Surjit Arnone

Lot's of potential, but falls short in the end. Overall Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is worth the watch. Its world is thriving, well built, and visually nothing short of stunning. Each episode and every frame looks like it could be an album cover with some of the best action and motion Trigger has made. The show's themes are consistent and perfectly reflect the world it takes place in. However As the show goes on, the pacing, lack of development, and lack of depth of characters leaves many episodes feeling pointless and, at worst, insulting. (Spoilers and in depth thoughts below) In one episode David goes from talented streetkid to competent member of the gang. In one episode Maine shows signs of, undergoes, then dies to cyberpsychosis, taking down Dorio down with him. The same essentially happens to David who is "hinted" at having psychosis but only really experiences it in two episodes. Rebecca gets even less respect, getting stomped in literal seconds as a way to power scale Smasher. She isn't even given the bare minimum of a reaction from David who, at that point, is only focused on Lucy. Now, some will say this makes sense. After all, the main driving theme of the show is that "Night City and the desire for fame" or in a more general sense "the selfish lust for fame and recognition" will lead to your death. In Night City, every life is meaningless. You make it, or you don't. But killing off characters that, by the end of their arcs, amount to a cardboard cutout of some tropes is absolutely NOT a good execution. The strength of Cyberpunk 2077 was the subtlety, the very clear distinction in how deep and nuanced the lives of individuals in Night City are, and why their death's are such a waste. THE ENTIRE POINT OF JACKIE'S FUNERAL IS TO HIGHLIGHT HOW MUCH MORE COMPLEX HE WAS. Introducing characters just to kill them and make us "feel bad" is cheap, and the fact that those who die are effectively forgotten sometimes within the episode makes that fact even more brazen. The only character who gets even a fraction as much development is Lucy, which is great, because she is probably the most subtle and interesting character in the show, with David as a close second. Their relationship is a highlight of the show and shows what it could have been had it just taken the time to slow down and breathe. I know I just bashed on the show a ton, but it is good. For what it is, you get a classic, albeit simple, hero's downfall with an ending that had me tear up. Its art and world are exceptional, its characters are fun and easy to love, but do not expect true greatness. With a little more development, a bit more time, and more character moments, it could have been great.