A Complete Breakdown/Analysis of Beyond The Aquila Rift (Episode & Short Story)

[@robwright8949]

My understanding was that, because this reality was created for him, that the Suzy that he wakes up isn't the real Suzy. She's the manifestation of his consciousness trying to warn him that what he's experiencing isn't real. "Suzy" is the rational part of his mind that is resisting the false reality.

[@aliidris657]

Was about to write this. Its his subconscious. Totally spot on. In the short story, Suzy's purpose in the story is much more different

[@emmanueluge7956]

I feel like that was the real Suzy tho

[@rockstarboi9992]

In this adaptation, we have reason to believe that Suzy was actually alive, seeing as when he came out of the illusion, she looked as if she had passed recently. Also when he reset, Suzy wasn't there.

[@robwright8949]

@@rockstarboi9992 So was Thom and Suzy's consciousness occupying the same false reality, similar to the Matrix?

[@rockstarboi9992]

@@robwright8949 Yes! Greta was feeding a shared-simulation to both of them.

[@theexchipmunk]

I would disagree. Beyond the Aquila Rift is a horror story. Just not the kind of horror most people seem to think it is. Its old school cosmic horror. And while there is some alien weird stuff, thats not the horror. The horror, the monster, is space. The cold unforgiving incomprehensible vastness that will turn everything you ever knew to dust if even a small mistake is made.

[@thodorosxanthopoulos]

My issue with this logic is, why have humans on the ship? Why is it no fully automated, we close to fully automated transports, not quite there yet but we will get there. (although our spacecraft are already automated, they fly to their target and land/dock without direct human inputs)
So from what I remember the guy's ship was a delivery ship right? So indo have to ask, why bother having humans on board, especially when you traverse space through an unreliable means of transport?

[@WickedPrince3D]

@@thodorosxanthopoulos Well the easy answer goes with the saying "to err is human, but to really F things up takes a computer." Humans can recognize when they've made a mistake and try to find a way to correct when an AI might never realize it made a mistake. Also, with all the advances we've been making with computers we still can't create a memory device with a reasonable range of the capacity of the human brain. If you are a Halo fan think about what happened to Cortana? As an AI with limited memory she eventually hits her limit and starts to go insane as she tries to figure out how to deal with having to purposely erase memories so she can create more. She starts to become more erratic and makes more mistakes.

[@theexchipmunk]

@@thodorosxanthopoulos Well, from the look of it they already reduced crew requirements to the absolute minimum. You still want humans on board as they have the capability of creative problem solving even if completely on their own.

[@thomasley4006]

That was actually always the most frightening thing about „Alien“: That it all happens so far away, in a terribly lonely corner of the universe. I never felt this kind of creepiness again - until „Aquila Rift“.

[@efxnews4776]

It also isn't cosmic horror at the same time...
The weird alien stuff, also takes a bit away from the whole dread like: hey buddy, the universe isn't all bleak and grim, theres some nice folks here too...
So to me never was a horror story, just some twist in the cliche of love affair between humans and aliens.

[@graithen8955]

I always thought she was some kind of psychic creature that was constructing a reality for him because she knew he would eventually die due to the fact there were no resources to look after humans. Suzy could see through her psychic influence which is why she was freaking out. So like a human trying to make an animal comfortable as it dies, this alien wants to make their passing easier.

[@DeltaCain13]

I considered that in the process of trying to communicate with Tom over and over and over again, that the alien controlling Greta's avatar fell in love with him. Which is made all the more tragic when Tom is awakened from the pod, she's met with his absolute terror upon seeing her true form. At least that's how I interpreted it.

[@thomascoolidge2161]

Yep this is it. This right here. It was obvious to me but never occurred to me that it wasn’t obvious to everyone.

[@TheKarjee]

I love this story and the character of Greta is probably one of the nicest creatures in all of fiction. To go from becoming stranded with no hope of getting home, to guidance counsellor for people unlucky enough to share your fate. Amazing! I remember unsubscribing from a reviewer because they closed their review with "He'll be eaten by this creature, trapped in her web" ?_?.

[@HiperPivociarz]

Implication from the short story is that Greta is trying to slowly help him adapt to the new community. Which is lovely, but not as existencially scary as being a slowly dying man slowly comforted by an alien hivemind, with no implicstion that there is any other live in the universe than humans and this creature.

[@mooncake387]

i thought it was some kind of alien predator that traps alien ships and feeds of off them somehow

[@nightblade628]

Something I've not seen mentioned anywhere else: in the novel, when the crewmates are dead because their custom paintjobs caused the tank filter intakes to clog, there's a reason Ray is more decomposed than Suzy. Thom states that they both received their custom paintjobs on the same day, except Ray didn't spend nearly as much on his BVM (Blessed Virgin Mary) one as Suzy did on hers, and, because hers used less paint (a few stars vs. two whole figures of Mary and baby Jesus) the cheaper paint flaked off in far greater quantities, killing Ray first.
I don’t see how anyone can come to the conclusion that “Greta” is anything other than kind and benevolent. 95% of the ship would be useless for its inhabitants as it wouldn’t be able to sustain them indefinitely, unless integrated into the massive hive and put to good use. Greta *was* using them in a way, but not to feed off them; she needed their supplies as well, which is perfectly sensible when they're good as dead otherwise.
Also, Suzy attacking Greta in the episode isn’t because she saw through her; it was a subtle hint left by Greta to make Thom come to the realisation by himself in a “show, don’t tell” kind of way. Since she could tell how suspicious he was at any given moment, everything she did was a step toward allowing him to figure out what was going on by himself. Suzy was also already dead at that point anyway.
Lastly, because of the advanced decay of the ship *after* it had come apart it's clear that Greta and her workers had been keeping Thom alive for quite a while. The problem is that "alive" doesn't necessarily mean "healthy", and without being able to synthesise or provide the proper food, all she could do was keep him on life support before he eventually died. If we captured an Alien, all we could do is try to keep it alive as best we could but without knowing enough about its biology, it would eventually die. In the novel, it's hopeful that Thom will eventually come to his senses and join the colony, but in the LD+R episode it looks a bit bleaker than that.

[@Lone1Wolf8]

I was trying so hard to figure out why people thought she was malevolent at all? Only thing i could settle on was because of her real appearance and that they must have forgotten everything she said before her reveal. Was pretty obvious that she had no ill intent, at least imo.

[@MaxRavenclaw]

I too found it surprising that so many people thought she wasn't benevolent. It felt obvious she was benevolent to me.

[@dylanwight5764]

In the episode (I haven't read the novel) it seemed more like the simulation distorted a real sense of time. The first time _we_ see Greta, Suzy could still be alive. Time might progress slower in the simulation, so placing Suzy back into the tank is a method for Greta to remove Suzy from the simulation so that she die peacefully herself, assuming her condition is deteriorating faster than Thom's.

[@efxnews4776]

@@dylanwight5764 some folks pointed out that Suzi wasn't actually the real Suzi but a construct too, made to give hints to Tom that what is seeing isn't actually what is there.
Others said that this was Thom's mind fighting back the telepathic simulation of Greta.
Anyway, Suzi is dead when Thom wake up, but not because Greta or the other aliens killed her.

[@efxnews4776]

@@MaxRavenclaw it isn't funny how you can clearly see that some folks in the same shoes as Thom would spend a lot more time in "treatment" than others just by looking in the youtube comment section?

[@PresidentialWinner]

If i were Greta I would simply say; "Hello Thom, good morning. This is a simulation, it's been over 150 years. You are stranded on a space station with aliens, one of which i am. This is simply an avatar. Now, your real life body is not going to last forever but you can live any life you want in this simulation. What kind of simulation do you want to live in? If you want to get out, here is a picture of the real life situation (show's eldritch horror) trust me you don't want to go outside the simulation. So what will it be? What kind of simulation shall we make? It's a sandbox and you can do whatever you want here"
I think that would convince me to stay in the sim. And why not, you can live any life you want.
Awesome video.

[@dannykstick]

It'd still hurt though. I'd still have to choose to be slowly transitioned.

[@Raul195]

Most likely that was the first attempt that did not go smoothly :D

[@PresidentialWinner]

@@Raul195 Good point!

[@efxnews4776]

@@Raul195 you are definitely right...
Thom must have freak out as soon as he heard simulation....

[@FragileBitch]

That's the point. No one, Especially no one who was just a moment ago putting himself in Cyro sleep and on FTL voyage and expecting this to be on a destination at ease by the time he's wake up, Would accept that. The first thought would be that this is a trick, A deception. And I am sure even with all those say, He will still want to waking up. Or even if not, The thought of his own pysical body slowly decaying away while he enjoy a blissful moment in the smiulation will still going to gnawing on the mind thus will still making him want to breaking out of the simulation, Despite the warning.

[@edithwaters380]

Personally, I think it's a horror story in Thom's reaction, his inability to accept her. This human failing of not being able to accept the unfamiliar or the subjectively grotesque.

[@tworfling]

Exactly.

[@benl51195]

To play devil's advocate, she did lie to Thom from the start, his whole life has been upended, I don't blame him for not taking it with grace

[@thelordofcringe]

Can't believe someone who made a video this well thought out, well edited, and confidently voiced, has 500 subscribers. More of this quality content and you'd definitely blow up.

[@yujinnya]

Well, RUclips algorithm-god is graceful and now it's 1k already)

[@SeitansDaughter]

That's true but I have to say : the accent is quite hard to understand for Frenchies. Maybe a better pronunciation could help.

[@msanne4787]

i agree, even though its more now

[@dylanmorrow1343]

Her phrase "lost souls" made me think it was something like hell.

[@efxnews4776]

Sometimes what he think is hell, is just a heaven we can't compreend where theres a lonely angel craving for company...

[@GunsAndChill]

@@efxnews4776 fallen angel

[@efxnews4776]

@@GunsAndChill Nope...
Go read Ezekiel book...
Some of the angels there have more eyes than Greta...
Again, a fallen angel would lead in a dark far from the truth, that wasn't what Greta was doing...
She was trying to say the truth to Thom, not the other way around...
Also go read the original short story.
Some of the things Greta say there are just variations of what Jesus would say, no fallen angel would ever say the same things.

[@thefreeman1970]

I think it's kind of ingenious to make Greta a spider. It really drives home the point that we are afraid of her purely because spiders represent fear in a way. Even without taking into account who she really is, we assume we have to be afraid of her motives. Her motives aren't devouring the lost souls but merely caring for them. However, you can't really understand the whole thing in such a short movie. The only thing to do this short story justice is showing it as a whole.

[@MetaStatistical]

IMO, I think it worked almost too well for the viewers. Most who watch it immediately have negative connotations over the situation.

[@maxmuster5645]

For me Greta being a spider made me think that she fed of Thom and his crew, whilst still caring for him and wanting him to feel good. Knowing about the actual short story changes my view about her for the better.

[@d4-v1d22]

Plus, most spiders aren’t venomous enough to kill people, and they eat mosquitoes, which are a bigger threat to humans than spiders could ever be

[@CristiNeagu]

I don't know if Greta is benevolent or not, but she sure has all her pixels in the right places...

[@cripplinguser4752]

my question is...where does he put it...when he has the thing

[@bakthihapuarachchi3447]

@@cripplinguser4752 you did notice the... mouth right?

[@cripplinguser4752]

@@bakthihapuarachchi3447 😟

[@Lupah]

😱

[@squeezyjibbz7407]

@@cripplinguser4752 Look at the anatomy of the alien again, then rewatch the sex scene and how it's shot. The implications are nightmare fuel.

[@waffles1739]

Definitely benevolent just horrific in appearance. It knew they would die so tried to make them as comfortable and happy as possible during the time they had left.

[@durere]

Maybe to you, Waffles, I happen to love arachnids.

[@ominous-omnipresent-they]

Well, you clearly have a knack for video essays. You should really do this more often.

[@MetaStatistical]

Thanks! Support like this keeps me motivated to work on other projects!

[@lloydmills5968]

Agreed. This was excellent!

[@aaroncarandang8892]

definitely! bravo! more please

[@buddyadams4781]

@@MetaStatistical I hope you do. Definitely a fantastic analysis. Shows that there is more to these stories than 'some wacky stuff happens with space ships and aliens'.

[@thomasley4006]

Absolutely! Subscribed!

[@wilfred_ho]

Incredible analysis, good Sir. I thought of Greta as some sort of Angel of Mercy; her mind and body are just adapted to a plane of existence far beyond the physical realities that humans evolved their sense-making apparatuses. Referring to the video adaptation of the the short story, I'm not entirely sure if I'd call it a horror, but for "true" form contrasting so sharply with the tenderness of her actions reminds me a little of the horrific appearance of Angels (at least in some textual sources) in contrast to their divinity.

[@CYI3ERPUNK]

BE NOT AFRAID

[@efxnews4776]

Exactly, theres also a lot of religious references in this ep, names like Archangel station, the statue of virgin Mary holding baby Jesus...
It is also a twist in the trope of love between aliens and humans so common in science fiction.

[@nexusdrop7863]

I think they were trying to push it as horror only for the reveal to be bittersweet.

[@efxnews4776]

@@CYI3ERPUNK sorry for the smell i couldn't avoid shat on my pants... lol

[@BillPurkayastha]

@@efxnews4776 In the short story it's "Arkangel", like the Russian port of Arkangelsk.

[@Jakesepher265]

I’m not sure if I feel sorry more for the Blue Goose crew or Greta, that feeling of dread of time relativity for the crew like in the movie Interstellar. Or Greta being an alien, with every possible reason to be a hostile predator killing the crew, instead is an empathetic creature genuinely caring for the lost souls that end up with her but never accepting the reality of who she really is and never appreciated for giving them peace until their death with aid of a false illusion
Yes, it is a horror, but really it’s such a tremendous tragedy story

[@BillPurkayastha]

There's actually no reason in the story to think that Thom is dying. Quite the contrary. There are distinct hints that Greta will eventually bring him to full consciousness and he will join the other legions of the lost who are now Greta's companions and who help her take care of the newly arrived lost souls.

[@noktin]

My favorite episode. The ending fucked me up and I had to rewatch it several times.

[@chocolateteaspoon]

For research, obviously.

[@sethcarnius3548]

same here. it hit me like a truck

[@joshuagraham2843]

i dont wanna rewatch it broke me for reason

[@efxnews4776]

@@joshuagraham2843 i'm curious... what you think?

[@RealMrSoloDolo]

I find that the whole being 150 thousand light years away thing scary as fuck it creates a lovecraftian horror feel to it

[@rush4g]

This and sonnie's edge are by far my favorites of the entire series. I really would love to see some sort of standalone series for the both of them in their respective universes

[@renjoebertcadornigara7988]

I hope they will make this a movie

[@adityaraysamar1]

it deserves to be a tv series with multiple seasons

[@PresidentialWinner]

A sequel maybe, another ship, another era. Maybe Thom living in the real world with the aliens. It's an interesting thought.

[@PR-xm5zc]

Not with how movies have been the last few years

[@JohnSmith-in9ms]

you guys sound dumb, Hollywood doesn't have the original ideals anymore just joking with you I would love it if this was made into a movie

[@Gorf2003]

I don't I found even that one episode terrifying and had nightmares from it. Honest to god nightmares. Never thought I'd get nightmares from some episode in a somewhat fun Netflix series.

[@aaronbiglow6573]

Photo real at times. easily the best cg animation I've seen. Top notch stuff.

[@Shaqknows]

Right! I was high watching this shit and it was messing with my brain! I was like "Is some of this episode live action or something? Because it looks way too real."🤣
I had the same thoughts for the other Ep... "The Witness"

[@davidthomas9190]

This story has haunted me for the last 2 years. Poor Thom 🥺
Loved your video. You've got my sub brother 🙌

[@efxnews4776]

@@softan I don't think Greta love Tom in this way, is more a fraternal love, more akin with christianity.
Also i think that Greta understand that her real appearance is terrifying to Tom, she just want him to compreend that she want to help him, the very fact that she awake Tom even knowing that he wasn't prepared, tells this.
But yeah, i do feel sorry for Greta, and by the way what a great and tragic character she is!

[@jadelee6555]

All this effort put into this video and my guy only has 12 subscribers??
*Insta-subbed*

[@PR-xm5zc]

I mean it's one of two of his videos soo 🤷‍♂️

[@baileynelson9048]

Just finished watching the episode for and all I have to say is this: 'in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

[@Ztertis]

10/10, very great job. I've been waiting for such a deep analysis for this :)

[@gnostic423]

Dude needs way more subscribers

[@PR-xm5zc]

Dude needs way more content then lol

[@ng8tvinfluence78]

This episode has stayed in my mind since first watching it and has long outlived the Netflix memories of the series. Going by the short animation alone, I’d say Greta wasn’t benevolent because the viewer only sees that the Greta alien has physically captured the station in its organic web. However, after watching your video it’s clear that the richness of the short story wasn’t captured in the animation. And with the extra information - and your excellent dissection of the themes in the written story - then yes; Greta is benevolent.

[@nexusdrop7863]

I never doubted her. To be honest I don't think I had the time to. When she rebooted the thing and started out friendly I thought about how much trouble she would be going through if she was evil. Also thought about his true physical state and immediately thought: he has been there for way more than a few months. The hardware shut down but he was still alive.

[@finntran1672]

Thank you for providing the BTS storyboard and in-depth analysis. Most other channels are like “oh my god, that woman tricked a man and she’s a SPIDER! She’s a black widow who’ve seduced him into her love web”…WHAT? 😀

[@Shaqknows]

Lmaoo

[@ayechammyayhpanmortaung6707]

Amazing in-depth breakdown! This clearly deserves a lot more views. Looking forward to seeing more videos from you.

[@ayberkyigit4795]

the horror of the unknown is even scarier when you learn something about the 'unknown' that's improbable, I mean I've read tons of cosmic horror stuff, and mostly, humans weren't worth anything however this creature cares for us for some reason and we don't know why?

[@efxnews4776]

Is a sentient telepathic creature, why do you really think the creature must be evil? Especially a creature that can understand easily you better than yourself? I love a cosmic horror story, but honestly we shouldn't expect that the entire universe is filled with aliens that wanting only eat us alive, especially sentient ones.
To clear out some of this misconceptions, i would suggest folks to go watch a bit Isaac Arthur channel, there he explore these ideas of aliens and how they could might be, one of the first things you learn in his channel is cast away the idea that aliens will resemble anything close to us.
To Isaac the best description of aliens who resemble a bit with humans would be creatires with four legs four arms and one head with a mouth, eyes and ears in the same configuration than us, this is what he call "pratically humans".
Ps: was in his channel that i discover Alastair Reynolds (the author of this story) he talks a lot about the ideas of Alastair in his books.

[@ayberkyigit4795]

@@efxnews4776 Thanks for the advice! I'll check em out

[@kilbeam99]

This was so great! I liked the episode, but I felt it missed something. Like you pointed out, the tonal shift was very sudden and seemed to imply that Gretta had malicious ulterior motives.
Your breakdown and analysis, especially with the inclusion of the short story, was wonderful. You added a lot more depth to an already great episode of LD+R.
Thank you!

[@efxnews4776]

Greta looks more human in the ep than she is in the short story tough, she really seen to care about Thom (i guess this comes along when you are a powerful telepath).

[@Nautules83]

apart from the voice over quality I would never have guessed this was your first RUclips video. Your voice suits the kind of video you made and the editing itself is excellent. Im a subbing and hoping for more to come! A job very very well done!

[@MetaStatistical]

Thanks! Narration isn't my strong suit, but I'm figuring it out. And I have a better mic now.

[@jyeohngosu9965]

I've been looking for a satisfying explanation. Tnx for this

[@AlexxPn]

This is by far the best video about this episode. A lot of research and extra information. Thank you for this video!

[@spectredivision8971]

If I'm in Tom's shoes, I could feel Greta's care and sincerity(tears), i'd be accepting reality. I'd rather live with Greta in her real form, and spend the rest of my time(6 days) in such a new environment, also because there's no choice...

[@r-gart]

Why 6 days?

[@spa1864]

Agree,even though the reality is horrible and heart-broken, if I am Thom, I would persuade myself to accept and adept such a new environment.

[@jeremyholland3426]

Dude has been on my mind for a year and you explained it crystal clear! Nice video mate

[@Masssch]

This was brilliant, thank you for the complete in depth explanation of the story, i really found this episode curious, and it left an imprint on my thougths, this was brilliant with bringing in the original material, i had no idea it was based on a sci-fi novel. Thank you. Highly appreciated.

[@TyCollage]

Dude.... *THANK YOU*
This is the best one by far, was dying for closure after I learned there was more context to the story.
You may want to consider uploading this somewhere else as well in the event RUclips deletes it during the "great purge" lol.
Like, man, just place it somewhere, hell I'll even attempt to archive it somehow if you like.

[@MetaStatistical]

I was the same way. I didn't find a good video on it, so I ended up just reading the short story and making my own.

[@krufdx3967]

Just to speak out in defence of "Three robots". The story is intelligently written, has great sense of humour, and the production quality is beautiful. The characters may seem a bit cartoony, but if anyone thinks it is easy to draw in this style.... let them try it out. Please, let's not get spoiled here. All of LD+R are extraordinarily appealing, the beauty is in the variety of the directing styles.

[@nitevisionimages]

I think the idea of her being a hive mind is really interesting because she says ‘I like how you men think’ meaning that having someone else to talk to rather then a ‘single consciousness style hive mind is a novel experience for her as she has someone with ‘free will/thought’ to interact with to ward off the self pity of being alone and trapped by the vast distance of space in an otherwise pointless existence as there is no escape or growth just ongoing sustained existence.
The next book or stage would be even more interesting as they could explore the idea of companionship and is Tom a pet or a partner/lover and explore the different levels of consciousness where we are the inferior species that is relying on them for life/support etc. Flip the dominance position and have us fighting for equal recognition in a one sided relationship where the alien is such a massive dominate consciousness compared to our existing in multiple life forms at once in the hive.
The conversations exploring concepts surrounding self/group and the idea of individuality/importance of self vs the hive collective expression/idea of oneness etc. This could give rise to the idea that Greta admires the idea of individuality and independent selfie expression etc.
Could go to some really interesting places

[@Jaysnipes]

Saw new episodes of LDR and remembered this particular episode and decide to see what we're the reviews up on RUclips. This video is really in depth. Thank you! Great work. Planning on sticking around to see more.

[@psychicrenegade]

Aquila Rift...pronounced "ah-key-lah." After watching this episode...I was fascinated...and I had to read the actual short story to get more details. Then, I did a ton of research on "bubbles" in space, the Aquila Rift, the Large Magellanic Cloud, and FTL space travel. Amazing story!

[@Zulatek666]

Great breakdown of the story as told by Netflix and the original written work. This obviously took you a lot of time and effort to record and edit, well done! Thanks!

[@KentHambrock]

Alastair Reynolds is my absolute favorite author. His main series is mostly in the same universe as his short stories. It's all so well thought out making comments on all sorts of really interesting thoughts.

[@efxnews4776]

This story hit me like a truck, and the adaptation make a good job in setting the tone despite been too short to give a better context to the story.
I never would imagine i would see some science fiction story who deals with sacred and faith so well. I didn't understand at first, so i watched again, then again and again, until i start to notice the virgin Mary statue appear a LOT in the ep, for 15 mim they sure give some emphasis on that statue... i tought to myself...
But there was still doubt so i decide to read the story...
Damn, then were the compreension hit me like a train, i never tought i would do a research to understand a tv show, but there i was doing reserch about angels and mentions of spiders in the bible...
Funny that the only meaningful mention of the spiders in the bible is something more or less like "The spider is wise, you can take on her hand, and found her in a king's room"
Ironic isn't? Greta sure is wise for a "spider".

[@RhoTrepaan]

This explanation made this episode even better (and richer)

[@afterveil]

Just saw this episode for the first time after I watched season 2, you did an amazing breakdown - thank you for sharing!

[@themulticamyeti2233]

I just wanted to say that I watched a couple other analysis videos of the episode that even went into the short story as well. But this was hands down the best I’ve watched. Even going with the episodes representation of Greta and the station. Your conclusion does kinda change the perception that the episodes was completely horrific (although obviously it does leave a very good outcome for Thom compared to the short story.).

[@Trepanation21]

Excellent video! I have several of Reynolds' books including the source story here, but haven't yet gotten around to reading through them. This video was a very enjoyable half hour of interesting discussion and perspectives! That wonderful complementary artwork was an excellent inclusion, and your narration/discussion was well-sculpted around it (or rather, it around your discussion). Thanks for this contribution to the community of discussion around these wonderful stories.

[@MetaStatistical]

I'm still reading through the various short stories from that BtAR collection. Most of them are really good. I might look into a review video for those.

[@Mystogan9696]

This is the best breakdown of the episode I’ve seen! Other “breakdowns” just read the plot of the episode, and maybe make a comment here or there. Good work !

[@matthewdenckla6567]

Really well done.. this may be your first effort, but please don't let it be your last! Kudos!

[@MetaStatistical]

I have several other videos on my channel. Check them out!

[@fobal]

Underrated channel man...i know i am not the first one saying it but what a work, thank you a lot for your passion and time. It was truly amazing.

[@The_fact_reminder]

Bro, u have done a great job.
This is the greatest explanation video I've ever seen. My search for beyond the Aquila rift explanation end here.

[@nikrusty]

Superb! Loved the story, narration and concept. Thanks for making a video about it. It was clearly a lot of work. Really thank you for it!

[@TheDrexxus]

Never seen this show, but the whole thing reminds me of an episode of the outer limits.
It has been years since i've had to think about it, but the jist of it as I recall was there were a bunch of dudes on a space ship and the humans were at war with some kind of alien enemy and losing the war, but I believe this ship had something important on board like a secret weapon or secret information or some other macguffin to basically win the war for humanity if they made it back to earth with it. So after trials and struggles, they made it back to earth with the whatever it was and the guy thought he saved the world.
Then we see reality. The guy, along with all his other shipmates, were all webbed up by these spider-like aliens and being eaten alive. Apparently the venom of these things caused those hallucinations to make them think they were still living their life and being successful or whatever, I suppose to spare them the horrible reality of being eaten alive. Or maybe he was just super in denial about the whole thing. Either way, none of it was real except the being eaten part.
I'm not sure if this part is true or if i'm just making it up, but I think earth may have already been infested by these things too and all of humanity was already doomed and being eaten as well.
Anyway, this reminded me of that.

[@efxnews4776]

Ok but the twist here is that Greta isn't evil, i really don't understand why folks insist that she is evil, also i read the books of the author of this story and the guy is a hard science fiction writer, he is just exploring the idea of alien love affair and how aliens could be like us psychologically, at the same time be nothing like us physically.

[@pcjoker]

you are mixing
"The Outer Limits" Tempests and
"The Outer Limits" The Light Brigade

[@RichardBarclay]

Great video I would like to see you do the same treatment of sonnie's edge and Zima Blue

[@MetaStatistical]

Thanks. I'd have to read through the Sonnie's Edge short story to do it justice, but I'll keep that idea in mind.

[@RichardBarclay]

@@MetaStatistical you can read it online for free, I believe it is complete in the Google books preview of the short story collection "a second chance at eden" amongst other places. It's also pretty short, much shorter than Aquila Rift, I think about 30 pages.

[@emorymeek]

Great essay! I was really intrigued and bothered by BAR when I first saw it. You did an awesome job and took as much time as you needed to make a very thoughtful dissection. This really helped me make better sense of it. Thank you!

[@13igworm]

Glad you explained the short story. I really liked this episode of LD+R. I always found it weird that someone who accepts space travel and the use of literal alien technology would react in such a way. People being charted off course and losing a life time of years in "REAL" time seems to be well known in the short story. He seemed able to accept the fact that he lost 150 years of real time, so the only thing he couldn't accept was being in a literal alien environment. It seemed clear that the being known as "Greta" meant no harm. Unless you have some case of arachnophobia or something the reaction of being unable to accept that reality just seems beyond the pale.

[@Grayhem1136]

With the whole randomized episodes that netflix did, it gave me the secret war first.

[@colderman]

I got the moster first and the war last, it hit perfect.

[@Chris-pu6je]

I got beyond the Aquila rift first, it really gave me joy to continue the show because after that I got the secret war which further gave me reason to keep watching. It was great and I’m glad a second part is finally coming rob may 14th.

[@50shadesofcerakote]

I got sonny's edge first and the secret war last... I never knew they randomized the order for different profiles.

[@thealmightyaku-4153]

It's actually changed the order on me recently, but I got Secret War last. A fitting finale, I thought.

[@imk9633]

I got the exact same episodes as the one's the channel guy

[@BillPurkayastha]

I read the story long before watching the episode, and I thought the exact same thing as you: the episode should have been 30 minutes long. The sex scene, for instance, is extremely important in the story, but makes little sense in the episode because they left out Katarina completely. Also, the story is pretty clear in explaining that Greta is benevolent, while the episode seems to hint that she's a predatory alien who traps ships and sucks the lives out of their crews, keeping them alive meanwhile. Even the glimpse Story Thom has of the real station implies (along with Greta telling him "I haven't brought you to full consciousness _yet_ ") that Thom isn't dying slowly, and that Greta finally arouses her charges and makes them her helpers to take care of the new arrived lost souls. The story, in other words, is a far more complex creation than the episode, and though it was not a bad job of condensing, the episode would have been far, far better to have been twice the length and to have followed the story closely.

[@Darthborg]

I am a little late to this video. Thank you for clarifying one of my favorite stories. Thank you.

[@N8kdmagazine]

Wow. This story is more tragic Than I thought.

[@zed1877]

Why does this man have only 3 subscribers

[@Ztertis]

Yeah it's weird

[@christianpalaciosrojas650]

Great! Really great explanation and upgraded version of this shortcut, por suerte entiendo el inglés y puedo disfrutar de tu video 👌

[@vargasmarcusrusselt.6576]

This is the best analysis ive watched so far keep it up!!

[@benwisk9188]

I dont know if its mentioned in the video because I havent seen it yet, but beyond the aquila rift feels like its heavily inspired by a short story in the anime movie "Memories" called "the magnetic rose".
Edit: book was published in 2005. So 10 years after the anime movie. I think the similarities in the story are too big to not be an inspiration or almost a copy of the movie. Which is sad because no one knows about it.

[@traceerolfson7952]

I'm rewatching season 1 of LD&R now that I've finished season 3. I really enjoyed this explanation. This episode of LD&R stuck in my head and lead to many discussions with my friends; many opinions on what-it-meant. I had a friend who was SURE that "Greta" (for lack of a name) was feeding on Thom. My friend believed that Greta ate Thom's crew members, but kept him alive. The idea that one can kill a cow, and eat for a time. Or, one can keep the cow alive; drink it's milk (blood in this case) for a long time; and eat the animal once it dies. After watching the episode, I thought Greta was just lonely and wanted companionship before Thom inevitably wastes away. I thought Greta was a being with psychic abilities that allowed her to give Thom a good life before he passes. It seems as though, based on the short story, neither my friend nor I were correct. Greta really does just want to care for these lost beings, but she isn't alone, but she's lonely. I would hope she has lots of alien friends, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I need to read the story! Thank you for this!

[@psychicrenegade]

My new favorite story! I love how everything was scientifically accurate...and I learned a lot about space "bubbles" and the Magellanic Cloud galaxies by doing personal research on the things mentioned in this story! I needed to get a better grasp of the time and distances involved, and what Loops are. The Blue Goose actually made a 150+ year journey to a close, but entirely different galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud.

[@immortalgamer3960]

I really enjoyed your take on this, and despite how the episode portrayed it, I felt the same way without reading the book. (Though I will certainly do that at some point.) I remember thinking, yeah the place is all messed up, but whatever this creature is really does seem to care about you. Take a deep breath, and survive. If she wanted you dead, you'd be dead; now that you see the truth, what's next? I know that kind of mental fortitude in that situation isn't easy, but I felt that she prepped him as best as she could, I at least, fully expected something that crazy after the information she had shared. it would have been a shock for sure, but I'm still surprised that it was such a shock it caused his mental breakdown the the point of having to be reset.

[@Agelis]

This was a really good episode, I hope they do a longer version. It also reminded me of an episode of the 'Outer Limits' called 'Tempests'

[@julietdallaire8444]

Thank you for your terrific channel! Your video titled, "Complete Breakdown/Analysis of Beyond the Aquila Rift" is the best breakdown of "Love Death + Robots's" Season 1, Episode 7 on all of RUclips! Thank you for it! I just started (seriously) watching "Love Death + Robots" on Dec. 27, 2021, and wanting to understand "Beyond the Aquila Rift" brought me to your channel, for which I am grateful to "Love Death + Robots." Honestly, I don't even play video games and still, I watched "Outer Wilds, Ludonarrative Loops" because you made it & you made it very interesting.🙂In about 4-minutes I will have finished the last of your videos but I'll be back to see them again and your new ones, too. You are appreciated! A fan from Canada.... 🙂

[@all_watched_over]

I really enjoy Alastair Reynolds, especially his Revelation Space series (a new one due out in a month or so). Adapting some of these stories would really take things way beyond even Expanse levels of sci fi.
I have been hesitant to watch LD+R but at least I should check this one out.

[@bradleyeid9260]

My initial reaction was to feel sorry for the alien and her lonely existence. I was disappointed and a little annoyed with human male's reaction to the situation.

[@fishscalecocaine]

It’s the same as waking up in a sexual predators basement claiming they love you and you have no way out. Obviously the captured would have fear and wouldn’t understand the capturer situation and emotions about being lonely.

[@bradleyeid9260]

@@fishscalecocaine No, not even close to the situation you described. If the alien had lured the human ship into the situation, then your analogy is fair. However both were independently shipwrecked with no way home.

[@fishscalecocaine]

@@bradleyeid9260 my analogy is still correct because I was referring to the emotional aspect. Not how they got there. I was explaining how it would be looked at by a human perspective instead of an aliens. And I didn’t even say anything about how they got there cause it would still be the same instance if they were lured or both of them got there on accident.

[@alexandermclaughlin4742]

@@fishscalecocaine your analogy is wrong. Something more akin to Stockholm syndrome.

[@fishscalecocaine]

@@alexandermclaughlin4742 my analogy was off the basis of fear, I was explaining the exact opposite of Stockholm syndrome which is where you begin to fall in love with your captor.

[@theogrey]

This was spectacular. Your diligent breakdown was masterful

[@shanetagliavia152]

Yup i think you found your calling. Lol this was great essay bro. Been waiting for a genuine breakdown of the book and show.

[@shanetagliavia152]

Love finding small channels on the rise. U only got 3 vids and this one got over 100k views. 👍👍

[@JSustain]

Outstanding video! After reading your great review, and others on this Scifi short story, it hit home just how much we like to lose ourselves in our own "simulations." In this case, I just spent an hour taking in the story and really feeling the implications. I could have been dealing with my real world problems, or maybe working on a skill that could better my lot in life as well as of those that I love. Instead, I spent the time in this fantasy world, exercising my brain. I can see how one can turn their back on the "real world" and instead, engage in these stimulating, and much safer, flights of fancy. But, I am suddenly more aware that while there are benefits, there may be a hidden cost. And, I may awaken one day to a desolate personal life, just as the character in the story did. I am going to be a bit more careful with this addiction. Thanks for the great video.

[@kourtneyhanley]

That is an amazing story

[@airbornebrick6885]

5 minutes in and I realised I've actually read the story and own the book lol. So many good sci-fi short stories out there.

[@MR3DDev]

Just read the short story before coming here. I work in VFX and I bet you anything this episode was not longer because of budget. This is probably one if not the most expensive episode in the whole show, doing CG to this level is even more expensive than having real people act against a CG background. That being said, we now have mocap tech available to the common joe like me, so shows or epsodes like this may be more common in very soon.

[@MetaStatistical]

That's true about this episode being expensive, but it's also the standout episode in most people's mind.

[@MR3DDev]

@@MetaStatistical oh yes, not saying otherwise, but most full CG animated are restricted by how expensive it is

[@ZincSpray]

One thing that you didn't mention is, in the end Suzy's tank has a cloth over it that says "biohazard". So seems at that point Greta is not even trying to bring her back to the simulation anymore. Whether it is only because Suzy is really dead, is hard to tell.

[@bobhoskins-kl6ue]

If you liked this I can not recommend enough all of Alastair Reynolds books, especially the Revelation Space books. There's a short story by him with similar themes to this and Zima Blue, Diamond Dogs, set in his Revelation Space universe. In the Revelation Space books characters also have to deal with the fact that space travel takes a very long time.

[@MetaStatistical]

I have a few other videos planned, but I'll do a review of his short story collection eventually.

[@ryanodoherty4090]

Alastair Reynolds has a background in physics and that definitely is apparent in his sci fi writing! For my money though House of Suns is his best work! If you havnt read it then you should 😀

[@Jaysnipes]

@@MetaStatistical That would be awesome.

[@EBCrisp]

Wow. I mean this was well put. I just watched this short and was wondering if she was or not. The prospective is mind opening. Well done.

[@arcoffice4448]

Great job- look of hard work put into this essay/analysis. i hope you do more of these!

[@Eirud]

For me, honestly, it all comes down to whatever station they are really on just not actually being an environment that can sustain human life in particular, and that their life pods are the only thing keeping them functional.
If there was food for Thom to eat, water for him to drink, properly composed atmosphere to breathe, and the right amount of gravity to maintain his physical structure so that he doesn't become frail, then why did Greta not properly prepare him for what he was about to see? Assuming she has access to his entire consciousness and memories, she should know that humans are capable of adapting to many situations, both physically and mentally. Why would she not tell him, right before showing him their actual reality, that he is on an alien station in the exact location that she told him about, that she herself is an alien, that his ship was the first human ship to ever arrive there making him the only human, that he would see many other alien species different than her, many of which will look nothing like anything he has ever seen before, that their station is fully capable of sustaining him so he can live, that she and all of the other life forms on that station are entirely non-hostile and would cause him no harm, and that he can serve a purpose to help him lead out the rest of his life?
Why would she choose to actively avoid giving him ANY information whatsoever about what he was going to see, so that he wouldn't have an absolute psychological breakdown from a massive overload of information upon seeing it all for the first time, if the station could sustain him along with the rest of the crew? I think either the pod was the only way for him to stay alive and bringing him out long term would just kill him and the only way she would do that is if he would preemptively accept what he was going to see and thus come out of the pod and die peacefully; or whatever her species is feeds off of other species' memories/consciousness/whatever and while maybe she does truly care for him, she also needs him in order to live.

[@aronfindley854]

She might have already tried this approach but as everyone is different and thus have different levels of mental fortitude, maybe Thom just couldn't take it

[@stevek4070]

Thanks for this! I'll always be curious to know more about the real situation that will never be touched upon.

[@PhantomVista]

Thank you for your work. I know from editing videos this took you a very long time. Thank you human

[@rebeccab1064]

I disagree with your criticism of the story's tonal shift.
The story is shown from Tom's perspective, which is why we get this creeping sense of unease as he realises that something is wrong, followed by abject terror:-
It follows an unreliable narrator who's not thinking clearly, and who **feels** like he's been tricked and is being looked upon as merely prey, regardless of whether that's correct. Those are totally natural reactions for him to have, and perhaps more realistic than the short story, where his reaction isn't shown.
And watching it a second time, you come to realise that it **is** a horror story, only not the one we think it is. There's no villain. Greta isn't a monster, she's a dark angel. But even if she were monstrous, it would hardly matter. The real terror is being stranded, left to die out beyond anywhere that's familiar, with everyone you love already long-dead. Any hungry beast pales next to the sheer weight of our cosmic insignificance.

[@PR-xm5zc]

My favorite was the one where the chick uploaded into the monster for the fighting thing that was soo good I was disappointed when it ended I didn't know it was a anthology

[@Kaeresh]

Sonnie's Edge. It was the first episode in my randomised list. I was really ticked off when I realised it was an anthology, hoping I would see more of that monster fighting world. At least I got to see Beyond The Aquila Rift, later on.

[@ng8tvinfluence78]

Loved the Netflix episode and loved your video. Great insight and great work.

[@pinchekittybiker]

Very good analysis. Of all of the stories in LD&R - this one stood out the most and kept bugging me about whether Greta was benevolent or not.

[@TK-xm4en]

Thank you for this, once I found out it was a book I intended to read it (still do), but I've switched from loving this as a well done horror, appreciated even through my dislike for both horror and giant spiders, to loving it as different life forms reaching out across time and space, being able to share and commune in similar ways. I could still see this kinda being horror from an Event Horizon/Chaos Incarnate perspective, but it carries a lot more weight I think from your view and perhaps in light of the original writing.

[@MetaStatistical]

Most of the collection of short stories this is from are really good. Reynolds is a good writer.

[@smuffinman]

Each of these episodes gives me a different emotion. Really well done hope they keep making these

[@customshepard7954]

The thing they use for ftl reminds of the mass relays from mass effect

[@lordlizzard5086]

Bro i have massive respect for you. This video looks like you have been making videos for years. Youre not nervous and its beautifully cut. Really man keep it up, great work

[@drewgoin8849]

Beautifully done!! Thank you!

[@TheEbonyEngineer]

Thank you for this.

[@samgoodyear51]

Loved this! This episode hit me pretty hard and stuck with me! I'll have to order those books you recommended. That and also so glad I wasn't the only thinking that he was physically smashin that spider! 🤮
Would be interested in more of your videos man keep it up 👍

[@lpvgs-817]

they need to make this episode longer

[@maxematicsbraun8306]

This was amazing brother. Thanks!

[@robertvorster8933]

Great work! Your perception and understanding of the story and narrative is solid and refreshing. Hope to see more from you in the future. Subbed.

[@eldritchmorgasm4018]

Don't know if that is a thing, maybe hinted & I didn't get that detail, but though she cares for others, knowing they will die, she probably will still eat them, only then they're dead, because of not wasting "ressources", in meat/protein, and mind, as a (short-lived) distraction

[@NoskipsMedia]

Great video sir! You are hero among us. I had so many questions about this episode and was looking for some answers and you did an awesome job. Thank you.

[@angel_machariel]

This review/analysis is of a rare amazing quality.
On the question whether the alien is benevolent cannot be answers I believe. The book doesn't provide a motive. Nor does the short movie actually. It appears to keep the soul alive, but in a comforting state. We don't know why and that makes it open ended.
Notice that the exact same thing happened in a short story from "the Outer Limits", modern version, called "Tempests". Astronaut is bitten by a spider, but lives in a comforting hallucination. Yet it's evil as the spece-spiders keep him alive to serve as food later. Here's there's a clear motive.

[@marcusanark2541]

Great video! Your analysis was excellent, if you wanted to do one on Zima Blue also it would be awesome. I think the reaction to this episode showed how biased and superficial Humans are towards themselves and "The Other".

[@TyCollage]

And the silly reaction videos are clearly over played too so there's that.
Don't forget how it was presented though, truthfully after awhile I considered that the creature may be ugly but not malevolent and most likely misunderstood. But within the context of the show itself and the other episodes, I don't think they wanted the story to be considered beyond the shock of the reveal at the end and thats unfortunate.
Me and a few of my friends felt like maybe she's a rung or two higher up on the food chain or may be some kind of parasite but she needs him as much as he needs her to stay alive. We just knew the episode was missing something.