Comic Review: gen:LOCK “down:FALL Part 1”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)
The Union siege rains down on the city as the pilots attempt to regroup and save civilians, but they soon realize they can’t do anything helpful without their Holons and run towards Anno’s base to steal them back. Cammie gets there first makes it on the Renegade, finding a copy of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and putting the dots together with Sycorax and Caliban, along with uncovering information that likely tells her the same that Sycorax told Chase. Sycorax then resurfaces and possesses Caliban in order to activate the Shogunate, which Anno’s team couldn’t get going without a thousand minds.

OUR TAKE

While we creep up on the one year anniversary of the official release date (not counting the preview) of gen:LOCK’s very first episode, we’re onto the fifth solid issue of the comic series that bridges the first and second seasons. And much like all the other half issue online releases like we’ve seen eight times before, there isn’t a whole lot happening in this half issue to talk about. We carry on from the invasion that began last issue (or…two issues ago? Whatever.) and get to see more things that were surprisingly absent from the series proper, namely the pilots in a situation that puts their strength-enhancing suits to the test and has them saving civilians. I did always find it odd that the first season never brought them in contact with people outside of the war zone. Heck, for all we know, this might end up being the first public appearance of Holons in combat since the project was likely kept top secret in the previous battles the team got sent into. Basically this show dabbles a lot more in things that I think the show should have gotten to first and I don’t know how to feel about that.

And the other notable stuff centers around Cammie making the connection on Sycorax (that she apparently couldn’t just google when they first heard the name like I did) and seems to be caught up on what happened to them, while Sycorax and Chase are now going to hijack an even gianter robot that requires a thousand brains to move by using their three or four brains. Maybe being gen:LOCK compatible makes them count for more, but I don’t know if they mentioned if this was running on GL tech or not. But either way, I guess I’m glad this big thing will get some use on the field, though I am curious exactly what good it will do before it is taken down to make way for the GL pilots to save the day. Or maybe Shogunate is all they need and the pilots get upstaged? And how does this factor into Sycorax’s and Chase’s plans? They want to bring “an end to war itself” to make “Weller’s dream” happen, but…what does that mean? And who will get the useless narration stick once Yaz finishes her turn next time? Only mad scientist David Tennant truly knows this for sure.