Exploring All Edgerunners Backstories | Cyberpunk Mission Kit Explained & Analyzed

The Edgerunners' Mission Kit is out, and with it, are a bunch of backstories for the show's major characters. Didn't expect something like this to ever happen, so what a treat it is!
In this video, we'll be going over the official pasts of all the Edgerunners characters (Adam Smasher aside) and seeing how their pasts have shaped them into the people who play a part in this tragic tale. I'll also be reexamining my own opinions on some of these characters, as well as judging how accurate my assumptions were about their pasts. The only character mentioned here who I haven't previously analyzed is Falco, so if you want to see a more in-depth look at each character, you can find them on my channel.
Did any of these backstories change your opinion of these characters? Let me know in the comments, more context is always cool! LOL
Apologies for the lack of transitions/the lack of a verbal thank you to each member! I had to cut a lot out of this video in order for my Mac to crash less during production. 37 minutes was a surprising new limit with this thing. Excited to be getting a new computer next month, thanks to everybody who watches my videos. It really means a lot!
Huge thank you to all of those who have clipped Edgerunners footage for easier access here on KZbin. You make making all of these videos so much easier.
Have a great weekend/long weekend if you're in Canada like myself. Thanks so much for watching! BYEEEEEEE!
MY LINKS
IG: lydiscott?...
(I wrote a book!) Caesaria Book I: amzn.to/42DF0nw
Signed Copies of my book (I ship each Thursday): www.lydiscott.com/works
Become a Channel Member
/ @lydiscott
BUSINESS INQUIRIES
[e-mail]
All music either belongs to CDPR, or to Epidemic Sound.
#cyberpunk #cyberpunk2077 #cdprojektred #cdpr #character #analysis #cyberpunkedgerunners #videoessay #videogameaddict #dystopian #explained #edgerunners

[@lydiscott]

Sorry if music is a bit loud in some parts! I swear when I was editing, the volume was much lower, ahhhh. Oh well! 😂 can’t wait to get that new computer to replace my laptop from 2017 lmao

[@GoronCityOfficial]

Ah tragedies of Night City where everyone wants a good ending and it always follows Silverhand's quote "Here, for folks like us? Wrong city, wrong people."

[@demonofsixpaths2078]

“There are no happy endings in Night City" - there is no truer statement. Doesn’t matter who you are, or what your status is, Night City is a wicked, greedy beast and it’ll catch up with you eventually; the only hope is that it’s quick

[@novasnake2532]

David getting his umbilical cut with a mantis blade goes hard as fuck though, bro (un?)fortunately became truly special

[@lydiscott]

It’s very fitting!!!

[@lordgeneralmilitantdeezy7550]

David: had the most badass birth and was always a little nuts even before the Sandy. Lucy: Found out the fairytale life she lived was built on a mountain of bodies and exploitation that she later experienced first hand. Maine: Always had a complex about his strength. Dorio: David’s second mom who we never really got to know. Falco: Went looking for a challenge and found it. Kiwi: Exploited and abused down to the last moment. Pilar and Rebecca: Born to a legend and left to fend for each other.

[@brogundybandit8920]

the edgerunner who got his arm stitched back on Gloria was a real one tho. Like, instead of just getting out of there they were like, “Oh damn, here lemme help.”

[@lydiscott]

Honestly I wish this guy was in the show LOLOL

[@cybersamurai2049]

Bro's the goat

[@arthuralford]

The Mission Kit adds so much to Edgerunners. I did find that Kiwi becomes more understandable, and perhaps easier to explain

[@happycompy]

Great analysis! I agree with your takes on Pilar, and I definitely share your frustration with David for taking advantage of Rebecca's compassion.

[@lydiscott]

Thanks so much for watching Compy! 😄

[@Skirish]

It's very enlightening (in the best way) to now have all this recontextualisation to our beloved Edgerunner crew, even the oh so mysterious Falco lol As one would say in Night City, Preem new hair colour choombatta, nova 👌

[@goobertime2119]

new hair color is very nova

[@lydiscott]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! 😂

[@AdamSiuda]

Thank you for the new video and cant wait for the Adam Smasher one. Best wishes from Poland !

[@lydiscott]

Thanks so much for watching! Me too, it’ll be quite interesting!

[@AlibucketsBeats]

David was already having psycho tendencies, which explains why his leg was shaking at the beginning of episodes. Very fitting. He was destined to become an edge runner. He wasn’t Blackhand, but he was a true edge runner. My boy was special 💙

[@MuttonErase]

Idk about that. He had a nervous tick which showed up as leg shaking

[@shinigami2192]

@@MuttonEraseagreed

[@AlibucketsBeats]

@@MuttonErase it can also be associated with adhd. Being in Santo seeing the things his mom never wanted him to see could’ve been a sign. I forgot to mention when the sixth streets was punching David and broke his hand. David started laughing at choom. Like everything he faced he laughed in the face of adversity. The signs were planted all throughout the show

[@ghostboi1413]

Uh leg shaking can just be a sign of ADHD lmao.

[@AlibucketsBeats]

@@ghostboi1413 anxiety also 🤷🏿‍♂️

[@angrybirb7270]

I just found your channel after watching the dex deshawn video and now I'm invested

[@lydiscott]

Ahhhh thank you! 😄

[@roryrousseau111]

Sewing the severed arm back on the the guy whos about to midwife-assist you is a very disgustingly hard Hisoka esque move

[@_GeneralMechanics_]

"His desire to never let his mother down..." was just the start. Everyone let everyone else down. The end credit song, "Let You Down" carries a lot of that weight.

[@TheKindOni]

I love the amount of care and thought put into each of these characters. How even before we got their official backstories in printing, you could tell these characters had a past, a past that still effects them into their present and future. Obviously I don't like what Kiwi did and don't agree with it, but it's always been something I understood. I get why Kiwi did it, and I think that speaks to the level of thought put into these characters. I'm obvious going to rewatch Edgerunners again as it's a comfort show (Yes my therapist is working me though that.) and I just know it's all going to hit that much harder. Another fantastic video. Please keep up the good work, without overworking yourself.

[@cybersamurai2049]

Never expected edgerunners as a comfort show but I can kinda see it as a comfort show in a way

[@demonofsixpaths2078]

I subbed like yesterday, the sheer luck to happen across a new upload this early when I’ve only been watching this channel for a couple days is insane.

[@lydiscott]

Ahhh thank you for the sub! Glad you’re enjoying the videos, it’s a lot of fun to make them. 😄

[@ArcanoSilverwind]

Know it's not likely, but do you think you'll cover anymore CPR stuff? ​@@lydiscott

[@Mordaedil]

Man, I already felt like there was something more to Kiwi, but I didn't expect to be quite like that.

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

I'm still trying to figure out Falco's character - like, what he meant to Edgerunners overall. The best thing I can come to about that is - Falco shows that there's more going on in Night City than just the "main characters" of any given story. That these "minor" characters can be every bit as important in their own worlds as David is in his, Falco is the main character of his own story and we see that residually from David's. That makes him engimatic in a way that differs from other mysterious characters in Edgerunners. He's not presented as mysterious, but he's made such by virtue of how little we know about him despite the important role he plays toward the end of David's story. Partially, he's there to bear witness to David's story but because we're focusing on David's story we don't know much about the role he takes in the gang besides just driver post-Main. We don't know about whatever's going on between him and Kiwi off-screen or in the past, because it's not pertinent to David's experience, but that doesn't make Falco's experience trivial or nonexistant. I think that's kinda what the deal with Falco is in the grand scheme of things besides "the character that has to survive because we need him to fulfill the crossover requirement between the show and the game."

[@cld9elato172]

The new hair looks dope and the new background is awesome! I love the changes!

[@Swift640]

I think in the dub Lucy says that all of the kids in the arasaka training thing were orphans, so hearing this backstory was interesting

[@PumpkinLad420]

Yo dude you’re the reason I watched both the show and bought the game, thanks 👍

[@stoutsauropod735]

Always like these videos. You pick up on all these details I'd probably have otherwise missed. Have you thought about covering the Phantom Liberty characters like Reed or Somgbird?

[@lydiscott]

Thank you so so much! Ahhh yes indeed! I’m still recording for PL, but like… both of those characters are such deep wells, it’s gonna be super interesting to break them down. I know those videos will be long 🤣

[@andislionel]

​@@lydiscotti would love a breakdown of songbird's character, she has always been such an interesting character to me!

[@gasmask7064]

Gloria is more than likely an EMT rather than a nurse.

[@mrmaster9801]

Didn't know about your channel before, but I'm glad having discovered it. This video is so helpful to better understand all those wonderful characters. Not that I felt the need about it (such was the quality of the show), but now they feel even better than before. Thank you for having shared these bits of knowledge and your thoughts about them.

[@VTheGonk]

Fantastic video!! This video definitely gave me a new perspective on Main

[@hab0272]

I like these background stories. It makes the characters less like thugs and more like humans trying to survive in less than ideal circumstances. I feel more sympathetic towards Maine, Pilar and Kiwi now. It especially recontextualizes Kiwis betrayal and makes it even more tragic. Knowing Pilar's story might also explain Becca's personality. It's also ironic that Pilar died of reckless behaviour before Becca did.

[@TheMecoolerest001]

Great video! Its fun to have your older videos to compare with this one. Just goes to show how much the medium used to express the art can add its own contextualization. The stories that are added now are interesting but they are almost fanfic from the show in some ways. Even if they were intended from the start what got into the show and what didn’t can change how the characters are seen. Looking forward to some PL content. I chose my ending the first time and I think story wise it was the right one. You say you are still playing so mum on spoilers but looking forward to it!

[@Ghostzero]

Lydi over hear looking like Regina from Dino Crisis 🐊 It's too bad that you couldn't see of some of this in Edge Runners it very much of would have added to the story. This was another great in depth, keep up the good work Lydi! 👍

[@gwoody4003]

Its crazy, this story is so insane and depressing and futile... yet beautiful for it... that I found the moment that fully redeemed Maine was when he finally snapped. That scene where Trauma Team comes on, and Maine pops up with that grin and says "IS ALL THIS MY FAULT?!?!" I wasn't mad/sad about it anymore. And yes... Maine is a gentle giant with deep fear and insecurity. When he starts falling apart, he keeps hallucinating Faraday mocking him and telling him he is a failure. He went full blown trying to be a hero, trying to defend people he cared about from relentless pursuers hellbent on killing them all. Same as David.

[@Idobjjyay]

Who else just fucking loves cyberpunk edgerunners

[@BryanMario]

I really enjoyed this video, great backstories to these iconic characters.

[@lydiscott]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@saintinel]

Great storytelling again about this fantastic lore, thanks! Greetings another corpo guy ^^

[@lydiscott]

Thank you for watching! 😄

[@edge1247]

This confirms why Pilar is my favorite character

[@stelliocantos4639]

I get what you mean about Gloria because from the show, we could infer that sort of scav-ish dealing without all the information. I always thought she was really more like the guy in the nomad mission for the kidney implant. Trying to be honest, but knowing honesty doesn't pay and as such would try to make a few extra eddies where possible. It seemed like for her, the Sandevistan score was a lucky break and she was intent on capitalizing on that opportunity.

[@Sacredsnow2]

I don't think Maine is a hypocrite for being ok with collateral damage. He left the NUSA for targeted violence against civies for bad reasons, like greed. I think all mercs in NC have come to terms with the fact that collateral damage is a part of life in NC. All in all, great video as always! :)

[@AlcoholAndAnimeNight]

As fans we deserve a like full deep Rebecca story. Here's hoping more of her lore is uncovered in the next game.

[@BoolyK]

Red hair looks sick!

[@KEC_KELVIN]

Imagine being sold out by your own parents man.. makes sense why she thinks her only option is literally escaping earth just to get away

[@cybersamurai2049]

David have one of the most badass birth i have ever heard

[@rob2x._rob307]

30:16 to this day Pilar and Rebecca got the short end of the stick in they deaths

[@MonicleMustachey]

Great job!

[@lydiscott]

Thank you!!!

[@nightowlsneversleep6752]

Love your work ❤

[@lydiscott]

Thank you so much 😀

[@dx-dragon4399]

Great video

[@Fragninja]

Well done, you get a sub.

[@AtomiicFrogz]

so excited for the new kickdown comic series

[@alexhulea2735]

The crew's stories are pretty good. The few gripes i have are with David's story needing more proofreading before publishing( it made little sense), and Lucy's Arasaka background.

[@Jane-qh2yd]

This is the heartbreaking part about night city. It's not a city for the weak. David and his crew, generally don't do anything that absurdly different from V, even having the same exact ending with a raid to Arasaka tower and a fight with Smasher. But the City doesn't care what choices you make. It only cares if you got what it takes to make it, and David didn't. His story is not that different from the one in the game.

[@masonhockenberry4023]

New falco lore I love it he’s been my favorite edge runner since we learned his name I’m happy we get to know more about him besides getaway driver.

[@lydiscott]

Same here, it’s a shame how little there was with him in the earlier episodes

[@masonhockenberry4023]

@@lydiscott I had hoped with his texts in game we would learn more but all we get is that he had David’s jacket for some reason instead of Lucy

[@ChrisMcCarroll]

Man I love this universe

[@grey3247]

🙏 Thank you

[@lydiscott]

Thank you!!!!

[@armoredcoreexile]

As the 699th like, this video deserves more love. Well done.

[@lydiscott]

Thank you so much lol!!!

[@ronnielee8238]

Idk bout the characters of edge runners but you definately a cutie.

[@nikitachaykin6774]

Kiwi is the girl!

[@Spawnofktulu007]

I think it’s time I go back to Night City. Come on Chooms!

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

Scavs as a moniker isn't really a good moniker for what they do - Gloria is a "scav" in a truer sense of the word. Salvaging the cyberware of the recently deceased is just a fringe benefit of being a paramedic in Night City. They're likely not getting a discount at the coffeeshop (though maybe at 2nd Amend.), so they gotta do something to make more than they officially do - that's a situation engineered by society. As such, it's likely at least somewhat socially permissable that they do that, I see no problem with it in the context of Cyberpunk. "Scavs" as we come to know them aren't "salvaging" anything - they're not benefitting from circumstances they had little to do with - they're creating the circumstances. They're preying on people. They are not "scavs" - they're predators trafficking people and cyberware. They lure the most vulnerable, murder them, and take their cyberware. By comparing Gloria to "scavs" as we know them, you're comparing somebody getting killed and their wallet stolen with somebody that works at a shop deciding to keep the pair of sunglasses that someone left on the counter. Morally dubious, but they're not even the same ballpark. If I was a medic in Night City I would be a fool and a chump not to sell the cyberware of some gonk that flatlines in the back of my rig. All of my coworkers would likely call me a fool and a chump when they find out, and it may even ostracize me - now they don't know if they can trust me. See what I mean about something being morally dubious but socially permissable?

[@uriah69ross28]

OMG I think I love you , you always have the best videos and there is so much cyberpunk2077 content out there that is bland

[@dremazzin33]

Love you're hair color 😍

[@cyberpunkdarren]

How did Becca meet kiwi

[@idkwhttouse]

Straight speculation but could of it been chuck norris from the start of the anime would be way to fitting lol also idk his name

[@ef174]

God... ...DAMN IM EARLY

[@lydiscott]

YUP

[@ef174]

@@lydiscott I typically watch these to give myself some insight into characters and how deep they can be, even if their role is relatively minor. Helps when considering backgrounds and behaviors for characters in my own writing. Fun to see a two minute old video at the top of my feed when I open YT

[@lydiscott]

@@ef174 Aww thats awesome! Totally hear ya. Hoping you're having a fun time writing! Thanks so much for watching, seriously. :D

[@MMZS528]

Not another punk kid American trope as protagonist :D Hi Lydi! You stopped streaming

[@owensowders5329]

638 views in 2 hours Shaped By Stories glowed up

[@ben2741]

Becca is best gremlin

[@swanolia584]

Just started the video, the music is a bit loud, it's hard to fully understand what you're saying as a non native speaker :/

[@lydiscott]

You’re totally right, intro is too loud. Sorry about that! When I was editing, the volume was much lower. Not sure what happened. Gonna get a new computer soon so hopefully that will make a difference. ☺️

[@nikik5567]

I just wanna say that I think ur putting a little too much malicious intent behind David’s treatment of Becca. He wasn’t knowingly taking advantage of her compassion, he was just kinda…how do I wanna put this…dumb. Also, Dorio was definitely Crew Mom for Maine’s crew. Even if Maine wasn’t really a dad role for most, dorio was definitely the team mom.

[@bmo5852]

I think an issue with Lucy's backstory is the lack of clarification on her parents. The book doesn't explain if Takeshi is actually a bastard. It's very possible that he actually did put his past behind him, and those details on his details are a reminder to him, à la Bruce Wayne having Jason Todd's Robin Suit on display in the Batcave. He could also easily be a Reed or Takemura type, having utmost faith in Arasaka and assuming she'll be fine cause they said so, or whole-heartedly believing whatever yarn they fed him. This lack of clarity means Lucy can be interpreted as being paranoid and David drove himself into the ground because of it, because she assumed she was 100% correct and never even tried to understand her parents' side of the story. Her backstory also undoes Episode 7 for me. The tradegy of that talk out in the Badlands, at least on rewatches, was that even though Lucy took a massive step forward and opened up to David about her life, she was unable to open up to him about his. But now? Nope! Like in Episode 4, she's now telling him a bald-faced lie and keeping him in the dark, especially now that her time in that facility is now more of a footnote in her life. She is also disgusted by her father's actions in the Corporate War and yet starts doing morally wrong actions herself in NC? That just makes her a hypocrite, especially since she knowingly manipulates a minor and leads him to a situation where his spine could be torn out. Apple didn't fall far from the tree, it seems. Her behaviour towards David in Episode 3 and 4 could be originally justified by her being a traumatised child who knew nothing but being a corporate child soldier. But now? She's just being an asshole for shits and giggles. Kiwi's backstory feels like they were trying too hard to be grimdark, that they came off as grimderp. The mission kit has now further reinforced how these 2 are both D-List, bush-league, amateurs compared to Songbird. Maine refusing the FIA should, by all accounts have resulted in a suicide consisting of 2 bullets to the back of the head. I mean, remember what happened to Slider, or the Cassel Twins or Jacob and Taylor? The NUS doesn't just let people walk, just ask Alex and Song and Hansen. It feels like they nerfed NUSA spec ops for the sake of giving Maine’s flat top haircut an origin story. As for him 5v1-ing Spec Ops a feat like that should've catapulted him into working for Wakako, any of the 2077 fixers or even Rogue herself, why is he a washout working for Faraday? Especially since Pilar is close enough to Wakako that she let's him call her Auntie, and Why is he so obsessed with Chroming-up to get stronger if he could do something like that while relatively un-chromed? Pilar and Rebecca's origins feel like they were meant for completely different characters. I'd have expected Pilar to become a Brooding Solo and Rebecca to become a Medtech or any Medical focused role. She certainly isn't compassionate for people outside of the crew and people she trusts. Her behaviour upon Pilar's death, is now kinda completely psychotic, why is she saying stuff like "He was mine to kill" and outright desecrating his corpse after everything he did for her? Falco is now just "I drive" that's it, that's his personality now. Speaking as some who's worked on a farm, where the hell did the writers get the idea that tractors go fast enough to inspire a need for speed? They don't. Dorio's parents are professional international athletes that throws that away because her dad decides to go gang/pit fighter? In what world does that make sense? Maine stalking her is a........... choice. Did David's birth need to be some badass showing? No. Nothing was added, why even include him? And what was he born within 30 minutes? if it was in the back of speeding ambulance. And him believing he was special from the start is also odd. The entire point to me was that David only believed he was special so he could be everything everyone needed him to be. The ONE character that could be justifiably added to was Sasha as she was a blank slate with nothing but a music video to give her a story. What do they do with her? Nothing at all. Safe to say, I really don't care for the new backstories, they reek of a corporation trying to cash in on Edgerunners while it's still relatively fresh.

[@Jesters-Jinx]

You're pretty much dead on?