tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795354962718403859.post3285994999421564321..comments2024-01-24T14:52:10.421-05:00Comments on Where is Inter-dimensional Dave?: Almost Human - An Angry God?Interdimensional Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02859157830795670649noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795354962718403859.post-29438423098447763252013-12-20T18:49:12.114-05:002013-12-20T18:49:12.114-05:00Hi Dave,
This is probably my favorite episode of...Hi Dave, <br /><br />This is probably my favorite episode of AH so far. Watching Michael Ealy play 2 different DRNs was a treat and my favorite part. Although it was originally filmed as the 3rd episode I thought it bookended thematically with the previous episode, Blood Brothers, rather well. <br /><br />As you outlined very nicely above there is a lot of "playing God" going on in this episode and in the series as a whole. To what end? Here it's all about the $. It is pretty bleak that in this future people are literally paying for more life. (not that we don’t do this now to a lesser degree) While criminals are exploiting them illegally, the medical corporations are also in a more insidious way by preventing artificial organ recycling to keep prices high. Arrhythmia is a great title, not just for the direct heart reference, but also to indicate a society with priorities out of sync.<br /><br />One of the key quotes from Blood Brothers was "What would you do to save yourself?" We see that played out in Arrhythmia in a number of ways. The desire for "more time" was brought up more than once. (Another Blade Runner reference, along with one light stick umbrella sighting.) Even though the woman patient was told of the scam she still wanted “in” just for a little more time. I believe the creep in the crematorium (sounds like a Bones episode) was named Henry. Henry could have done the right thing and reset the timers. He chose not to and killed his accomplice just to buy himself more time. I found it interesting that Henry seemed jealous of Dorian's longevity. And why wouldn't he be? Part of being human is facing death. Humans have tried to cheat that finality, but a synthetic actually can. <br /><br />Another thematic tie-in to Blood Brothers was individuality. I honestly had not seen the preview for this episode when I wondered in my comment last week about how Dorian would react to another DRN "clone". Kinship was clearly the answer. No surprise that Dorian would sympathize with another DRN demoted to maintenance work. One thing their interaction illustrated is that like humans, their choices and actions have consequences and shape who they are. The Rube Goldberg-esque destruction of the MX on the street was a humorous way to illustrate this. (What is the MX scrap heap toll now? Somebody must be keeping a running count.) DRN494 was both proud of and scarred by his past actions that saved a young boy. He is now "terrified" to carry a gun, he broke protocol once and was demoted, no matter how noble the reason. Dorian selectively restores the memory of the boy, DRN494 will be remembered and the memory of that human connection will be a comfort to him. It reminded me of Dorian’s parting gesture with Maya last week. So do humans have another reason to be jealous of the DRNs? DRNs can make mistakes and get a clean slate, a memory wipe and no guilt. <br /><br />Finally, coffee is OK, but chewing gum is not OK. <br /><br />Impatiently surviving the winter hiatus, Lynne<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02043207251205347321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795354962718403859.post-21063749972917420412013-12-19T16:31:34.307-05:002013-12-19T16:31:34.307-05:00This episode seems to really have connected with y...This episode seems to really have connected with you. Indeed, the idea of playing god was strong... Though I saw the episode (in pieces because of family issues) also as a statement of what some people will do with progress, meaning - some will unfortunately just try to make a buck out of it.<br /><br />I liked the counterplay of watching Dorian and DRN: they are made of the same parts part are very different, one being considered faulty. Contrasted with what the mortician was doing with the artificial hearts (I never would have thought of doing that... I've made a rotten crook)<br /><br />I liked this episode almost as much as the Cyndi Lauper one...<br /><br />Really well thought out post, David!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15946471448758902767noreply@blogger.com