Alright, it’s been awhile since the last review for Altered Carbon. We do apologize for that and we will be getting back on the saddle to finish this series. So with that in mind, time for Episode 3. Will this episode continue to maintain the momentum or will this episode crash and burn?

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhFM8akm9a4[/embedyt]

Warning: Spoilers Ahead! Turn back now if you haven’t seen the episode!

We open the episode to a flashback of Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinnaman), childhood. We see that he is with his sister and they are telling each other the story of the Patchwork Man. They finish the story before their parents come home and the kids hide in the closet. We see the father is taking to the mother and the father starts to abuse the mother. Takeshi and his sister watch this and they tell each other they will stick with each other no matter what. We back to present day where Takeshi is having a shower, he finishes and Poe (Chris Conner), delivers him an invitation to a party later that night. Poe then tells Takeshi that there was a drone in the room last night that got footage of him having sex with Bancroft’s wife. Takeshi get’s a call from Laurens Bancroft (James Purefoy), with him asking Takeshi if he is going to the party or not because Bancroft invited all the people that he thinks would kill him. Bancroft wants Takeshi there so he can chat/interrogate the guests so he can continue with his case. Poe tells Takeshi that he wishes he could go with him as the backup but he is stuck at the hotel because he is the brain of it. Meanwhile, Kristin Ortega (Martha Higareda), gets a visit from Oumou Prescott (Tamara Taylor), who invites her to the same party that Takeshi is going to so she can monitor the situation. Ortega has no choice but to accept when Captain Tanaka (Hiro Kanagawa), tells her to clear her schedule for that night. Meanwhile, Takeshi goes to visit Vernon Elliot (Ato Essandoh), in his shop and wants to hire him as the backup for the party. Takeshi then makes a trade with Vernon, he comes as the backup to the party and Takeshi will help Lizzie (Hayley Law), get the treatment she needs. Vernon reluctantly agrees because he hates Bancroft but wants to get Lizzie back no matter what. Takeshi and Vernon head back to the hotel where Poe greets them and offers a room for Lizzie but Vernon won’t be able to talk to her, only see her because her condition is critical. Vernon gives his consent and Takeshi wants him to take him to his friends in low places so they can get some gear. Meanwhile, Ortega is looking over the guest list to see that a bunch of criminals that she couldn’t talk to in the past will be at the party and that she will finally be able to talk to them. Meanwhile, Takeshi and Vernon visit a weapons dealer who shows off some awesome guns and knives. While Vernon is picking out his weapons, Takeshi has a flashback to a training session with is Envoy partners. Meanwhile, Takeshi and Vernon are back at the hotel and watching Poe set up a virtual room for Lizzie, Lizzie speaks to Poe but it seems to be nonsense. Vernon is glad that she finally spoke but wonders if he is doing the right thing. Takeshi tells him that Lizzie is in good hands with Poe because he can be focused and determined when he is set with a task. Takeshi warns Vernon that he is bringing him along to only watch is back and nothing else, he doesn’t need Vernon acting out.

We then cut to the party that everyone has been talking about and getting ready for. Takeshi get’s his bag with his gun taken, Ortega get’s her gun taken away and Vernon is disguised as a waiter handing out drinks. Takeshi comes across Miriam Bancroft (Kristin Lehman), and tells her that there was a spy in the room watching them last night. Laurens comes and asks Takeshi to follow him because he wants to talk to him. Ortega is up on a balcony doing a survalience scan of all the people at the party and she is talking to her partner back at HQ. She notices some people dressed as fighters walking upstairs somewhere and she decides to follow. She finds a married couple who are in different skins and asks to see their fighting licenses, Takeshi follows Ortega and they both discover that there is a fighting cage nearby. The two of them go grab a drink and Ortega tells Takeshi to stay out of her way. Takeshi takes the elevator to the next floor and finds Laurens waiting for him. Takeshi talks to Laurens about what he does and how he purchases fighters so he can have knife fights, while also talking about how he has lines that he won’t cross, unlike Takeshi. The two notice Bancroft’s son and Takeshi asks if he killed Laurens but he says no. The two talk about philosophy and God when Laurens tells Takeshi that he thinks of himself a god because every god needs minions, implying that Takeshi is his minion. Laurens leaves and Takeshi goes back to the party to talk to the guess. Takeshi notices that Miriam opens a bookshelf false door to go somewhere, he follows behind and sees that Miriam is having sex with one of the guards. Takeshi asks her what she is doing and Miriam reveals that she isn’t actually Miriam, but one of Laurens daughters named Naomi. Takeshi asks Naomi if she killed her father but she says she didn’t because, with her father dead, she would be penniless. Takeshi leaves the room and finds Isaac Bancroft (Antonio Marziale), talking in mandarin to some Japanese waiters. Isaac was telling a joke to them and the waiters don’t find it funny, Takeshi has to pull Issac aside so he can stop making an ass out of himself. Prescott comes and gives Takeshi crap for what he did to Issac and tells him that she wants to become one of the rich people at the party. Meanwhile, Vernon takes the elevator to the upstarts control room and offers up the guard some alcohol. Vernon then grabs his knife that is tipped with poison, stabs the guard and takes control of the computer system. Meanwhile, a few guests are showing off their trophies when Laurens takes centre stage and tells everyone that he owns the Last Envoy, Takeshi Kovacs.

We then cut to the fighting arena, everyone is gathered there to see the married couple from earlier fight to the death. Everyone watches the fight get bloody and Takeshi stops the husband from beating the wife to death. This causes Laurens to throw Takeshi in the ring and tells the couple he will give them both upgraded sleeves if they killed Takeshi. Ortega tries to stop this but Laurens says that they are all his property and he wants to raise the stakes but adding a weapon to the fight. Ortega is able to grab a gun and shoot the controls of the cage and disables them, ending the fight with no one dying. The couple is bloody and injured and they say they can’t repair their current sleeves or get new ones. Takeshi then forces Laurens to keep his promise of giving them both new sleeves. After the party is over, Takeshi and Laurens tells him that he needs to stay away from his wife and if he has anything new on the investigation. Takeshi says no but loved the party and walks out of the room. Takeshi finds Vernon outside and asks him where he was, Vernon was gathering survalience footage on Lizzie and Ortega walks up to give Takeshi back his gun. Takeshi tells Vernon to go home as he has somewhere to be, that somewhere is a strip club to talk to the same stripper who gave him info on Lizzie. She comes out beaten and bloody and uses a syringe on Takeshi to knock him out. Takeshi is then taken to a hospital place where it looks like he is going to be dissected.

This is a great episode coming back into the series after being away for awhile. I really do like the look and feel of the show and I’m glad that I came back to it.

I really do think that Laurens has alterer motives at this point because before he wanted to keep his investigation and Kovacs on the down low so he can solve his murder. However, now that Kovacs has been put on display as a trophy, it really does seem like Laurens is up to something and using Kovacs for more than solving his murder.

Elliot was also great this episode, not only rocking the suit while pretending to be a waiter, but he also has a great knowledge of the weapons and tools that they use in the Altered Carbon universe. I also like that he is willing to work with Kovacs, even if it means using Bancroft’s money to save his daughter.

Ortega is a little annoying since she is basically stalking Kovacs at this point and I think we all know that she wants to get in bed with him because the way she looks at Kovacs and how she talks about him.

The concept of Sleeves is explored more in this episode and I like that Bancroft has a fighting arena for people who are looking for a thrill and an upgraded sleeve. This universe continues to grow and peak my interest, I can’t wait to watch more.

The only downside to this episode is I thought the whole party thing was a little on the boring side and I wish it was shortened or cut out altogether. I didn’t really care about what happened at the party and who was there so I feel it would have been better if we were told about what happened instead of shown.

The Verdict:

Episode 3 was a great episode to come back to after being away from the series for some time. I really do love the concept of the universe and what it was to offer. The party itself was a little boring but you can say it was worth it for the fighting arena scene in the end. Let us hope that wherever Kovacs is, he can make it out alive in one piece.

8.5/10

Next up, Episode 4.