Usually when an alien is more powerful than us they are 1) indifferent ie classic cosmic horror 2) hostile (we are cattle or competitors for resources) 3) inexplicably treat us as equals, even though they are further removed than dolphins and apes and we put them in prison for our entertainment and test makeup on them. Here it explores a genuinely new concept: what if a space farer ran into the eldritch equivalent of a cat lady? Functionally that’s what “Greta “ is. She cares for him legitimately, but he is not an equal, nor is she going to kill him. He is a lesser species to be managed to cope with her own alien neuroses we can scarce comprehend. Like a pet.
Greta's station can be viewed as both paradise and hell as the crew members of the Blue Goose are basically dead on arrival since there is no hope of ever returning to Earth or living productively on the station except for being vegetated in the tank and dying in that state. My question is about what happens to their souls (energy) once physically dead 150 light years away. Maybe Greta herself was once a human and her soul got reincarnated as the creature. The notion that the space spider has empathy for humans and created a virtual reality for the lost crew members to live out their lives in comfort till they expire is in itself a human projection.
@LoladeKG perhaps "caring" has two meaning: 1- yes, empathetic enough to create a virtual reality to acclimate humans situation. As she said it, that's not her first time and was the best way. 2 - first scenario being empathetic while feeding of them without their knowledge which could explain why the body of the two human were in that advanced decay they were. Just like any insect trapped in a spider web knowing they have no other use other than being a supply for then. Just a thought
@@konsyansnou8623 I always thought that she was a cosmic predator. A spider waiting in that dark corner because that's where the flies gather occasionally. She's just advanced to the point of being able to affect its prey psychologically (similar to paralysis venom) because this is what makes the juices running. Everybody likes their prey as docile as possible.
Just Finished Watching Love, Death & Robots and for some reason this episode stood out. I empathized with Tom, The feeling of helplessness and despair he must have Felt and Greta trying to shield him from his doomed reality. She showed him a glimpse and he yelled in utter terror because his mind couldn't take the madness. This episode really stuck with me for days.
@@Chaosgaming4 Same bro the animation was top notched, it conveyed real emotion of a nightmarish helplessness. The feeling of horror in Tom's face when he woke up to his present reality and his emaciated physique made me feel so sad.
@@garthybrookens4839I initially was curious if he was being shown hell...But I've never heard of getting a beej in between sessions of endless torture 😂
and...it probably didn't help when ALL his aches and hunger and thirst pains swamped his body. Dude was DYING when he became aware of it. That's is gonna cause some emotional trauma. Especially if he was 'feeling' just fine a few seconds ago. Hopefully he did get to 'live' out his last times peacefully. Better than what a lot of people get in the end...
@@roomian She looked a little exotic, but the personality is all that truly matters. Especially given the circumstances, in which she's likely the only other living sentient being thousands of light-years around..
Could be a sympathetic being that is parasitic in nature? Like a hunter killing for food but wants the kill as humane as possible. Maybe she feeds on the things that come to her but she wishes to keep them in a dream to ease the suffering. I mean she does look arachnid in nature. LOOK AT THOSE F***ING TEETH! L
I never noticed the glass and shadow effects revealing Greta's true nature. I loved this short story when I read it years ago and was very excited when I found out it was being adapted. This is an excellent episode and one where I would love to have the story expanded upon.
What intrigues me about this episode is how emancipated Thom and his crew were because usually it would take maybe a week for someone to die from thirst but they looked like Tom Hanks from Castaway. I think there's two possibilities; "Greta" was able to keep them sustained in some way or they were unconscious for a long time before "Greta" found them. I'm also of the opinion that she didn't mean any harm to them but couldn't or didn't know how to help them with proper food and sustenance, etc.
One possibility is that she cannot feed them as long as they remain in their surge tanks, but in order for them to leave their surge tanks, they have to accept their reality without going mad. Thom obviously cannot, and so he is reinserted into the simulation, where he will die of starvation. As for Ray and Suzy: in the short story, they clearly died because of a failure of their surge tanks (due to the custom paintjobs), but in the show version they arguably also failed to adapt to reality and died of starvation.
@@SStupendous The thing about light years that it's not a measurement of time, but length. A light year is 9,460,730,472,580.8 kilometers. The story tells they've travelled 150,000 LY = 1,419,109,570,887,120,000 kilometers, but as far as I know, it doesn't say how long the journey actually takes nor the exact speed they were going to calculate the duration. So we can't be certain how long they've been gone. I also confused where that "150 years have passed on earth" came from, might be in the story
From the story: "And somewhere distant, somewhere near the heart of the rock, in a matriarchal chamber all of its own, something drummed out messages to its companions and helpers, stiffly articulated, antler-like forelimbs beating against stretched tympana of finely veined skin, something that had been waiting here for eternities, something that wanted nothing more than to care for the souls of the lost."
Greta's character and even more her alien form is surrounded by a lot of mystery, even after having seen the episode it is still not clear to me how long she has been in that destroyed station, although I suspect that she has been there for several hundred years due to the dialogue that she kept with Tom in which she said "You don't know how many lost souls I've been through this with", I also don't know how she has stayed alive for so long or what she feeds on, and finally what her real intentions are, because I still don't think that she treated Tom and his crew so well only out of pure and noble altruism.
In the story she says she's done this "a million times" and it's clearly mentioned by Thom that he realises Blue Goose wasn't the latest _human_ ship to arrive at the station. It was the first.
There’s actually a bit of biblical symbolism in terms of Greta. In original stories, angels aren’t actually “beautiful.” They’re terrifying, which is why any interactions with humans/mortals always begin with “Don’t be afraid.” Greta was the same kind of thing. She was their “Angel,” easing them into a more comfortable and pleasant death. In the original story, she was a completely benign creature. She herself was stranded on the station and found some way of sustaining herself, but she doesn’t have any way to actually care for the other beings who become stranded there. It’s a very gross and barren place called the Megallan Cloud in the book. She can’t feed them, give them water, or help them in any physical way, so she puts their minds into a simulation so they don’t die painfully and filled with horror. Remember, she lets Thom out of the simulation when he demands it, and she didn’t have to do that. It’s her curse to remain in this awful place and to watch everything die around her, so she helps the people stranded there by having them relive more pleasant times and memories until they eventually waste away and die. She’s the “horrifying space spider” equivalent of a hospice nurse.
@@heathermillsphantomlimb9314 also she works with other aliens across galaxies to do this and the place they live in isn’t their domain, it belong to precursors from eons ago
What I took away is the fear of infinite life, never dying. That is what it would be like all alone. Sure fun now but think about the torture of being so alone, this creature who cares for souls, how lonely they are and to find this lost soul and to have the ability to “help” them. Crazy good story.
Ah well done, this was by far the most insane episode of the whole series. The twists on this one were wild, the story was terrifying for me. Love your explanation and the captures of the small details in animation and editing, this series is truly a work of art.
1) I don’t consider her a monster. 2) being the hardcore blue lantern (hope) I am… I still would have tried to make a “working” Frankenstein ship and point it back to “home”… plus, it’d be interesting to see what had changed.
My guy didn't you hear? They're 150,000 light years away from the Aquila Rift. No way in hell you're gonna make it back. 150 years have passed on earth (assuming their home planet is earth still) everyone that you knew is long dead. Did you see the ship? It literally crashed into some asteroid spider web type. Not to mention Tom human physical body is looking like a holocaust survivor. You have no food or water, at that point you're fucked. Building a "Frankenstein ship" is impossible, no tools, you're physical form is weak, no knowledge on how to actually repair certain parts. At this point death is the better option.
This is why I love sci fi short stories. They can pose great questions, or love, horror or just examine one thing. The Thing was a 1930’s short story, and it sent the hairs on my neck up.
Because of the states of the other bodies, I had assumed that Greta was actually feeding on them. Between that and the Spider imagery it was an easy conclusion to draw. But I also thought she was being completely honest as well and did do what she did to shield them from the truth of the hopelessness of their situation. It's hard to explain but I thought it was something like an animal need to survive made her feed on people that showed up in her web but at the same time she pitied them so created the simulation so they wouldn't be miserable. Maybe something like how people feel better about eating free-range chickens because they lived their best chicken lives before they were food.
I couldn’t say what you state here any better… but on the other hand I could have arrived to the same conclusion as you did thinking on the way we humans treat other species here on earth 😢
You’re thinking way too deep. The book clearly stated that Greta is an empathetic being. It’s highly implied that she too is stranded and seeks comfort in the arms of every being who gets trapped there.
@@Chiefteeth1 This would make sense. I haven't read it yet but I want to. Her entire demeanor conveys someone seeking comfort. The emotional bonding with Thom, the sex, the honesty at his own expense -- she's lonely and starving for intimacy, even if it's with another trapped alien species.
@@Chiefteeth1to add as well, she puts homeboy back in the simulation after he saw the "spider behind the curtain", which she had no reason to do short of genuine care. Fuck I need a girl like that, even if she looks like a cross between a butthole and a spider.
This is really creepy but my favorite episode in LD&R even after Volume 3 came out already. The story still haunting me though it's been years since I watched this episode. Felt extremely sad for Tom :( Anyway, you are very technical about the analysis. I love it. Thanks
i think we see the alien station capture and it actually dragging the ship in at the start, when the ship enters the station for the first time with the little robot things with wires, i think its more like tendrils capturing it, and the experience we are seeing from Thom is even later on than we are led to believe.
Brilliant analysis, there are so many details you picked up on that i didnt catch, here i was thinking i was observant haha. Somehow you removed the horror of this story, and helped me feel humble about the terrible situation these guys ended up in
While i didnt see the twist honestly i always saw the alien monster as kind. Because no matter how you play it they are. Even if the alien eats them, they are dead. They cant go back home and are struck without supplies. At least the creature is trying to give them a pleasant death. If the creature is not eating them then the creature is still tending to them. Hell the guy wasting away even would be logical if you beem alseep for 150 million years.
I think that story is sad for the both of them, we can tell that "she" isn't a malevolent creature and is genuinely caring and trying to help him but the differences between the 2 are too much for him to handle. I hope he eventually manage to see past her appearance and somehow live with her as going back is clearly not an option
I always imagined he screamed at the end not because of the horror of realising he was in a doomed situation but because he realised he more than likely porked the space crab.
Whenever I first saw this episode, I was thinking that he survived a crash as a messed up , almost dead person or he was only a brain in a tank because it was all that the alien could save.
The pan with the glass showing the true alien would not happen. If the entire area is a mock-up environment the detail in the glass would only show what is being created. Same with the wall shadow. Maybe just for the viewer to obtain the understanding that she is not what she is projected to be. But nice graphics throughout.
This is by far the best example of cosmic horror put into a screen. It amazes me how Great tries over and over to create a simulation to make “easier” the terrible truth about the situation but the humans, specially Thom are unable to accept it. He can’t live in the idealistic lie but can’t accept the truth either. THAT is cosmic horror.
If your speed is c (speed of light), your travels are instantaneous but the time passed for other observers is determined in distance, i.e., light-years. So traveling 100 light years at speed c for you means you get there in zero seconds and from the point of view of the people you left, one hundred years has passed. If you WERE to travel faster than c, you would find yourself in the past, from the point of view of the people you left. So basically you could arrive at your destination and back hundreds of years before you even left. And that creates a constancy problem, and a paradox. That is why FTL (faster than light travel) is thought to be impossible, logically speaking.
@Carlos Pozolero Actually he’s only partially right, it’s impossible for anything to instantaneously travel anywhere. You just get there extremely fast it feels immediate. If you could move to places instantly, then you would be able to move when time is stopped.
@@j-frolland4200 Lightspeed isn’t instant, it has a definitive speed. Not even anything that exists in the quantum realm truly travels instantaneously. Think about it like this, if you can get from your home to school instantly (not seemingly instant but literal instantly) your travel time would be zero. If you could move and change your distance but the exact time is still the same, you just teleported or moved while time was stopped. It’s not possible for anything to move in an “instant that’s why it leads to an error in your calculator when calculating speed. Time travelled can’t be 0, it can be very close to zero but never actually 0. But you were right about the paradox travelling faster than light creates.
@@mazokuwolf1279 Alright. Special relativity, Time dilates when you approach c(or space compresses, it's a point of view thing) . Anyway, I teach this shit. Sit down, shut up, you get an F.
I think when Susie was stuck with needle she was stable by the alien in real life, they were both awake in the same simulation to try and cope but she freaked out like the first guy and that sealed her fate
Would see the episode as a metaphor that people can really get on the wrong path in life. For example, if they have chosen a life that is only bearable through distraction or anesthesia through drugs & pornography. Then it can happen that when they withdraw from their "addictive substances", it first shows something that is not so nice, all the traumas and injuries and heavy feelings. That's why withdrawal is so hard for many people because the reality/feeling that first shows up can be as scary as a spider alien. In the end he also looks a bit like a homeless drug addict who might wake up under a bridge or abandoned house.
That empathy level, that the "Greta" showed to the lost travelers, is priceless!! Not only just empathy is that maybe would say something bigger, like real love. 😢
One interesting detail I noticed that I am guessing was intentional was the very first time we see Thom get woken up with Suzie. Then Suzie freaks out and is put back to sleep but Greta after she shows Thom her true form and sort of "resets him" We see that the pods of Ray and Suzie are no longer filled. One of the pods was covered by a hazardous looking tarp and the other was just empty. My guess is that Greta realized it might be easier to wake just him up.
I liked this episode. It was a display of altruism and wholesomeness. I am not sure - but i do not think it was stated or suggested that the ships ended up in the "net" of the - well, you say monster/spider - i say alien .. by its doing. So it is kind of a mercy she/it grants to those that stranded there.
I always thought it was a simulation... Kinda like the Matrix... So if the shadows are from the real creature... Is dude really having sex with the human shaped part of that creature?
Not in a physical sense, make s&# was probably her feeding him, and to don't be very appearent she makes look like it... Also, in the book, she made it with him to see if he really care about his wife, is a big part of the plot, because his wife was already dead when he arrive there (150 years have passed in real time while he was traveling), kinda like a test to see if he would overcome the grief of losing his wife.
@@efxnews4776 Yes. “Why didn’t you tell me straight away, as soon as I came out of the tank?” “Because I didn’t know if you were going to be able to take it.” “You waited until after you knew I had a wife.” “No,” Greta said. “I waited until after we’d made love. Because then I knew Katerina couldn’t mean that much to you.”
I just watched this episode and my brain kept going "What is that, WHATISTHAT, what is going on, explain explain EXPLAIN". So anyways, here I am. Thanks for the existentialism and chill xD
The plot twist is that the creature is benevolent... just horrific in appearence. And the guy mentioned part two? Well, then i won't complaint that he didn't mention this, but in the original story, she is benevolent, the ep add a duality, that wasn't there before, i liked, i like it so much that i went to read the original, and to me was just a confirmation, but some folks belive she is evil, and nobody can't blame them since the ep made look like that, but again, even in the ep, theres clues that she is benevolent, the biggest one, is that she looks sad at the ending, and theres no reason for her look like that if she was evil. You know what trully this story remind me? Ezekiel book... I really don't know who has more eyes... Greta or one of the Ezekiel angels...
@@efxnews4776 you're right. Greta is probably much more empathetic and benelovent than a human. I recall someone saying that Thom's crewmates died because of their stupidity in the original story which would also explain this. Nevertheless, the place is just horrible.
@@efxnews4776 She is entirely and explicitly benevolent in the original story, and there is no indication that Thom's body is withering away and about to die.
@@masterodisguise2983 “Greta” is an alien and the simulation was created by her, the sex was a part of it, and it happened while Thom’s real body was sleeping inside the surge tank by himself, like having a dream. Their real bodies weren’t touching each other, so it was a mental sex, not a physical one.
The episode is about the Metaverse: a constructed reality where real will be substituted by fake , and “ benevolent spider” of the state will suck both your body and soul dry, whilst gradually removing every real, meaningful thing that you have. This is why it stuck and haunts so many people. Premonition . Social programmers like Orwell or Ridley know perfectly well what’s coming for the masses and how horrible the reality is. Except that Ridley is a LIGHT YEARS ahead of Orwell. Think of “ Beyond Aquila Rift” like a space version of “ 1984”, where “ Thom”( anagram for MOTH) is YOU... and “ Greta”( anagram for “ GREAT”) is the state, Hive Mind, the Goddess of masonry and kabbalists . In an original story Greta was commanding Hive Mind whilst keeping MULTIPLE “ lost souls” in simulation . Two other movies which further illustrate my point are the “ Mateix” franchise and “ SPIDERHEAD” with Chris Hemsworth. Very few people know that the experimdnts described in “ SPIDERHEAD”( drugs designed to FULLY control a free will ) were designed & trialled decades ago. Long story short: “ Beyond Aquila Rift” stuck with so many people because it’s a PREMONITION of our future-- if we let them make it our future .
We also need to consider that for her humans and other aliens that got lot in her place propably was as alien and spooky as she was for them but i think that she just grew desperate enough from all time she spend alone to learn to ignore that fact
I'll start off saying in a way that I mean no egotism or dong measuring...But, I am very ADD and my observational skills are significantly higher than most people I've come across. It's what's made me excel in my career, think of new ways of tackling problems, and greatly aids men in "getting" people. One thing that makes many shows and movies not "annoying" but just the "cost of doing business" is the (what I perceive as constant) drops in continuity. For example, a scene where someone has a drink in a glass, the next camera shot has the amount of liquid in the cup down a little bit, then the next camera shot shows the drink in the glass at the same level it was initially. That's just an example but I *always* see minor things like that that most wouldn't even catch on to while for me it stands out immensely. I'm surprised to say that I didn't catch the image of the alien in the glass or her shadow. I'm actually surprised but seeing this I can also say it's decently subtle, and I was really involved in wanting to understand what was really happening. Regardless, I didn't see it and that kind of thing is quite rare. I hope my skills aren't declining 🙃
Usually when an alien is more powerful than us they are
1) indifferent ie classic cosmic horror
2) hostile (we are cattle or competitors for resources)
3) inexplicably treat us as equals, even though they are further removed than dolphins and apes and we put them in prison for our entertainment and test makeup on them.
Here it explores a genuinely new concept: what if a space farer ran into the eldritch equivalent of a cat lady?
Functionally that’s what “Greta “ is. She cares for him legitimately, but he is not an equal, nor is she going to kill him. He is a lesser species to be managed to cope with her own alien neuroses we can scarce comprehend.
Like a pet.
yup, I can clearly see the logic in it👍
Nice thought, but this has been explored in a Twilight Zone episode where a person was put into a zoo to be viewed by aliens.
Greta's station can be viewed as both paradise and hell as the crew members of the Blue Goose are basically dead on arrival since there is no hope of ever returning to Earth or living productively on the station except for being vegetated in the tank and dying in that state. My question is about what happens to their souls (energy) once physically dead 150 light years away. Maybe Greta herself was once a human and her soul got reincarnated as the creature. The notion that the space spider has empathy for humans and created a virtual reality for the lost crew members to live out their lives in comfort till they expire is in itself a human projection.
@LoladeKG perhaps "caring" has two meaning:
1- yes, empathetic enough to create a virtual reality to acclimate humans situation. As she said it, that's not her first time and was the best way. 2 - first scenario being empathetic while feeding of them without their knowledge which could explain why the body of the two human were in that advanced decay they were. Just like any insect trapped in a spider web knowing they have no other use other than being a supply for then. Just a thought
@@konsyansnou8623 I always thought that she was a cosmic predator. A spider waiting in that dark corner because that's where the flies gather occasionally. She's just advanced to the point of being able to affect its prey psychologically (similar to paralysis venom) because this is what makes the juices running. Everybody likes their prey as docile as possible.
Just Finished Watching Love, Death & Robots and for some reason this episode stood out.
I empathized with Tom, The feeling of helplessness and despair he must have Felt
and Greta trying to shield him from his doomed reality. She showed him a glimpse and he yelled in utter
terror because his mind couldn't take the madness.
This episode really stuck with me for days.
Inc this episode has been stuck with me
@@Chaosgaming4 Same bro the animation was top notched, it conveyed real emotion of a nightmarish helplessness. The feeling of horror in Tom's face when he woke up to his present reality and his emaciated physique made me feel so sad.
@@garthybrookens4839I initially was curious if he was being shown hell...But I've never heard of getting a beej in between sessions of endless torture 😂
and...it probably didn't help when ALL his aches and hunger and thirst pains swamped his body. Dude was DYING when he became aware of it. That's is gonna cause some emotional trauma. Especially if he was 'feeling' just fine a few seconds ago. Hopefully he did get to 'live' out his last times peacefully. Better than what a lot of people get in the end...
I like how people can't help but describe her as a monster, even knowing she's a sympathetic being
Humans are such an a-holes. Greta is probably one of the nicest beings in the entire galaxy.
I mean she looked really... you know. It was a really sad moment that thats what she really was. Imagine being in that situation.
@@roomian She looked a little exotic, but the personality is all that truly matters. Especially given the circumstances, in which she's likely the only other living sentient being thousands of light-years around..
This.
You could really feel her heartbreak for Thom's situation. This episode is pretty dark and bleak but also kind of wholesome in a way.
Could be a sympathetic being that is parasitic in nature? Like a hunter killing for food but wants the kill as humane as possible. Maybe she feeds on the things that come to her but she wishes to keep them in a dream to ease the suffering. I mean she does look arachnid in nature. LOOK AT THOSE F***ING TEETH! L
I never noticed the glass and shadow effects revealing Greta's true nature. I loved this short story when I read it years ago and was very excited when I found out it was being adapted. This is an excellent episode and one where I would love to have the story expanded upon.
What intrigues me about this episode is how emancipated Thom and his crew were because usually it would take maybe a week for someone to die from thirst but they looked like Tom Hanks from Castaway.
I think there's two possibilities; "Greta" was able to keep them sustained in some way or they were unconscious for a long time before "Greta" found them.
I'm also of the opinion that she didn't mean any harm to them but couldn't or didn't know how to help them with proper food and sustenance, etc.
One possibility is that she cannot feed them as long as they remain in their surge tanks, but in order for them to leave their surge tanks, they have to accept their reality without going mad. Thom obviously cannot, and so he is reinserted into the simulation, where he will die of starvation. As for Ray and Suzy: in the short story, they clearly died because of a failure of their surge tanks (due to the custom paintjobs), but in the show version they arguably also failed to adapt to reality and died of starvation.
Yes, they were totally emancipated from the struggles of a career and daily existence!
*emaciated
@@BillPurkayasthaI wish there were some kind of proclamation of this great emancipation...
I think they aren't able to create food for them. But maybe water is easier. It contains only hydrogen and oxygen.
Commander Shepard "Show me what you really look like"
Monster appears..
Commander Shepard "We'll bang, ok?"
Monster "But you've seen my true form...."
Commander Shepard "We''ll. Bang. Ok?"
More like captain Kirk, robot chicken even made an episode about that "space STD"
If it has a hole, Sheperd will find a way 🤣🤣🤣
This show has it all. Love, Death AND Robots??
🐴🪨🍪
Woah, it's you!
@@BryceEdwardBrown Correct me if I'm wrong, but at 3:59, if it's 150,000 LY, that's *150,000 years* on Earth, not 150?
@@SStupendous The thing about light years that it's not a measurement of time, but length. A light year is 9,460,730,472,580.8 kilometers. The story tells they've travelled 150,000 LY = 1,419,109,570,887,120,000 kilometers, but as far as I know, it doesn't say how long the journey actually takes nor the exact speed they were going to calculate the duration. So we can't be certain how long they've been gone. I also confused where that "150 years have passed on earth" came from, might be in the story
@@grdprojekt Thank you for that!
From the story:
"And somewhere distant, somewhere near the heart of the rock, in a matriarchal chamber all of its own, something drummed out messages to its companions and helpers, stiffly articulated, antler-like forelimbs beating against stretched tympana of finely veined skin, something that had been waiting here for eternities, something that wanted nothing more than to care for the souls of the lost."
I really enjoyed how you referenced the source material to illustrate how the adaptation takes a slightly different path.
Greta's character and even more her alien form is surrounded by a lot of mystery, even after having seen the episode it is still not clear to me how long she has been in that destroyed station, although I suspect that she has been there for several hundred years due to the dialogue that she kept with Tom in which she said "You don't know how many lost souls I've been through this with", I also don't know how she has stayed alive for so long or what she feeds on, and finally what her real intentions are, because I still don't think that she treated Tom and his crew so well only out of pure and noble altruism.
In the story she says she's done this "a million times" and it's clearly mentioned by Thom that he realises Blue Goose wasn't the latest _human_ ship to arrive at the station. It was the first.
There’s actually a bit of biblical symbolism in terms of Greta. In original stories, angels aren’t actually “beautiful.” They’re terrifying, which is why any interactions with humans/mortals always begin with “Don’t be afraid.” Greta was the same kind of thing. She was their “Angel,” easing them into a more comfortable and pleasant death. In the original story, she was a completely benign creature. She herself was stranded on the station and found some way of sustaining herself, but she doesn’t have any way to actually care for the other beings who become stranded there. It’s a very gross and barren place called the Megallan Cloud in the book. She can’t feed them, give them water, or help them in any physical way, so she puts their minds into a simulation so they don’t die painfully and filled with horror. Remember, she lets Thom out of the simulation when he demands it, and she didn’t have to do that. It’s her curse to remain in this awful place and to watch everything die around her, so she helps the people stranded there by having them relive more pleasant times and memories until they eventually waste away and die. She’s the “horrifying space spider” equivalent of a hospice nurse.
She works with many other aliens to help ease the passing of unfortunate souls that end up where they are
@@heathermillsphantomlimb9314 also she works with other aliens across galaxies to do this and the place they live in isn’t their domain, it belong to precursors from eons ago
I think she is staying alive because of the poor souls that ended up there
Favourite episode by far, that entrance of Greta in her true form shocked me good
What I took away is the fear of infinite life, never dying. That is what it would be like all alone. Sure fun now but think about the torture of being so alone, this creature who cares for souls, how lonely they are and to find this lost soul and to have the ability to “help” them. Crazy good story.
Ah well done, this was by far the most insane episode of the whole series. The twists on this one were wild, the story was terrifying for me. Love your explanation and the captures of the small details in animation and editing, this series is truly a work of art.
it fucking sucked. It's not deep. Just "haha infinite loop = scary" good God this shit was awful.
This whole episode looks like a video game cutscene
I was on the fence about this episode at first but man what an ending ! Had me thinking for days
Right? The more you think about it, the worse it gets, in the best way possible!
This episode was one of my favorite ones. Next to "Lucky 13" and "Sonnie's Edge".
Solid choices!
same here!! those were top notch
Lucky 13 was my fourth, my 3rd fav was suits
This episode should have been an movie by itself
I like how the ships pull the bigger ship into the dock with strings as to reinforce the spider pulling in its prey really subtly.
Love the small details in this one
We only see her as monster because of our preconceived notions of horror and monsters. I honestly feel bad for her. Puts a tear in my eye honestly.
The aperture really sounds like the Mass Relays in Mass Effect
1) I don’t consider her a monster.
2) being the hardcore blue lantern (hope) I am… I still would have tried to make a “working” Frankenstein ship and point it back to “home”… plus, it’d be interesting to see what had changed.
My guy didn't you hear? They're 150,000 light years away from the Aquila Rift. No way in hell you're gonna make it back. 150 years have passed on earth (assuming their home planet is earth still) everyone that you knew is long dead. Did you see the ship? It literally crashed into some asteroid spider web type. Not to mention Tom human physical body is looking like a holocaust survivor. You have no food or water, at that point you're fucked. Building a "Frankenstein ship" is impossible, no tools, you're physical form is weak, no knowledge on how to actually repair certain parts. At this point death is the better option.
She isn't a monster she is just scary to the human mind .
I ship Greta and Santa Claus
Awesome analysis love how you went into depth and used the actual short story for reference
You know how long it took me to realize it was CGI? (Hint: too fucking long)
This is why I love sci fi short stories. They can pose great questions, or love, horror or just examine one thing. The Thing was a 1930’s short story, and it sent the hairs on my neck up.
All more reasons as to why sci-fi is my favorite genre!
Because of the states of the other bodies, I had assumed that Greta was actually feeding on them. Between that and the Spider imagery it was an easy conclusion to draw. But I also thought she was being completely honest as well and did do what she did to shield them from the truth of the hopelessness of their situation. It's hard to explain but I thought it was something like an animal need to survive made her feed on people that showed up in her web but at the same time she pitied them so created the simulation so they wouldn't be miserable. Maybe something like how people feel better about eating free-range chickens because they lived their best chicken lives before they were food.
I couldn’t say what you state here any better… but on the other hand I could have arrived to the same conclusion as you did thinking on the way we humans treat other species here on earth 😢
You’re thinking way too deep. The book clearly stated that Greta is an empathetic being. It’s highly implied that she too is stranded and seeks comfort in the arms of every being who gets trapped there.
@@Chiefteeth1 This would make sense. I haven't read it yet but I want to. Her entire demeanor conveys someone seeking comfort. The emotional bonding with Thom, the sex, the honesty at his own expense -- she's lonely and starving for intimacy, even if it's with another trapped alien species.
@@Chiefteeth1to add as well, she puts homeboy back in the simulation after he saw the "spider behind the curtain", which she had no reason to do short of genuine care. Fuck I need a girl like that, even if she looks like a cross between a butthole and a spider.
Imagine being intimate with someone and it turns out they are just a spider organism that fed you paste while you were sleeping.
Oh, you mean the perfect woman?
Don't women feed us men Koochie juice??
@@Crazypixiness lmao I was about to ask, where do I sign up?
I saw the thing/alien when he pushes her into the window.... but other bottle and the shadow... very sneaky and awesome.
i had never been more creeped ot by a show until this episode came out.............the waking up of thom at the end scared the hell ou of me........
I almost wish I didn't watch this 😅 I'm shook 🤣
You've just nailed it when I saw the shadow!!
OMG i just rewatched after you pointed out the bottle and shadow!! DUDE!!
This was the best story from Love Death and Robots imo. I watched it months ago and still think about it.
I think that the crew mate that kept waking up and getting mad at her was probably his subconscious mind rejecting the simulation.
This is really creepy but my favorite episode in LD&R even after Volume 3 came out already. The story still haunting me though it's been years since I watched this episode. Felt extremely sad for Tom :(
Anyway, you are very technical about the analysis. I love it. Thanks
i think we see the alien station capture and it actually dragging the ship in at the start, when the ship enters the station for the first time with the little robot things with wires, i think its more like tendrils capturing it, and the experience we are seeing from Thom is even later on than we are led to believe.
I remember reading this short story a long time ago. It feels like a fever dream now as I see it was made into a short episodic show.
I've seen this one more than any other and it's so haunting.
Right? I love it, the ending is such a vibe
I loved this episode. This is what hooked me in with the show! It had such a good ending reveal.
Man this episode was fire
Thanks for your narration of this.
And raveling the clues that i missed,
of the aliens identity.
You did a great job! I didn't notice the details you mentioned while I was watching that episode!..
Thank you!! 🥳
Dang, i love this episode and you have just enriched the experience BEYOND the Aquila rift!!!❤❤❤👏👏👏
This episode remember me Mass Effect games.
Looks like the collector base at the end.
Brilliant analysis, there are so many details you picked up on that i didnt catch, here i was thinking i was observant haha.
Somehow you removed the horror of this story, and helped me feel humble about the terrible situation these guys ended up in
Ya know what. At least the Greta alien thingy wasn’t malicious. At least it didn’t seem like they were
if you have watched or could watch "The Platform", a Spanish thriller and could do a review on it and the ending, I would love to see your take on it.
Not yet, but I can't wait to!
@@BryceEdwardBrown thanks!!
This is the stuff nightmares are made of....
Pretty much lol
Thanks. This was great!
While i didnt see the twist honestly i always saw the alien monster as kind. Because no matter how you play it they are. Even if the alien eats them, they are dead. They cant go back home and are struck without supplies. At least the creature is trying to give them a pleasant death. If the creature is not eating them then the creature is still tending to them. Hell the guy wasting away even would be logical if you beem alseep for 150 million years.
This was my favorite one!!!
I think that story is sad for the both of them, we can tell that "she" isn't a malevolent creature and is genuinely caring and trying to help him but the differences between the 2 are too much for him to handle. I hope he eventually manage to see past her appearance and somehow live with her as going back is clearly not an option
I always imagined he screamed at the end not because of the horror of realising he was in a doomed situation but because he realised he more than likely porked the space crab.
one of the finest episodes that haunt me to this day
Whenever I first saw this episode, I was thinking that he survived a crash as a messed up , almost dead person or he was only a brain in a tank because it was all that the alien could save.
The pan with the glass showing the true alien would not happen. If the entire area is a mock-up environment the detail in the glass would only show what is being created. Same with the wall shadow. Maybe just for the viewer to obtain the understanding that she is not what she is projected to be. But nice graphics throughout.
This is by far the best example of cosmic horror put into a screen.
It amazes me how Great tries over and over to create a simulation to make “easier” the terrible truth about the situation but the humans, specially Thom are unable to accept it. He can’t live in the idealistic lie but can’t accept the truth either. THAT is cosmic horror.
If your speed is c (speed of light), your travels are instantaneous but the time passed for other observers is determined in distance, i.e., light-years. So traveling 100 light years at speed c for you means you get there in zero seconds and from the point of view of the people you left, one hundred years has passed. If you WERE to travel faster than c, you would find yourself in the past, from the point of view of the people you left. So basically you could arrive at your destination and back hundreds of years before you even left. And that creates a constancy problem, and a paradox. That is why FTL (faster than light travel) is thought to be impossible, logically speaking.
@Carlos Pozolero Actually he’s only partially right, it’s impossible for anything to instantaneously travel anywhere. You just get there extremely fast it feels immediate. If you could move to places instantly, then you would be able to move when time is stopped.
@@mazokuwolf1279 Nope. Wrong. Photons travel at c because their mass is zero, making them, from their point of view, timeless.
@@j-frolland4200 Lightspeed isn’t instant, it has a definitive speed. Not even anything that exists in the quantum realm truly travels instantaneously. Think about it like this, if you can get from your home to school instantly (not seemingly instant but literal instantly) your travel time would be zero. If you could move and change your distance but the exact time is still the same, you just teleported or moved while time was stopped. It’s not possible for anything to move in an “instant that’s why it leads to an error in your calculator when calculating speed. Time travelled can’t be 0, it can be very close to zero but never actually 0. But you were right about the paradox travelling faster than light creates.
@@mazokuwolf1279 Alright. Special relativity, Time dilates when you approach c(or space compresses, it's a point of view thing) . Anyway, I teach this shit. Sit down, shut up, you get an F.
@@mazokuwolf1279 Alright. Just work on your grammar, which will be enough considering your arguments. Good luck in your future endeavours.
I think when Susie was stuck with needle she was stable by the alien in real life, they were both awake in the same simulation to try and cope but she freaked out like the first guy and that sealed her fate
Definitely the best episode of vol. 1
I've never watched it. But this is amazing. Thank you
Haha this episode got to me too Bryce! I loved it though, by the end i wasn't sure if i'd wanted to stay in the simulation or face my reality
Ask for both
fucking amazing work as always man!
just watched the new episodes, and this is still the best episode so far!
I subscribed
Keep up the good work
Thank you The Hidden!
Living in the shadows ...
Living in the shadows
LIVING IN THE SHADOWS!
Living in the shadows
Would see the episode as a metaphor that people can really get on the wrong path in life. For example, if they have chosen a life that is only bearable through distraction or anesthesia through drugs & pornography. Then it can happen that when they withdraw from their "addictive substances", it first shows something that is not so nice, all the traumas and injuries and heavy feelings. That's why withdrawal is so hard for many people because the reality/feeling that first shows up can be as scary as a spider alien.
In the end he also looks a bit like a homeless drug addict who might wake up under a bridge or abandoned house.
That empathy level, that the "Greta" showed to the lost travelers, is priceless!!
Not only just empathy is that maybe would say something bigger, like real love. 😢
I always coma back to this episode, it’s so incredible
One interesting detail I noticed that I am guessing was intentional was the very first time we see Thom get woken up with Suzie. Then Suzie freaks out and is put back to sleep but Greta after she shows Thom her true form and sort of "resets him" We see that the pods of Ray and Suzie are no longer filled. One of the pods was covered by a hazardous looking tarp and the other was just empty. My guess is that Greta realized it might be easier to wake just him up.
I'm Commander Shephard, and this is my favorite episode on the citadel.
This episode gives me goosebumps.
Same!
This breakdown was awesome and ohhh boy this episode was one of the coolest and most haunting things I've seen. HeLLoo Thom 🕷️
I liked this episode. It was a display of altruism and wholesomeness. I am not sure - but i do not think it was stated or suggested that the ships ended up in the "net" of the - well, you say monster/spider - i say alien .. by its doing. So it is kind of a mercy she/it grants to those that stranded there.
that song hits me hard
Same!
A fascinating piece of storytelling! This may be a great series or movie!
I hope they at least make a movie out of it!
I always thought it was a simulation... Kinda like the Matrix... So if the shadows are from the real creature... Is dude really having sex with the human shaped part of that creature?
Not in a physical sense, make s&# was probably her feeding him, and to don't be very appearent she makes look like it...
Also, in the book, she made it with him to see if he really care about his wife, is a big part of the plot, because his wife was already dead when he arrive there (150 years have passed in real time while he was traveling), kinda like a test to see if he would overcome the grief of losing his wife.
@@efxnews4776 Yes.
“Why didn’t you tell me straight away, as soon as I came out of the tank?”
“Because I didn’t know if you were going to be able to take it.”
“You waited until after you knew I had a wife.”
“No,” Greta said. “I waited until after we’d made love. Because then I knew Katerina couldn’t mean that much to you.”
I just watched this episode and my brain kept going "What is that, WHATISTHAT, what is going on, explain explain EXPLAIN". So anyways, here I am. Thanks for the existentialism and chill xD
I just brought the book of short stories that includes Beyond The Aquila Rift because of this show.
mass effect anyone? I loved the episode, hideous looking "monster" who just wanted to take care of lost travellers.
damn bro youre a legend
Damn how tf do you always know what I'm in need of? Absolutely loved this lovecraftian plottwisted episode!👌🔥
The plot twist is that the creature is benevolent... just horrific in appearence.
And the guy mentioned part two? Well, then i won't complaint that he didn't mention this, but in the original story, she is benevolent, the ep add a duality, that wasn't there before, i liked, i like it so much that i went to read the original, and to me was just a confirmation, but some folks belive she is evil, and nobody can't blame them since the ep made look like that, but again, even in the ep, theres clues that she is benevolent, the biggest one, is that she looks sad at the ending, and theres no reason for her look like that if she was evil.
You know what trully this story remind me? Ezekiel book...
I really don't know who has more eyes... Greta or one of the Ezekiel angels...
@@efxnews4776 you're right. Greta is probably much more empathetic and benelovent than a human. I recall someone saying that Thom's crewmates died because of their stupidity in the original story which would also explain this. Nevertheless, the place is just horrible.
@@efxnews4776 She is entirely and explicitly benevolent in the original story, and there is no indication that Thom's body is withering away and about to die.
It took me five minutes to figure out this was animation. Fantastic "simulation".
RIGHT? haha
This episode scared the shit out of me. I had nighmares about it. But it is one of the best episodes at love death and robots.
If I am Thom I would accept the Fact
Perhaps be with empathic alien Greta in the true form and coexist.
You are a nice person
So what still has never been explained ishiw did he fuck that alien creature?
@@masterodisguise2983 no it was a simulation
@@LeBrow420 then why did he say Greta was the alien?
@@masterodisguise2983 “Greta” is an alien and the simulation was created by her, the sex was a part of it, and it happened while Thom’s real body was sleeping inside the surge tank by himself, like having a dream. Their real bodies weren’t touching each other, so it was a mental sex, not a physical one.
This is my favorite episode of season 1 ❤️
ii liked this analysis !
This was really mind fuck 🙏
Right? It gets worse the more you think about it
Best episode by far
I REALLY want a sequel to this one. The other "Love, Death, & Robots" episodes are fine as is, but his one asks more questions than answers.
this episode haunting me for a day
It's been about 3 years for me
The episode is about the Metaverse: a constructed reality where real will be substituted by fake , and “ benevolent spider” of the state will suck both your body and soul dry, whilst gradually removing every real, meaningful thing that you have.
This is why it stuck and haunts so many people. Premonition .
Social programmers like Orwell or Ridley know perfectly well what’s coming for the masses and how horrible the reality is.
Except that Ridley is a LIGHT YEARS ahead of Orwell.
Think of “ Beyond Aquila Rift” like a space version of “ 1984”, where “ Thom”( anagram for MOTH) is YOU... and “ Greta”( anagram for “ GREAT”) is the state, Hive Mind, the Goddess of masonry and kabbalists .
In an original story Greta was commanding Hive Mind whilst keeping MULTIPLE “ lost souls” in simulation .
Two other movies which further illustrate my point are the “ Mateix” franchise and “ SPIDERHEAD” with Chris Hemsworth.
Very few people know that the experimdnts described in “ SPIDERHEAD”( drugs designed to FULLY control a free will ) were designed & trialled decades ago.
Long story short: “ Beyond Aquila Rift” stuck with so many people because it’s a PREMONITION of our future-- if we let them make it our future .
The original audiobook is currently available on TH-cam for free.
I'm so convinced the exact same event is happening on Earth right now.
We also need to consider that for her humans and other aliens that got lot in her place propably was as alien and spooky as she was for them but i think that she just grew desperate enough from all time she spend alone to learn to ignore that fact
this episode is a great methadone for black mirror
Good job on the explinationa
It's also a great possibilty that alien created the portal machine
I'll start off saying in a way that I mean no egotism or dong measuring...But, I am very ADD and my observational skills are significantly higher than most people I've come across. It's what's made me excel in my career, think of new ways of tackling problems, and greatly aids men in "getting" people. One thing that makes many shows and movies not "annoying" but just the "cost of doing business" is the (what I perceive as constant) drops in continuity. For example, a scene where someone has a drink in a glass, the next camera shot has the amount of liquid in the cup down a little bit, then the next camera shot shows the drink in the glass at the same level it was initially. That's just an example but I *always* see minor things like that that most wouldn't even catch on to while for me it stands out immensely. I'm surprised to say that I didn't catch the image of the alien in the glass or her shadow. I'm actually surprised but seeing this I can also say it's decently subtle, and I was really involved in wanting to understand what was really happening. Regardless, I didn't see it and that kind of thing is quite rare. I hope my skills aren't declining 🙃
I love these and wish I could subscribe even harder. PLEASE keep it up.
The Aperture looks like the alien ship in the movie Lifeforce, interesting.
Just finished watching that episode what a coincidence.Or is it?
Same!
I still think about this episode a lot