#genlock dri

[your-dar-ling]

Gen:Lock S2 Wrap-Up

Hahahahahahahahahaaaaaaa YES. What a finale! What. A. Finale! I refuse to get over this what a freaking redemption arc this show had. Thoughts in semi-chronological order because I can't be bothered to structure my excitement.

Yaz! Yaz character development! Yes!!!! She said things! She *did* things!!!

I VERY much like the route they've gone with our heroes. This is such a thoughtful reimagining/interpretation of the G:L technology from season 1.

Oh poor Henry....

I really appreciate how they did not try to play to both sides in this series. They did not "meet in the middle," so to speak. Yes both sides had valuable input to the overall good outcome, but as Dri said: Sinclair gives people a choice to make. That's the third option.

Speaking of, Sinclair knocked it out the park this episode. I appreciate that he doesn't hesitate to do what needs to be done, even if what he did kinda....messed things up. All of the characters' actions this episode felt so...in character.

Marin's death was tragic in that she actually had good reason to keep those Holons alive. She made her choices, and in the end it didn't matter, but she did what she felt was right until the end of it all. I appreciated that. Also her final scene with Holcroft while Sinclair is mercing her command central was hilariously timed and also really well written.

Holcroft suuuuuuucks. I mean we knew that but he suuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.

Dr. Jha??? Queen. Royalty of the highest order. Absolute monarch. The reigning champ. "You don't have the grace to be a martyr." !!!!!! None of you can touch.

HE RECLAIMED THE NEMESI! THE SCENE REVERSAL OMG

GIANT MAGICAL GIRL MECHA???????? GIANT MAGICAL GIRL MECHA??????????????????????

Odin looks uggo I'm so sorry. Did he need toes??

Despite the fact that Brother Tate was the world's largest cult leader/technological innovator (kersplat) he was really right about some things (still went kersplat).

Val x Yaz? Are we all getting the vibes? Just me?

I've seen alot of complaints about this show not doing anything to address climate change and instead opting for a digital solution to all their problems but there's two things to remember here:

Season 2 introduces Earth to be already "beyond saving (which I think the show bucks a little bit but I'll get there). The world is not being "threatened" by climate disaster. This is dystopia.

The nano can be injured, and it survives by eating organic matter, so even if everyone is uploaded with Un:Lock, I think the answer to their problems will be a little more complicated than just letting the planet die. But if this season has taught me anything it is that people will, without a doubt, come up with the least favorable interpretations of things they do not like possible. We've all been guilty of it. But I'm so glad I kept warm by this dumpster fire. I never wanted it to be perfect. I just wanted it to be authentic. And personally I think that despite the numerous gaping potholes in the road? These writers? The animators? This team of individuals, they got there.

There truly is something spiritual about the process of becoming the nano. Chase's resurrection is one of this show's most impactful scenes. He is G:L tech. He is Twilight. He is everything. But most importantly, he is real. And he does not "earn" ascension through suffering, like Brother Tate or even Weller believed. He received it through love, and acceptance, and commitment. And I mean, for as much grimdark this show went through, that's a truly hopeful message.

I said it at the start of these reviews and I'll say it again: I'm glad this show exists. It should not exist lol. But I'M GLAD that it does. Thanks for reading.

Final Ranking: 10/10

Final Season Ranking: 6/10

[your-dar-ling]

G:L Season 2 Episode 2 Re(Cap/View)

Better than the premiere. Not gonna waste time:

Dri and Roberta

I loved their plot but the slap was a bit much. Dri is great in this episode, and she's pointing out the obvious flaws in her mother's philosophy. Lines like "He's fighting them" just hold so much weight to me. I'm not exactly sure why.

Roberta has a very believable quality to her faith, they all do. She embodies a very common (and annoying) parenting sentiment: The "I'm the parent so my beliefs are ultimately most important" Clause, and its corollary "Fine. You don't have to believe me but here's a ridiculous ultimatum that will either force you under my heel or irreparably alienate us to one another." I think alot of religions play into such a binary system, and I think the Union is most fun when it is finding the commonalities between how religions present higher powers.

Brother Tate

OMG thank God he actually believes in what he's saying. I don't think I could take it if "The Flow" had no merit to it at all. I'm sick of stories that present the "religious option" as just crazy people. Now is it a death cult? Yea, kinda. But there's no self-serving motives. Unlike the Polity, who is legit just making things up, the Union actually thinks they are humanity's salvation. The truth in that is....well it's unclear. And I appreciate that the show doesn't jump directly to the villainization of the Omnifaith.

Chase

Thematically Chase being the cornerstone of the Union is SO good. Julius Caesar, Jesus, I mean Brother Tate's speech at the end perfectly summed it up. Chase's idea of heroism is filtered through his suffering, and the horrifying revelation is that without death, there is always more of himself to lose. The truest of horrors of war stories.

However Chase lacked the emotional depth he needed in this episode. MBJ does a phenomenal job voice acting him for the most part, he shows a remarkable amount of emotion. But the way the show implements it feels uncanny somehow. I can't exactly describe it but the editing is off.

Yaz

I find it very gripping how the Union converts her through breaking her. It's honestly kinda sucky that the nature of the Union -- and many (especially Abrahamic) religions, too -- presents itself as the one and only option. It's such a morbid and cynical servitude. No one is actually concerned about convincing her, they just keep guilting her until submission. And when she finally gives up? The flow keeps her alive? I don't quite know. But yea this recontextualizes alot of her behavior in Season 1 in a positive way (narratively speaking of course. I don't feel good about it).

I don't think the show is in a place to explore this, but I appreciate the irony in the "you have no proof of the afterlife" line from a person of (presumably) Muslim faith. It may have been an oversight, but it's one I feel is thematically appropriate.

(I think it would have been more interesting if she did believe in the Omnifaith itself, but not as literally as the suicide pact demanded by it's organized religion. But I digress.)

Polity

Nice save on Marin, there guys lol. It's too late, I already think she's a bad guy.

I think one thing that makes this show so viscerally unsettling sometimes is its sheer willingness to connect itself to modern day Earth. When I heard that the Polity was a rebranded (and equally useless) UN I legitimately buffered for a moment. How horrifying. How likely. It's almost as if G:L the show itself is prophetic of what is to come. Speculative fiction at this point is just a reality that hasn't happened yet. And from that standpoint, I'm with Chase. I'm scared.

TLDR: The Union is some AMAZING world building. This G:L crew is truly making the best of this mess of a production that they can, and I appreciate that.

Final Score: 7/10

P.S.: IM PUTTING WARNER IN THE DEATH NOTE for messing with reaction videos. RT (the company) is also pretty damn close to filling the blank space. Like are you serious???