Altered Carbon season 2, episode 2 recap – “Payment Deferred”

This recap of Netflix Series Altered Carbon Season 2, Episode 2, “Payment Deferred” contains significant spoilers.

• Read the Season 2 review.
• Read the recap of Episode 3.
• Read the recap of the previous episode (1)
• Access the archive of all the episode recaps.

Well, the start of Wpisode 2, “Payment Deferred”, gives us a taste of what Colonel Carrera is all about — he is a character that is definitely going to be enjoyed. He takes it upon himself to take over the murder investigation of Horace Axley. He asks Detective Lorcan some pressing questions, showing the military spec sleeve. After he retrieves all the information, Carrera kills Lorcan and his team brutally slaughter Lorcan’s squad.

S**t…

Anyway, back to Kovacs, who is wondering why Quellcrist did not kill him when she murdered Axley. He ponders whether she knew it was him. Poe suggests to Kovacs to speak to Axley’s bounty hunter but Kovacs becomes irritated that Poe’s memory keeps glitching. It’s clear Poe is afraid he is going to for Lizzie and does not want to reboot.

I could understand Poe’s reluctance to reboot, especially with the emotional sentiment — I expected Kovacs to show a sliver of empathy here, but he gives nothing.

Back to Colonel Carrera who visits Danica Harlan. He claims her cease-fire has not held and tells Danica that Horace Axley is dead. Carrera blames the attack on the Quellists. Due to the military sleeve information he found on-site, he claims the murder investigation is under his jurisdiction. Carerra calls Danica foolish for trying to make peace with the terrorists.

There’s evidently tension between government figures and the military in Episode 2.

Kovacs finds Axley’s bounty hunter Trepp from the first episode who shot him before being placed in his new sleeve. Kovacs kelps Trepp attack another bounty hunter Raab and his men and then threatens to destroy the stacks unless he gets more information — Trepp needs credits.

Trepp gives Kovacs information about extortion and blackmail regarding Axley; she gives the names of the partners — Anton Durov and Haruki Okada. Trepp wants to work with Kovacs but he claims he works alone and gives Trepp the valuable stacks. Back at the safehouse, Kovacs asks Poe to look into Anton Durov and Haruki Okada but then Poe has another memory glitch and Kovacs fumes — Poe’s time to solve this problem is running out.

Tanaseda Hideki has found the Meths Kovacs is looking for — Kovacs believes someone is walking around in Quellcrist Falconer’s skin. Rumors are that Axley’s DHF backup memories were destroyed as well, but Kovacs heads to the club Hideki recommended to find out the truth.

Kovacs meets Anton Durov and Haruki Okada inside; he lavishes them with drugs to gain rapport. The two men get high, and he uses this moment to discuss Horace Axley. Anton and Haruki claim that Quellcrist Falconer is back. Kovacs tells both men that Axley is dead and wants to know if they still have the patch so that he can see what Axley saw, and in return, he will offer them protection. The patch reveals Quellcrist on a killing spree — Kovacs does not believe that it is her.

But the ending of Altered Carbon Season 2, Episode 2, “Payment Deferred” soon gives Kovacs the answer. Quellcrist turns up at the clubs and begins killing people, including brutally killing Anton and Haruki. Kovacs wants Quellcrist’s sleeve, believing it isn’t the real her. Kovacs and Quellcrist engage and fight and when Kovacs throws a knife at her in a particular way, she realizes it is Kovacs, and at that moment, Kovacs realizes it really is Quellcrist.

Kovacs and Quellcrist do not get any time to catch up as Colonel Carrera’s men arrive; Quellcrist escapes after Kovacs tells her to run away. Carerra puts an arrest order on Kovacs who tries to fight back but Carrera reveals that the sleeve he is wearing is Wedge Tech, which is owned by the military, so Kovacs is unable to pull the trigger on Carrera no matter how hard he tries. Carrera cockily says, “You are nothing but my b***h”.

And now breathe.

Altered Encryptions

• Colonel Carrera sees himself as a man with a strategy as he moves chess pieces as his team slaughters Lorcan’s team.
• Danica is asked to contact her father Konrad for advice on the Protectorate. Danica claims he is truly gone. She asks Dugan to give her time.
• Tanaseda asks Kovacs if the anger is with the imposter or with himself.