Reactions: So fucking cool, complex
Where to watch: Netflix

This is some super deep, complex, badass sci-fi. I love when an amazing sci-fi concept comes to life in animation because it is unfettered by things like visual effects budgets. Pantheon goes there. Then goes beyond. It’s amazing. But it’s also very complicated sci-fi, not for beginners.

The premise is that a company founded by a now-dead visionary has finally been able to digitally upload someone’s entire consciousness. Of course, this also kills the physical body of the person being uploaded. The thing is, this isn’t allowed and they have publicly stated that they haven’t uploaded anyone. Except that… they have.

The show explores themes around class and what it means to be human. As more people become uploaded, are they still human? Do they have a right to exist? Som factions of the uploaded want all biological life to cease because digital life is better for the planet. There are, of course, some main characters that you come to grow fond of that help you stay connected to the otherwise heavy narrative.

Here’s what I like most about the two short but very rich seasons. The first season follows the two or three secretly uploaded humans (and then some) and their various quests to undo or promote the digital world. In the second season we see digital humanity rebel and use their super powered brains to punish biological human society for threatening their existence. Bio humans have to shut down the internet to survive. It’s impressive just how much happens in each episode.

But here’s a quirky twist, and my favorite thing about the show. Clearly the writers got word that the second season would be the end. So from what I can tell, they wrapped up Season 2 in six episodes. Then they used the final two episodes to tell an entire third season. And wow. Wow. Those final two episodes are some of the coolest sci-fi ever put on screen. Right up there with the last 100 pages of Dan Simmons’s four-book Hyperion Cantos.

I loved Pantheon. But I found myself getting lost or confused multiple times, which required rewatching certain parts or asking ChatGPT to help me understand. That being said, I do highly recommend it for the true sci-fi lovers out there.