Main cast: Archie Madekwe (Sedgwick), Sebastian Croft (Fletcher), Beatriz Godinho (Logan), Alexander Lobo Moreno (Brume), Miguel Amorim (Oxo), Mike Bodie (Father), and Maria Teresa Creasey (Mother)
Director: Robert Valley
A few minutes to Ice—which given its runtime of about 13 minutes, is like one-third of the episode—I wonder whether this is based off some young adult story. All the typical tropes are there: a protagonist that is special just by existing, some surface level message about humanity over robotics any time, and how in the end the meanies rally around our protagonist.
In a time and place when people are modded with cybernetics… except Sedgwick. This young man spends all his time whining about how he is an outsider and yelling at his younger, modded brother Fletcher for being so much better than him in every way. While I understand his angst, yikes, what a wet rag.
At any rate, Wet Rag decides to sneak out to crash Fletcher’s party with his new friends. These friends are all “Eeeuw, unmodded loser!” at first, but when they get the party started and race against the frost-whales, a exhilarating and potentially fatal kind of fun to modded adrenaline junkies and very likely fatal for Sedgwick, ooh.
This episode has some spectacular visuals, especially when a touch of bright color is added against a dark background, but the story is a let down, mostly because of Wet Rag. Even at the end, when he realizes that the others have faked human weaknesses just to make him feel included somewhat, he’s not grateful as much as he is once again annoyed.
Oh well, when he gets too whiny, I suppose they can all run away and unmodded crybaby loser Wet Rag will never be able to keep up with them.
Ice is a watchable episode, and a nice one to look at, but it’s also on the vaguely annoying and forgettable side when it comes to the story.
There is also a bit of a cringe and a shudder to be had, when the take home message inadvertently becomes how because you are fully human, you are entitled to whine about being given special treatment and privileges as you feel “oppressed” by other more capable people around you.
Oh wait, I suppose that makes this episode “relatable” to the TikTok and Twitter generation?
