This show was very good. Amazingly good. And creepy. What is it with Netflix shows and creepy crawling things? Does it just get the "creep" factor going or something? (The spinal cord thing was cool until it crawled on the floor. The alien brain parasite was just NOPE.) I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started watching the show as I actually try to avoid trailers but I had seen that there was a new actual sci-fi show coming out and decided to give it a shot.
I think the best way to go through this is by character and then go on to the plot lines (especially the title of the show).
My first impression of Niko (Katee Stackhoff) is that she can fight. I mean, maybe not what the first impression was supposed to be but for a semi-retired astronaut with an eight year old daughter she is very capable. If I were the Achaia I wouldn't want to go against her, she is most definitely the prime example of what can occur when human emotion and intellect come together. She is also completely flawed which, for me, is a saving grace for her character and just drives home the human-ness of her story and actions.
William, poor, poor William... Played by Samuel Anderson who holds a special place in my heart for having played Danny Pink in Doctor Who. William is a little tragic. I take it that he is quite possibly the very first completely sentient AI that has ever been created, at least the first one with the full range of human emotions. It was heart wrenching to see him fall in love with Niko and have his heart broken. He didn't grow up with these emotions, he just was one day and never had the time to learn the small coping mechanisms that we employ from experience. His story's culmination in using the programming from the alien artifact to give life to his simulation and accidentally creating new sentient life is pretty consistent with typical rash human heartbreak actions. It will be iteresting to see the interactions between him and this new "program" in the nest season (assuming that the new one is not actually a plant by the aliens and going to ultimately destroy them all...).
Zayn managed to stand out as my favorite, of course I am usually a sucker for the medic so it is hardly surprising. JayR Tinaco was amazing in the role and perfected the micro-expressions of the character wonderfully. It is sometimes hard to feel as if the medical doctors on shows are qualified but I never doubted Zayn's position as the medic nor their competence. The emotion in that last episode was absolutely perfect. I can't wait to see the actor in more roles and to enjoy seeing the character grow more in season 2.
Cas was a pretty typical second in command, I liked her backstory that let us see what her history was with Niko (and gave a bit more credence to her claim of Niko as a control freak who tries to mold the world into the image she desires). Seeing her insecurities and watching her step up at the end despite them was a nice addition. It showed a lot of character growth and was portrayed well.
The love triangle/grouping of Oliver, Javier, and August was incredibly interesting to see on television because it is something that is so rare to see on screen. I was kind of getting some Elfquest vibes from it but that is just because I grew up on those comics. It was nice seeing that the the three characters retained their individuality and were never defined solely by their relationship with each other. That is actually something that the show did well for their human members (sorry, William) all around: no one was defined by their romantic interests, they were all people first. I am also not at all trusting of the new Javier. He was so devastated that he was sterile after the radiation thing that his blase reaction to August being pregnant is really suspicious.
Sasha was a tragic victim of his own insecurities. He never wanted to be in space and, honestly, he was rubbish at nearly everything.
Bernie and Michelle both had character arcs and did both feel a little like stereotypes. Bernie was the microbiologist and cook with the long hair and the genial attitude. The guy who would harvest a plant that is basically alien weed. Michelle: the hot head. Insolent and unapologetic. Anger issues that for some reason almost made her likable. Of course she would go out the hero. Beauchamp also fit into the category where he felt a little like a stereotype of the gay man. Hopefully in the next season we get more out of his character and get to know him a little better.
I don't have as much to say about the people on Earth. Erik is a typical scientist except that, unlike most, he chose his daughter over the science. That is why he was not infected with a brain centipede thing, he rejected the science in favor of something more important. That is the same reason that Harper would be the one with the device in her brain, she cares more about the "truth" than anything else... And now she is doomed.
There is also no way that you will convince me that the Achaia didn't deliberately give Jana Leukemia.
As for the title of the show: In its own trippy way, most of the episodes do show what was in another life. We see what people were in the past (Cas and Niko), we get stories of the motivations to go into space (August), the dream sequence that is literally examining the different turns that the past could've taken (Niko), and the images that Sasha sees of himself as the metal parasite makes him lose go crazy before taking over. Most importantly, we see the alien planet, Zakir, devoid of all life but one, lone, uninfected survivor. Immediately after we are informed about the destructive nature of these aliens we see them offering help on Earth. We go from the destruction of Zakir to the huge video of Harper Glass proposing the Achaia as Earth's friends. It truly was a wonderful parallel of what could be (or was or will be) in another life.
Hopefully, despite the ratings, we will be blessed with a season 2 so that we can see how the story continues.
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