The Altered Carbon season 2 ending features a race to save Harlan’s World and a devastating sacrifice - followed by a glimmer of hope in the final scene. By the time the credits roll, Quell is on her way to a new planet, Takeshi Kovacs Prime has decided to remain on Harlan’s World, and the other Takeshi isn’t quite as dead as he appears.
When Takeshi first reconnects with Quell in Altered Carbon season 2, he discovers that she’s on a blood thirsty rampage against the founders of Harlan’s World. In the season’s penultimate episode, “Experiment Perilous,” it’s revealed that Quell is actually sharing her cortical stack with the consciousness of an Elder, a member of the planet’s indigenous species, from whom humans acquired the technology for creating stacks (and, therefore, eternal life). Though the Elders were thought to be extinct, this one is still alive - and very angry. After being forcibly separated from Quell, it instead hijacks the body of Colonel Ivan Carrera, who has been hunting down Quell and Takeshi.
In the Altered Carbon season 2 finale, “Broken Angels,” the Elder plots to destroy all life on Harlan’s World using Angelfire, a devastating energy beam fired by the web of orbital satellites surrounding the planet. Takeshi and Quell form an uneasy alliance with the planet’s ruler, Danica Harlan, to try and stop the Elder.
Where The Elder Came From (And Why It Wants Revenge)
The matter of how the Elder came to be in Quell’s stack in the first place is complex. 300 years before the start of Altered Carbon season 2, Konrad Harlan and the other founders arrived on the planet that would later be christened Harlan’s World. After discovering an Elder nursery with young members of the alien species slumbering in cocoons, Konrad reasoned that under first contact laws they would have to surrender the planet to the Protectorate. However, if it appeared that the Elders were extinct, then the planet and its riches would be theirs for the keeping, so they slaughtered the young aliens to secure their claim on the world.
But the nursery had a guardian Elder whose consciousness was stored inside the Songspire tree. It was under the roots of this same tree that Reileen Sawahara, Takeshi’s sister, imprisoned a clone of Quell so that she could torture her as punishment for stealing Takeshi’s loyalty. Quell was trapped until a group of Quellists led by Trepp’s brother, Anil, broke into the chamber and accidentally became infected by the Elder consciousness. It destroyed each of their minds but was able to possess Quell because her Envoy training had strengthened her mind. Once the two were united, Quell offered the Elder a deal: she would allow it to use her body to exact revenge on Konrad Harlan and the other founders, and in return it would spare the rest of the people on Harlan’s World.
Takeshi unwittingly broke this contract when he separated Quell’s mind from the Elder. To make matters worse, Konrad Harlan - the last surviving founder after the Elder’s rampage - is revealed to not have survived at all. He was killed by his daughter, Danica Harlan, so that she could take his place as leader and secure the alloy supply on Harlan’s World from the Protectorate. However, the Elder is still willing to accept that its quest for revenge is complete… until Danica Harlan reveals that she has been planning a betrayal all along. She’s soon real-deathed by the Elder, but any hope for peace is now gone.
Takeshi Sacrifices Himself To Kill The Elder
Because the Elder doesn’t have a physical body of its own, the only way to kill it is by destroying the stack it’s inhabiting - which means also killing the host. Quell plans to kill the Elder by letting it take her back and calling down Angelfire to destroy herself, but ultimately it’s Takeshi who does this instead in the Altered Carbon season 2 ending. Thanks to Colonel Carrera’s obsession with him, Takeshi is able to bring Carrera’s mind to the surface for long enough that the Colonel can shoot himself. The Elder quickly transfers itself into Takeshi’s body, and as Quell watches in horror, he burns himself and the Elder alive - saving the planet, but sacrificing himself. Of course, it’s later revealed that Takeshi’s sacrifice may not have been final.
What’s Next For Quell and Takeshi Kovacs Prime?
With Danica Harlan dead, Takeshi Kovacs Prime reports back to the Council of Harlan’s World that both the other Takeshi and Quellcrist Falconer were killed by the Angelfire. Because he is the only remaining Takeshi Kovacs, he argues that he should be spared the prescribed capital punishment for double-sleeving. He and Quell then make a plan to reignite her uprising: she will needlecast off-world, to find somewhere else to start the rebellion up again, and Takeshi Prime will use his position inside the Protectorate to act as a spy for her.
This sets up lots of exciting possibilities for Altered Carbon season 3. The resistance against human immortality has lain mostly dormant since Quell “died,” and even the uprising on Harlan’s World proved to be a sham orchestrated by Danica Harlan. Quell was the original creator of stacks and believes that eternal life has had a deleterious effect on humanity that can only be undone by restoring the former balance of life and death. With Quell back in action and Takeshi Prime helping her, Altered Carbon season 3 could be all about the war on death.
The Final Scene: How (And When) Did Poe Store Takeshi’s DHF?
Throughout Altered Carbon season 2, Poe was experiencing severe memory glitches as a result of damage he received at the end of season 1. These get worse and worse until finally he is forced to shut down at the worst possible moment: in the final battle, when Takeshi is about to die. Poe knows that his own death is coming and has been preparing for it with the help of Dig 301, who created a program in the guide of Lizzie Elliot that is designed to preserve as much of his memory as possible. Just before he shuts down, Poe writes down an encryption key on a sticky note in the hope that he will recover it along with the rest of his memories when he returns.
Three months after Takeshi’s death in the Altered Carbon season 2 ending, Poe finally rematerialized in The Nevermore - much to the delight of Dig, who has renamed herself Annabel Lee (after a poem by Edgar Allan Poe) and adopted a new outfit befitting the hotel’s aesthetic. Though Poe doesn’t yet remember who he is or what he has done for the past few hundred years, he does find the sticky note that he left for himself. Annabel enters the code and discovers that Poe is hiding a raw human DHF inside his memory. Annabel knowingly says that they should get the good whisky ready (whisky being Takeshi’s drink of choice), confirming that Takeshi’s mind has indeed survived.
It’s unclear when exactly Poe stored this copy of Takeshi’s DHF, though the two old friends had a frank discussion about their likely impending deaths before they went into the final battle with the Elder. It’s possible that, at this time, Takeshi asked Poe to save a copy of his DHF - especially since he was likely already planning to take Quell’s place as a sacrifice. However, we’ll have to wait for Altered Carbon season 3 to see exactly which version of Takeshi will be spun back up.
More: What To Expect From Altered Carbon Season 3
