Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Episode 1) – Let You Down

David Martinez lives in one of the rundown areas of Night City, however, his mother has put him in a prestigious academy in the hopes he’ll break free. But when she dies in a tragic accident, David’s priorities change!

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Episode 1) – Let You Down

What happened?

David tech is fairly low-tech by the standards of his classmates and in an attempt to keep up, he acquires some bootleg software. However, it blows the school’s servers and gets him into hot water with the principal. He’s already not popular with the other students and he knows it. The principal suggests that David might be better off at a different school where he fits in, but his mother is determined to help him raise out of the slums.

On their way home, she tells him about how she has worked herself to the brink of exhaustion just to give him that opportunity. He apologises and promises to try harder, but then a stray bullet flies through their windscreen. It’s followed by several more as a gang closes in on their target – the car next to them. Caught in the crossfire, there’s nothing they can do. When David wakes up, he’s upside down in the car, his mother is lying on the street beside him. The emergency response team arrive, but they are not insured so they leave them for the city clean up.

The doctor tells David that the surgery was a success and gives him the bill which will need to be paid in three days. His insurance doesn’t even cover visitation rights so he can’t even go and see her. The next day at school, one of the students decides to tell David exactly what he thinks of him and his mother, unaware of the accident. They get into a fight, but once again, David’s tech is lacking. As he lay on the ground bloody and bruised, he received a call from the hospital about his mother. He would need to pick up her body!

Cyberpunk Edgerunners Episode 1 David Martinez faces bully

What did you think?

So, this was fantastic. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a show since I first watched Ghost in the Shell. The tone was amazing and there were so many little details that showed what a crappy world this was for anyone that wasn’t at the top. Even little things like the stairs being controlled by thugs at his apartment building, forcing David to jump into a dumpster every day was inspired. I cannot get enough of this series and this is just the first episode.

Admittedly, there wasn’t anything particularly new or groundbreaking here, but it was just put together so nicely. I was gutted to see that David’s mother died as I liked her. It reminded me of Yoshino’s mother in Jujutsu Kaisen. I’ve still not gotten over that one. Anyhow, this was amazing and I can’t wait to get through the rest of the season, but first, let me tell you a little story that relates to Cyberpunk: Edgerunner.

When I flew to England for Christmas, I downloaded the whole season to watch on the plane. It seemed like a good use of the time. Once we were in the air and comfortable, I turned on the first episode. It opens with a brutally violent fight scene with an augmented guy with cyber-psychosis murdering policemen. I angled my phone a little so as not to upset the children sitting nearby. That scene ended and I relaxed. Then, it jumped to a first-person sex scene… Needless to say, I waited until I got home before watching the rest.