Recap of the first season of Altered Carbon.
Premise: In the universe of Altered Carbon, there is no such thing as death. At least, if you’re rich. People are able to resleeve into a new body, using a piece of technology called a stack, which is basically your entire life and consciousness stored into one device. The world is set more than 350 years in the future, mainly on Earth.
Consume and Enjoy!
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Music: Unicorn Heads - Digital Secrets
01 - Out of the Past
Takeshi Kovacs, a former elite soldier, known as an Envoy, is woken up 250 years after his death by Laurens Bancroft, the richest man in the world. He is brought to Bancroft by Kristin Ortega, a police officer, who has a distaste for Meth’s, the name given to the rich who endlessly resleeve themselves. To gain his freedom, Kovacs must resolve the death of his employer. His sleeve’s death, that is. Kovacs immediately declines the offer. However, Bancroft gives him the night to think about his decision. After consuming multiple narcotics on what he believes to be his last day alive, Kovacs eventually settles in The Raven Hotel, run by an AI calling himself Poe. But then Kovacs is assaulted by the assassin, Dimi the Twin. However, with Poe’s help, Dimi is killed. Realizing something is going on, Kovacs contacts Bancroft and decides to accept his offer.
02 - Fallen Angel
Kovacs begins his investigation by analyzing the various death threats received by Laurens Bancroft. One of the tracks leads him to Vernon Elliot, who thinks that Bancroft is responsible for the death of his daughter, Lizzie, a prostitute. We learn that following her assault, Lizzie is trapped in a traumatic loop, where she relives her assault each time she comes into contact with someone. On his way to Lizzie’s brothel, Kovacs is being watched by a mysterious man. At the brothel, he learns that Bancroft was one of Lizzie’s regular customers. When he then leaves, he is assaulted by a group of augmented dealers, who he beats up, together with Vernon. However, he is then arrested by Ortega, then soon after released by Oumou Prescott, Bancroft’s attorney. Returning to his room, he finds Laurens' wife, Miriam Bancroft, who seduces and drugs him to sleep with her.
03 - In a Lonely Place
Kovacs offers Vernon Elliot a deal in which he pays for the psychosurgery for Vernon’s daughter in exchange for Vernon being his backup at Bancroft’s party. Vernon agrees, and together they visit the party, which is given by Bancroft to converge all his potential killers at one place, so that Kovacs can low-key interrogate them. At the party, Ortega spots the mysterious man, but can find no record of him afterwards, dubbing him Ghostwalker. Meanwhile, Elliot takes advantage of the evening to hack the Bancroft system and find information about his daughter Lizzie. Later at the party, Kovacs is thrown into a death fight by Bancroft, as punishment for sleeping with his wife. However, Kovacs survives and tells Bancroft that no one at the party is responsible for his death. He then visits Lizzie’s brothel, but is drugged and kidnapped.
04 - Force of Evil
Kovacs’ kidnapper reveals to be the second copy of Dimi the Twin. He has taken him to a special facility, where people can be virtually tortured. Dimi wants Kovacs to reveal who he is working for and believes Kovacs to be someone called Ryker. However, while in the simulation he remembers his virtual torture training as an Envoy. Teached to him by Quellcrist Falconer, the leader of the Envoys. Thanks to his training, he manages to escape the simulation and kill everyone at the facility. Meanwhile, Ortega, who spent the day with her family, tracks Kovacs to his hotel after realizing that he was responsible for the massacre at the simulation center. Kovacs deduces then that it is not him that Ortega has been following since his awakening, but the sleeve in which he woke up. Ortega reveals that the body indeed belonged to Ryker, a former friend of hers.
05 - The Wrong Man
Ortega and Kovacs, brought together by their recent discovery, are continuing the investigation into the murder of Bancroft. This investigation leads them to Fight Drome, an AI-run combat arena in which Bancroft and his son were allegedly seen on the night of the murder. On the video surveillance images, it is seen that Bancroft is hitting his son Isaac while repeating: "You are not me, you will never be me!" " Kovacs and Ortega therefore go to Isaac's and discover a 3D bio-printer there, where Isaac has cloned his father’s body, so as to succeed him when he truly dies, using his father’s sleeve. Kovacs and Ortega return to the police station to question Dimi the Twin, but get separated. Ortega plans to interrogate Dimi en route, but is attacked by the Ghostwalker, who seemingly works with Dimi. Ortega is gravely injured by the Ghostwalker, who attempts to slag her, meaning to destroy her stack, killing her for good. But just before he shoots,