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

An (exhaustive) breakdown and critique of the Love, Death & Robots episode Beyond the Aquila Rift, as well as the short story that it's based on.
Music:
Intro
» Mudeth - Spinning Out of Orbit (2x stretch)
Breakdowns
» CO.AG - Progect 9
» pATCHES - Because For Everything There Is Someone (normal & 2x stretch)
» CO.AG - Running Out Of Time (normal & 2x stretch)
» Wayne Jones - White Hats (normal & 4x stretch)
» CO.AG - Everything You Want
» CO.AG - My Sins Alone Will Wake The Dead (3x speed)
Criticisms
» CO.AG - She Has Entered The Night (2x stretch)
Alternate Scenarios
» CO.AG - Childhood Story Considering I Was Never A Child
Conclusions
» Chris Zabriskie - Everyone Will Notice, No One Will Say Anything
All storyboard artwork for the short story sections was created by Brian Lindahl:
» Webpage: www.brianlindahl.com
» Facebook: / brianlindahlsart
» Artstation: www.artstation.com/brianlindahl
» LinkedIn: / brian-lindahl-b25a7414
» Twitter: / brianlindahl
» Instagram: / brian.lindahl
Timestamps:
» Intro: 00:00
» Episode Breakdown: 03:02
» Criticisms: 10:40
» Short Story Breakdown: 14:28
» Alternate Scenarios: 30:12
» Conclusions: 34:16
#BeyondTheAquilaRift #AlastairReynolds #LoveDeathAndRobots

[@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, KZbin 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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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 🤷‍♂️

[@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"

[@gnostic423]

Dude needs way more subscribers

[@PR-xm5zc]

Dude needs way more content then lol

[@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

[@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!

[@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

[@Ztertis]

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

[@ayechammyayhpanmortaung6707]

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

[@AlexxPn]

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

[@jeremyholland3426]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@vargasmarcusrusselt.6576]

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

[@Jaysnipes]

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

[@smuffinman]

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

[@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!

[@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.

[@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).

[@theogrey]

This was spectacular. Your diligent breakdown was masterful

[@afterveil]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@jyeohngosu9965]

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

[@dennisdicicco6406]

been waiting for something like this. it was the most engaging one imo

[@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!

[@RhoTrepaan]

This explanation made this episode even better (and richer)

[@BaLoNgUlObAnGa]

Amazing breakdown. Please continue doing what you’re doing

[@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

[@Nautules83]

apart from the voice over quality I would never have guessed this was your first KZbin 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.

[@arcoffice4448]

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

[@drewgoin8849]

Beautifully done!! Thank you!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!

[@maxematicsbraun8306]

This was amazing brother. Thanks!

[@christianpalaciosrojas650]

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

[@raven2tongue]

Great work, sir!! Really enjoyed this

[@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 !

[@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 KZbin! 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.... 🙂

[@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.

[@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

[@zed1877]

Why does this man have only 3 subscribers

[@Ztertis]

Yeah it's weird

[@singwentseng5860]

This explanation is truly amazing and underrated

[@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.

[@ng8tvinfluence78]

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

[@Cycon91]

This was really well made. Thanks :)

[@stevek4070]

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

[@Racepiraat]

Great video. This explains what happend the best out of all video's I have seen about this episode.

[@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!

[@PhantomVista]

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

[@bencera6067]

Really enjoyed this thanks

[@N8kdmagazine]

Wow. This story is more tragic Than I thought.

[@TheEbonyEngineer]

Thank you for this.

[@amishterrorist17]

Very well done, thank you

[@jj-kf9wo]

ii love this analysis : well done .

[@albertolazcano7539]

Excellent video, ive been looking for fue there info about this chapter for years now. Also you did an exclelent work do your first video, you have a lot of potencial

[@mcfestyosazuwa835]

I enjoyed this video a lot. Thank you.

[@EdgarRoock]

This was very well crafted.

[@praxis22]

Interesting, and well done at that. Kudos.

[@aronfindley854]

Great video, hoping to see more essays like this in future as I'm now subbed

[@yhzaigaming]

Very great and informative video, now I want a whole series made off of this! :D

[@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 👍

[@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'

[@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. 👍👍

[@dreamxcviii3249]

This was really great

[@dyounos6446]

Loved that breakdown

[@Darthborg]

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

[@nowaay692]

This along with Zima Blue are my faves. Was so elated to see these fantastic written words adapted to video!

[@efxnews4776]

Both stories are from the same writer, Alastair Reynolds.

[@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 KZbin 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.

[@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".

[@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!

[@mysteriouswarbler]

This thing is gold.

[@mangyminotaur30]

What a well made video, wish there was more

[@ScarFearz]

Excellent analysis of the episode/short novel. I'm subscribed in case you keep doing this kind of content.

[@n1njafish894]

wonderful first dedicated ytb video. You did a wonderful job

[@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.

[@kourtneyhanley]

That is an amazing story

[@tensaibr]

Thank you. You've described exactly what I deduced from the plot :)

[@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.

[@atasagun1437]

Thanks for the video i really enjoyed it

[@CarlosHernandez-kn4xk]

Thank you for this 10/10 👍