Altered Carbon S01 E03 – Murder Marriages

Previously: Kovacs investigated death threats against Bancroft.
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In a Lonely Place

Marines: We start with a Kovacs Voiceover [KVO] that tells us that humanity spread to the stars, but still brought their own monsters with them. Our view of a starry sky pans down to the lake I remember from one of Kovacs’ flashbacks. We hear a little boy telling a scary story, and the little girl, baby Dichen Lachmen we’ll call her, tells baby Takeshi not to read the story but tell it their way. Baby Tak starts ad-libbing the story with Baby Dichen’s help, flipping the pages of the book as they go so they can see the pictures. The story is about a man who works his kids to exhaustion and then kills them. He steals other children from the village and sews them together into a big monster, who turns on the father and kills him. The Patchwork Man then escapes into the village, but keeps falling apart. To this day, the Patchwork Man roams the world looking for children to kill and sew into himself. At times, the illustrations from the book take over and we watch bits of the story that way. It’s pretty cool, but you know, creepy.

Jessica: It’s definitely creepy. The graphic novel look is pretty cool, the background music ups the creep factor, and the story itself has echoes of the use of sleeves to keep oneself living.

Mari: The kids are startled when they hear someone walk into the room. They quickly hide in a closet. Through the slits, we see a big, bald, beefy guy and presumably Tak and Dichen’s mother, who is sporting a black eye. Beefy Guy says that Mom’s problem is that she’s never grateful. Mom promises to do better, but Beefy doesn’t care. We hear as he beats the crap out of Mom. Baby Tak and Baby Dichen cringe and huddle closer together. Baby Tak tells Baby Dichen that they are never going to face the monsters alone. They stick together.

Present. Kovacs is showering with lots of angst. Then he gets dressed with lots of angst. Poe appears suddenly, and gives Kovacs the invite he received to attend Sun House that night. And there is another piece of news: Poe doesn’t know how, but he was hacked. (J: Awkward.) He shows Kovacs the bug shaped like a bug, and clarifies that the bug did get some footage. We briefly flash back to Kovacs and Miriam having sex, in case we forgot.

Kovacs gets a phone call… in his eye. Honestly, he can answer it with the programing in his eye, or whatever. I’m very bad at explaining future tech.

Jessica: Of all the cool things in the future, I think a phone in the eye is possibly the worst idea. I mean, eye phone/iPhone puns aside, my phone addiction is bad enough. If it were literally in my head? Yikes!

Mari: Yeah, hard pass on the eyePhone.

Anyway, it’s Mr. Bancroft. He’s wondering why Kovacs hasn’t answered his dinner party invite yet. Kovacs snarks that he doesn’t like parties, so Bancroft explains that it’s really a party only in name. He invited anyone he could think of that might’ve murder him. Kovacs is not thrilled, but Bancroft says he’ll be fine.

After the call, Poe wonders if Bancroft knows about Kovacs and Miriam. Kovacs isn’t sure, but he doesn’t feel good about walking into this party and feeling like a target. Poe laments the fact that he can’t leave the hotel because technically he is the hotel. Kovacs wasn’t going to ask him to be a wingman anyway, but he does ask if Poe can get a license in something called psychosurgery therapeutics. Poe gets in instantly. He asks if Kovacs is going to be the patient, but Kovacs says no.

Cut to the police station. Oretga has been called into the Captain’s office, and is not please to see the Bancroft’s lawyer in there. Lawyer Lady invites Ortega to the dinner party, but she declines. Except, it wasn’t really an invite. Bancroft has basically put in a request for police detail for the party, and got it super speedy approved because he’s rich. He also specially requested Ortega as the cop, which the Captain pointedly says is an honor. (J: Suuuuure.) Lawyer Lady sees herself out. Ortega can’t believe this, but the Captain tells her to get over it and go smile, nod, and to do it for the good of the department.

I like that we are in episode 3, and Kovacs is still sporting that nasty cut on his nose. Sometimes TV shows are quick to heal their character’s wounds, but we are gonna keep looking at his busted nose, huh?

Jessica: Plus, how else are we supposed to know how edgy he is? 

Mari: True. The brooding and angst are definitely not enough.

Kovacs lets himself in to see Elliot, who we met last episode. Elliot is NOT happy to see him, and is prepared this time with a gun. Kovacs quickly disarms him, and gives him some advice about not monologuing before a fight. Kovacs is here to offer Elliot a job as his backup. The deal is that if Elliot helps him, he’ll help Elliot with Lizzy. He’s got someone on hand who can do psychosurgery therapeutics and they can put it on the Bancroft tab. Elliot doesn’t want anything from Bancroft. Kovacs tells him that he doesn’t think Bancroft did it, on account of how he’s into consensual death. (J: Again, ew.) However, if Kovacs keeps investing and finds that Bancroft did do it, he won’t stop Elliot from doing some murder. Elliot says that Kovacs doesn’t even care about Lizzie. Kovacs is like “no offense, but I don’t care about anyone.” But if it gets him what he wants, he’ll still help Lizzie.

Raven. Poe appears to greet Elliot, introducing himself as Kovacs’s partner, and then colleague. Kovacs says no and no. (J: Aww, c’mon Kovacs.) He’s the hotel. He’s the hotel that can fix Lizzie. Poe explains, in a lot of words, that while he spins Lizzie up into a virtual room to heal her, no one can talk to her. He doesn’t know how long that will take. Poe asks if he has Elliot’s consent, and he gives a story about saving people’s stacks during war and letting the sleeves die, but the point is that yes he consents. And if Poe messes up, he’s going to burn the whole hotel down. Kovacs smiles. Poe heads off. Elliot asks what Kovacs wants from him, now that that is all sorted. Kovacs says Elliot looks like he’s got friends in low places, and he needs some hardware.

Station. Ortega’s partner, Abboud, ask her wtf she’s doing now. Ortega is investigating the Mary Lou Hency thing. I’m a little unclear about this story line, to be honest. She fell out of the sky, which we watched a bunch. The mom was crying in the police station. And Ortega was hiding the body? Something weird with the body. Abboud tells Ortega to leave it alone, but she can’t, especially because the whole falling from the sky thing probably means that rich people who live in the sky are involved. And what do you know, Ortega will be around a bunch of them tonight. Abboud gravely says that Ortega’s father asked him to look after her before he died. Ortega is like GREAT then you can patch into my ONI and scan vehicles for me. Abboud says absolutely not (J: At which she gives a knowing ah but you will smile) and he pivots the conversation by asking why Ortega has a picture of Chief Justice Ertekin on her monitor. Ertekin is on the dinner guest list, aka a meth list aka a potential suspect list in Mary Lou’s death.

Jessica: And in Bancroft’s, apparently. Interesting that these two suspect lists seem to be the same, but like you Mari, I’m still not following this one too well yet.

Mari: Glad I’m not alone.

Kovacs and Elliot walk through the city as an announcement tells us that Dia de Los Muertos is the next day. Elliot asks what kind of name Takeshi Kovacs is. Kovacs says it’s Slavic and Japanese, which was a match made in hell in the case of his parents.

Elliot brings Kovacs to a candy cart. The proprietor tells Elliot to go away, because he’s broke. Elliot scans his credit, though, and he’s got the Bancroft money so Señor Candy Cart changes his tune and takes them down an alley to his real shop. After some prodding, he shows them the super special guns and gives a demonstration by almost shooting Elliot. This gun has a reverse button that then brings the bullet back, so you can hit a target twice. Kovacs says he’ll take it. Kovacs also takes a knife with poison built in. Elliot picks out a gun for himself, one he calls a classic, and also it sends Kovacs into a flashback.

Flashback. Renee Elise Goldsberry is demonstrating how to be a badass and beat guns and knives with speed and cool moves.

She tells everyone watching the training that the sleeve does not control you; you control the sleeve. “The true strength of the wolf isn’t fangs, speed, and skill. It’s the pack. Whatever world you needlecast into, build a pack.” 

Her voice continues in the present as she instructs them to build loyalty in a few capable locals, even if they will ultimately be expendable.

Jessica: It’s so interesting watching Kovacs use her lessons to work his mission here – both the Bancroft one and whatever other one he likely is working on in the back of his mind. Also makes his choosing of Elliot less sweet and more manipulative, despite the smile he gave when Elliot threatened Poe earlier.

Mari: Hard to tell at this point how many deep down feelings all this angst is covering up.

Later, back at the hotel, Elliot and Kovacs watch on a TV as Poe finds a weeping Lizzie and brings her into a room. At first, Lizzie doesn’t say anything, but then she grabs Poe and speaks: “They took mommy because she stole stars from the sky. They ripped her soul out through her eyes and froze it. Now she just spins around and around, a dancer in the frost.” Poe promises not to let anything hurt her in this place.

The feed on the TV fades. Elliot wants to see more, but Kovacs says that Poe is obviously making progress. This is the right thing to do. So, now it’s time for Kovacs to cash in his favor. He makes clear to Elliot that he’s there to watch Kovacs’ back, not take his own shot at Bancroft.

We cut to Kovas walking into Sun House with his pink book bag. (J: I love this bag so much.) Security stops him because he’s got a gun in his bag. It’s confiscated. Elliot is already inside. He complains about his tux and Poe, who is in communication with them probably through their eyePhones says it was the best he could do on short notice. Oretga arrives and her bag and gun are also confiscated. (J: Good thing Kovacs has his pack!)

Miriam spots Kovacs and comments on his fashion, wondering if this is his idea of something unique. He has no idea what she’s talking about, so she explains that Bancroft asked everyone to bring something utterly unique to the party. Kovacs scoffs. He also tells Miriam about the spybot that was watching them, but she doesn’t seemed concerned. Bancroft joins them and invites Kovacs to join him upstairs because they have business to attend to.

Ortega goes upstairs for a bird’s eye view of the party. She’s got Abboud on her eyePhone and tells him to start checking flight plans for all of the aircars for the guests in attendance. They banter some about how much work this will be until Ortega spots Kovacs. She seems way too surprised that he’s here.

Ortega spots something that interests her and climbs a lot of stairs to follow what. It’s two people wearing something that looks akin to what fencers wear. She asks for their fighting ID. The man provides it, and Ortega tells him to take off his ring for some reason I don’t follow. He explains it’s a wedding ring and the woman chimes in that she made him wear it. Ortega is surprised to find these two fighters are married.

Kovacs joins them, greeting Ortega and asking who the two others are. Ortega explains: they are hired to fight to the sleeve death. The winner gets an upgraded combat sleeve and the loser gets a downgraded one. Kovacs wonders if that means they go home to their kids as strangers. The woman says the kids are used to it. Kovacs doubtfully asks how old they are. Five and seven. Ortega and Kovacs say at the same time: they’re not used to it.

Back downstairs, Ortega and Kovacs both grab drinks. She asks him what he’s doing here. She told him there was nothing here for him. He tells her about the spybot in his room, which sure seems like something. Ortega doubts anyone at this party was spying on him. Kovacs says it was either him or Miriam Bancroft. Ortega is way too interested in what Miriam was doing in his room and too upset when he insinuates they slept together. She tells him to stay out of her way and stomps away.

Jessica: I like how they did the outfits in these scenes. Pretty much every one of the guests at the party is in some version of white, gold or silver flowy robes and silks. But Kovacs is in his black tux, and Ortega is in a dark plum dress that, while nice, still seems to be not quite as fancy rich as what everyone else is wearing.

Mari: We get more shots of the party, including blue drinks and meats and cheeses served up on a taxidermied tiger.

Kovacs joins Bancroft upstairs. Bancroft says he’s got more info on who at the party is a suspect and who isn’t. Kovacs says he thought this was going to be about Bancroft’s penchant for spending time beating sex workers to sleeve death. Bancroft says that isn’t important. He also gambles and knife fights, but he’s never taken a life, unlike Kovacs. They are distracted by a fight downstairs. Bancroft says his son Isaac can’t hold his liquor. Kovacs suggests that maybe Isaac pulled the trigger, but Bancroft says he doesn’t have the balls. He’s not sure where he went wrong with his son. Kovacs suggests he robbed Isaac of the natural order of life and death, boy becoming a man. Bancroft scoffs. He thinks Kovacs would bring back people he’s loved and lost, but Kovacs insists that it isn’t up to them to give and withhold death. Bancroft says that isn’t up to God anymore because God is dead, and they have taken his place. And if Bancroft is a God, Kovacs is his minion, here to observe and absorb, and find what others have missed.

Party. Kovacs finds a guy staring at the blood stain on the wall from when Bancroft was murdered. (J: Ewww.) (M: Truly, that is not party decor my guy.) He sidles up and says something mean about Bancroft. The guy doesn’t take the bait, saying instead that he used to hate Bancroft but then realized they are all just going to be living forever together. Kovacs quickly excuses himself.

Next we see him sitting with a woman who can’t believe they’ve never met. Kovacs makes something up about coming back from being off world to settle a debt with Bancroft, but someone got here first. This woman also doesn’t really take the bait. She says the fact that one of them can be murdered is terrifying. The killer must be caught and punished. Sounds terrifying when someone filthy rich says it.

Ortega spots the guy who looks like (OR IS? HELP?) Kovacs 1.0.

Jessica:

Mari: Ortega asks Abboud to scan the guy, but by the time Abboud tries to see who she means, the man is gone.

Kovacs checks in with Elliot who is being kept super busy as a waiter, whoops. Kovacs spots Miriam standing upstairs and he notices that the woman he was just talking to is also looking at her. He goes upstairs and realizes that the bookshelf Miriam was standing in front of is actually a door. He lets himself in and follows a hallway down  until he finds a room. Inside is Miriam and another man having sex. The man is startled and Miriam tells him to go. He kind of tries to square off with Kovacs, but idk who would square off agains that man, truly? Sex Man skedaddles.

Miriam tells Kovacs he can’t say anything about this. Kovacs asks who she even is. Miriam is like, “what? you know me.” Kovacs asks what his name is, then. She can’t answer. And so we learn that this isn’t Miriam, it’s Naomi, “the 12th daughter” wearing one of her mother’s clone selves to have sex in? This family is fucked up. (J: Ewwww.) Kovacs points out that the gun that killed Bancroft was in a safe that only he or Miriam could open. Or a kid in a Miriam sleeve… Naomi says first of all, she’s not a kid. She’s 67 years old. Second of all, if Bancroft dies, the kids are left with nothing. It’s written in the will that way and it’s how he protects himself.

And back at the party. Isaac is making more people mad by telling inappropriate jokes. Kovacs grabs him and pushes him up against the wall. The lawyer lady, Prescott, sees this and follows. Kovacs asks how drunk Isaac would have to be to kill his father. Isaac says he isn’t stupid. (J: Prove it kid, because so far… not convinced.) Bancroft is backed up. They all are. Prescott and another woman interrupt and Isaac runs off, waiting until he’s not near Kovacs anymore to call him crazy.

The other woman introduces herself as Clarissa Severin, an art and antiquities dealer. She knows Kovacs is an Envoy, but says Prescott didn’t tell her anything about it. Bancroft has been obsessed with Quellcrist Falconer forever. She thanks him because the finder’s fee for something as unique as him was considerable. She tells Prescott she’ll see her at the bar and leaves. Prescott stays behind to berate Kovacs some more, but he interrupts her to point out that she only cares about his table manners because it reflects on her. It’s clear she wants to become a Meth. She says she will become one. Kovacs asks about that finder’s fee thing, and it turns out Clarissa was the one who suggested to Bancroft that he spin Kovacs back up, and then collected a fee for finding him. Prescott basically calls him a pet project and leaves. (J: That does sting a bit.)

KVO tells us that he hasn’t really learned anything new, but he’s sure that no one at this party cares for any life but their own.

It’s show and tell time at the party. Isaac is saying that for his unique object he brought a hand that belonged to Konrad Harlan, founding father of Harlan’s World, and the hand has an important message for everyone. He lifts the petrified hand’s middle finger and laughs. No one else does. We see Elliot get in an elevator and a flash of Ortega.

Clarissa is presenting her unique item next, and she’s wearing it: a snake. She explains that it’s against the law to resleeve a human into anything but a human, but when you are rich, the laws don’t apply to you. So, she grabbed the stack of a rapist and a murder before he was killed and dowloaded him into a snake, just to see what would happen. Turns out, you go crazy. She tried to resleeve the man once, but he just lay on the ground and writhed, so she put him back into the snake, so he could be a snake forever. Everyone claps. Ortega and Kovacs meet each other’s eyes from across the room.

Meanwhile, Elliot has let himself down into the security room. The security guy says no one is supposed to be there, but Elliot still has a tray of drinks he offers to the security guard. Elliot finds Kovacs pink backpack and grabs a something pointy from it. When the security guard is distracted, he jabs him in the shoulder. The man struggles for a second, but Elliot explains that it’s Reaper. He’ll be out for a few minutes, and should probably tell no one about this, or else he’ll lose his job.

Bancroft is next at show and tell, and you just KNOW what’s coming. Bancroft grandly says that he has something that no one in the whole world owns but him: the last Envoy, Takeshi Kovacs. Everyone looks at Kovacs and claps. He somehow both managers to glare and have that look of someone who just wants to go back into their hidey hole. (J: It’s kind of an angry puppy look. We get to see it a lot between now and the end of the episode.) Ortega looks pained for him. Bancroft tells everyone to enjoy the rest of the entertainment. As Bancroft walks by Kovacs, he says that he thought Bancroft didn’t want to own him. Bancroft says that in this world, the only choice is between being the purchaser and the purchased. Kovacs glares some more daggers.

Elliot tries to gain access to something to no avail.

Everyone grabs spots for fight club time. Bancroft explains that it will be fight to sleeve death between a married couple who love each other. The fighters take their mark, and it turns out this is all also happening in zero g. Miriam says a fighting married couple seems in poor taste. Bancroft says no one is forcing the fighters to be here. They could just not fight. (J: Good job in making us continue to hate him, show!) From just behind them, Kovacs says that if Bancroft is trying to impress him, he’s failing. Bancroft smarms that Kovacs is far more entertaining than he knows.

The couple fights on until the woman gets slammed into a platform right in front of the Bancroft. We watch as the man lands on top of her and then starts beating the shit out of her, blood splattering everywhere. You can tell Kovacs is having a hard time just watching this, so of course, he interferes, grabbing the man before he lands another punch. Bancroft jumps on his chance and tells the fighting couple it will be upgraded sleeves for both of them if they can take Kovacs out. Kovacs is pulled into the fight in the zero gravity ring. He easily fends them off for a second before taking stock around him and calling for Elliot to come help. Elliot is still in the security room downloading something.

Ortega tells Bancroft he doesn’t have a fighting license for Kovacs and can’t do this. Bancroft says it was an unfortunate accident and plus, he owns Kovacs, so it’s fine. The fight between Kovacs and the man continues on and you get the feeling that Kovacs isn’t really giving it his all. Bancroft decides to make it more interesting by throwing a throwing star into the ring. The woman sees it and grabs it without Kovacs noticing. Elliot finally joins them and he’s got the pink backpack and the gun. Ortega sees the gun and grabs it, shooting the computer that controls the ring, destroying it. But not before the woman slices Kovacs’ back open, incredibly close to his stack.

All three fighters crash to the floor, but Kovacs is the only one able to stand. The woman is crying that her husband’s sleeve is wrecked, but he’s not dead, so no upgrades. Kovacs grabs the throwing star and send it straight into the man’s heart.

Jessica: That’s what you get for complaining, lady! She definitely gets a look like, ooh yeah, that was awkward about how mad I was for my husband being not dead. I see it now.

Mari: The whole thing was brutal and I understand none of the choices these future people are making.

He calls up to Bancroft to give his upgrade to the woman, or he could not keep his word? Bancroft says he will. It’s only fair. Miriam smiles down at Kovacs.

End of the night. Kovacs finds Bancroft standing moodily in front of a fire. Bancroft says they should be clear with each other, starting with, Kovacs should stay away from his wife. Kovacs asks if he was spying on him, then. Bancroft is like what? No, I just know my wife on account of being married to her for 100 years. Kovacs asks why Bancroft cares what his wife does, considering he does a whole lot on the side. Bancroft says Kovacs could never understand loving someone for 100 years and how it turns into veneration. It sounds like Kovacs like Bancroft is saying he loves his wife too much to fuck her, but Bancroft clarifies: he at least loves her too much to let Kovacs fuck her.

Next order of business: does Kovacs have anything to report on the investigation? He says nope. “Great party, though.”

Outside, Elliot joins Kovacs. He asks where the heck Elliot even was and if it was worth him getting cut up into ribbons. Elliot shows him the drive with the surveillance for the night Lizzie disappeared. Elliots asks if Kovacs has anything. Kovacs is likes YEAH, NAUSEA because these rich people are the worst. Ortega is around the corner, on cue, to agree that these rich people are the worst. She hands back Elliot’s gun, which is really Kovacs’ gun, which he grabs from Elliot. Ortega and Elliot introduce themselves to each other, and Ortega tells Kovacs to stay out of trouble for a little while. It’s not her job to keep saving him.

Jessica: She was around the horrible rich people so much that she now seems to hate him much less in comparison.

Mari: Kovacs tells Elliot he’s got something to chase down. Elliot asks if Kovacs needs backup and Kovacs gives him a withering glare. He’s got it.

Kovacs and his pink backpack head back to Jack It to see Alice. Alice comes stumbling out and apologizes, saying that they made her do it. Do what Kovacs asks and we see her stab him with some drugs in the neck. He falls back into glass and two tattooed men walk into the room and promptly kill Alice. Before he passes out, Kovacs takes something off his wrist.

When he comes to again, he sees he’s being wheeled through a room where a lot of people in scrubs are sitting at desks. The tattooed men realize he’s waking up and inject him again, sending Kovacs back into the flashback from the beginning. Baby Kovacs tells Baby Dichen Lachman that they never face the monsters alone. And then he’s out again.

The moral of the episode is Meths suck and LEAVE KOVACS ALONE.

 

Next time on Altered Carbon: Kovacs is tortured, I already hate it, in S01 E04 – Force of Evil.