concept, rather than cram half of an episode schedule will world building like a lot of these Netflix or streaming Sci-Fi shows do. Each story, even the bad ones, were pure meat and you moved on to the next one. You older guys will remember all the 5 minute Aeon Flux episodes and even older guys will recall all of the sci-fi shorts that used to fill gaps in late night shows like Night Flight. This series had the best elements of that brand of storytelling.
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Kiroy
Marine Biologist
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except altered carbon went full fucking retard the last quarter of the show, we'll see how that affects the next season
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Cybsled
Avatar of War Slayer
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Aquila Rift could be viewed as either sinister or “honest”, but I can’t help but feel it is more on the sinister side.
There was an Outer Limits episode (showtime) where the protagonist’s spaceship gets trapped on a planet with spider like creatures. To keep their prey docile, they manipulate the human’s minds with chemicals/venom to think they are experiencing a different reality. He thinks he escaped and is going home, but at the end it reveals most of his friends have been drained and he is webbed up but thinking he escaped.
There are a lot of parallels with that, although the alien is clearly intelligent in this case. I found it interesting that the guy who never woke up was clearly dead IRL and the woman looked pretty dead IRL or close to it. The captain looked like he had been out of stasis for at least a few months given his haggard look and loss of muscle mass. Both the other 2 non-captain characters were absent in the final simulation, with the woman’s pod covered with a biohazard sheet. We can presume the captain was the last to be subjected to whatever was happening.
You could argue what the alien actually wanted/needed from them, but it seems clear that eventually the “lost souls” would end up dead. She seems to claim the loss of people was from learning the truth (the woman presumably figured it out), but we’re also trusting the word of something that we already know has lied to us multiple times.
There are a lot of parallels with that, although the alien is clearly intelligent in this case. I found it interesting that the guy who never woke up was clearly dead IRL and the woman looked pretty dead IRL or close to it. The captain looked like he had been out of stasis for at least a few months given his haggard look and loss of muscle mass. Both the other 2 non-captain characters were absent in the final simulation, with the woman’s pod covered with a biohazard sheet. We can presume the captain was the last to be subjected to whatever was happening.
You could argue what the alien actually wanted/needed from them, but it seems clear that eventually the “lost souls” would end up dead. She seems to claim the loss of people was from learning the truth (the woman presumably figured it out), but we’re also trusting the word of something that we already know has lied to us multiple times.
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Attog
Blackwing Lair Raider
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Cybsled
Avatar of War Slayer
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I got through watching them all. I agree the Hitler one and the Three Robots ones were the weakest of the bunch, although the Three Robots was semi-redeemed by acknowledging cats are assholes. Outside of those 2, I liked them all for what they were.
I don't see how you get feminism from the 1st one, especially given the twist at the end.
In terms of potential for expanding the concept, the Werewolf Marines ones, the WW2 Russian Army vs. Demon hordes, and the steampunk kitsune one have the most potential IMO. Aquila could potentially work as a feature length film as well, since you could build up the emotional connection aspect to give the end a bigger impact.
I don't see how you get feminism from the 1st one, especially given the twist at the end.
In terms of potential for expanding the concept, the Werewolf Marines ones, the WW2 Russian Army vs. Demon hordes, and the steampunk kitsune one have the most potential IMO. Aquila could potentially work as a feature length film as well, since you could build up the emotional connection aspect to give the end a bigger impact.
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LiquidDeath
Magnus Deadlift the Fucktiger
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This talk of feminist bullshit is insane. Contrary to SJW alt-history, sci-fi has been dealing in badass chicks forever. From Alien to Neuromancer to the Matrix and so many more. Also, the idea that a woman is so badly damaged that she escapes to a form that is more resilient to pain and better able to extract revenge has been done so often it is basically its own TV trope. The arena fight was bitchin, the twist was fun but predictable, and there was a bit too much exposition. Who cares, it was still way better than 95% of the shit Hollywood bankrolls these days, if only because of the fighting, gore, and nudity.
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Mudcrush Durtfeet
Hungry Ogre
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The short story the alien was honestly helping as best it could. The animation seemed sinister at the end to me.
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I had concerns about some "feminist" shit during the first episode when within minutes the protagonist is a gang rape victim and her friend is all "fucking men" right after. I was thinking it was going to be another piece to add to Netflix's SJW trash pile that they've been adding to a lot lately. I lost that concern by the time the episode was over though and I saw what they were going for. It was quality stuff, and wouldn't have even been worthy of concern if it wasn't that heavy with it right off the bat on the first episode.
I was a big fan of Heavy Metal stuff growing up so the series was a pleasant surprise for me that made me remember all the quality mature adult animation we used to get in the 90's/early 2k's. The nice variety of well-done animation is great as well.
Aquila Rift was terrific. Everything about the reveal was incredibly well done. So many details in such a short moment.
I was a big fan of Heavy Metal stuff growing up so the series was a pleasant surprise for me that made me remember all the quality mature adult animation we used to get in the 90's/early 2k's. The nice variety of well-done animation is great as well.
Aquila Rift was terrific. Everything about the reveal was incredibly well done. So many details in such a short moment.
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j00t
Silver Baronet of the Realm
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aquila rift ideas
honestly what i love about it is there some pretty concrete ways to interpret what's going on in two very different directions... first off, greta spends the entire story lying to tom in order to get him to relax and keep his guard down. that in and of itself is enough to warrent some malevolent goals on greta's part. she crafts tom's subconscious into thinking he's been given a second chance at love. she also flat out tells him it's fate that he's been brought all the way out to nowhere. she also blames the whole thing on Arkangel, saying that he's not the first to be sent out there and it's always the same miscalculation... whether or not you believe that she starts being honest with him towards the end, she says this part while she's still fully engaged in deceit, so it stands to reason that this is another lie as well. people aren't getting lost, she is pulling them. then finally, once the truth is revealed, greta is... basically a spider. one of the creatures that humans immediately find repulsive and we (as the audience) immediately feel trapped in it's web. it's pretty obvious that this is how greta operates and how she feeds.
on the other hand... she doesn't ACT malicious. sure, she hides the truth from him, but if you assume she's being honest at the end, you can understand WHY she'd want to hide that from him. she even cries when tom demands to be shown what's REALLY going on. if she were lying to him simply to keep him docile so that she could feed off him... it just doesn't connect. she PLEADS with him to take his time and let her explain on her time and he can't accept that. she knows that he's going to reject her and that COULD have been what caused the others to die. it's possible that greta is the only one keeping them alive through that... well, whatever it is. we have to make some assumptions, but the female crew member IMMEDIATELY comes out of the gate disbelieving everything and she gets put back in "stasis" though when we see her real body, she seems dead. obviously we don't know what happens to tom in the end, but he seems to believe greta on some level, as he appears to willingly put himself back under.
personally, i think she's more honest about what's going on, that she DOES care for them, that she considers herself a caretaker of lost souls. the whole scene looks like some weird crossover between diablo and event horizon and it's pretty terrifying but i also think there's an incredibly subtle message of don't judge a book by it's cover.
on the other hand... she doesn't ACT malicious. sure, she hides the truth from him, but if you assume she's being honest at the end, you can understand WHY she'd want to hide that from him. she even cries when tom demands to be shown what's REALLY going on. if she were lying to him simply to keep him docile so that she could feed off him... it just doesn't connect. she PLEADS with him to take his time and let her explain on her time and he can't accept that. she knows that he's going to reject her and that COULD have been what caused the others to die. it's possible that greta is the only one keeping them alive through that... well, whatever it is. we have to make some assumptions, but the female crew member IMMEDIATELY comes out of the gate disbelieving everything and she gets put back in "stasis" though when we see her real body, she seems dead. obviously we don't know what happens to tom in the end, but he seems to believe greta on some level, as he appears to willingly put himself back under.
personally, i think she's more honest about what's going on, that she DOES care for them, that she considers herself a caretaker of lost souls. the whole scene looks like some weird crossover between diablo and event horizon and it's pretty terrifying but i also think there's an incredibly subtle message of don't judge a book by it's cover.
It's kind of weird - you have one set of people complaining about 'aaah! feminism', and the other set complaining about 'ahhh! hates women' about the same thing. It's extra funny because it all seems to come from a minor change to the original story.
In the story the rape was all bullshit the team made up to add to her rep and make people too uncomfortable to ask questions. She was actually injured crashing the team van while drunk.
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iannis
Musty Nester
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In it's pure Arthur C. Clarke form that's exactly what science fiction is supposed to be. You read those stories and there are a lot of them that don't have the equivalent of lazers and shiny pew-pews. Childhoods End, that story about the Space Elevator... on a superficial level those stories are -mundane-.
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