Season Review: Gen:Lock Season Two

The folks from Rooster Teeth have been making some intriguing content throughout the years, primarily from the animation department. I was familiar with most of them, but I didn’t experience them myself. Maybe they didn’t interest me that much, or I couldn’t find the time to watch them? Who knows. It wasn’t until now that I could finally see what the fuss was about.

Regarding Rooster Teeth, the only shows that came to my mind were RWBY, Red vs. Blue, and Transformers: War for Cybertron, which I thought was pretty darn good. Fortunately, another series made it onto the list, and it happens to feature humans controlling giant robots. That show, in particular, is Gen:Lock, or as I would like to call it, Rooster Teeth’s Pacific Rim.

The first season offered a simplistic “good vs. evil” story arc that featured a group of teens fighting for the Polity against the Union. While it isn’t without its issues in its pacing and narrative, it was a watchable sci-fi series that continues Rooster Teeth’s approach in providing adult animation. The second season, which debuted last month, takes the series a step further regarding the concept. It further explored the rivalry between the Polity and the Union and specific characters like Yaz, who defected from the Union to join the gen:LOCK program. It also represented more stakes for the team, such as Kazu’s death, being hunted by the Polity, and the “Twilight”. No, I’m not talking about the romance novel with vampires and werewolves. I meant the nanotechnology cloud that kills people. Although, it would be cool to see the gen:LOCK team battling vampires and werewolves if they happen to continue the show with a third season.

Gen:Lock is a show that requires the viewers to watch them entirely to understand the concept fully. That’s how I describe my experience of finishing the series’ sophomore season. I was confused at first since I started the show with the season’s sixth episode, “The Third Way”. Fortunately, after binge-watching the previous episodes, I became invested in the scenarios, even though some were harder to explain in my own words.

I liked this season a bit more than its first season for one main reason: the character development. With season one being a formulaic story arc centered on two warring factors, season two attempted to provide more depth in the Polity and Union members. The end of its first episode, “When the Leaves Began to Turn”, showed that the Polity was the one who struck first, and the Union may not be as overly evil as we thought they were. Although, their beliefs were still pretty problematic. The season showcased plenty of elements reflecting spiritualism in philosophy and politics, mainly in “The First Strike” and “The Grand Guignol”, which added more interest to its traditional storytelling.

That alone was enough for me to consider this season a slight improvement over the show’s introduction. Unfortunately, the flaws that appeared in the previous season were still intact in its sophomore season, mainly its length. It’s not for the episodes. It’s the entire season in general.

Like season one, season two consists of only eight episodes, which meant that they tried to introduce as many plot elements as they could fit in that amount of time, such as Chase becoming Nemesis in “The First Strike” and the relationship between Kazu and Val. It’s a suitable way for the viewers to grow more attached to the characters, mainly the gen:LOCK team. However, those plot elements felt rushed or complicated for a viewer to follow along or grasp onto emotionally. If they expanded the season to the usual 13 episodes, it would’ve given me more time to grow more attached to the characters amid their crisis. There’s a lot to take in and plenty to remember, making this a struggling experience for me despite the season’s narrative ambition.

Aside from its error codes, Gen: Lock’s second season is still functional enough to provide some tolerable science fiction entertainment. Part of that is due to the voice cast, which consists of some big names like Michael B. Jordan, Maisie Williams, David Tennant, and Dakota Fanning. As usual, the actors did a good job voicing their characters and providing some decent depth into them, especially Jordan and Williams as Chase and Cammie, respectively.

Another element that worked in season two was the animation, which has the same anime-influenced presentation as RWBY. Despite it looking like something out of a video game, the style showcased some actual effort put into the designs, the action sequences, and the visuals. One of the best uses of the animation style was during the season two finale, “Touch What’s in Front of You”. That episode had a transformation sequence in which the Flow-infused Cammie merged with Yaz and Val to create a Flow mech to battle the Twilight. That scene hearkens back to the transformation scenes showcased in the classic anime shows of yesteryear, even though it didn’t provide any uniqueness to its formula.

Overall, Gen:Lock season two offered a slight upgrade over season one regarding its narrative and characters. Sadly, its typical bugs in its system prevented it from rising above the sci-fi mecha formula. Despite its compelling cast, character growth, and solid animation, the season’s handling of its plot elements and the eight-episode length make it a tricky code to crack. I wouldn’t say it’s the worse animated series I’ve seen, but I didn’t see anything too great about it. I think people who enjoyed the previous season of Gen:Lock would appreciate the second season a bit more, mainly because of its exposition. Anyone who lacks interest in its elements or started this season blind may find their journey as complex as hacking a computer system.