Scavengers Reign | Alien Pods All scenes

Scavengers Reign S01E05-06. Watch full episodes only on MAX.

[@ka-boom2083]

1. Cloning Tree's tentacles extract blood sample from a passing victim while administering a dose of poison 2. Creates a clone of victim, inside the clone is a seed of the Cloning Tree and explosive sacks of acid 3. Clone tracks down the poisoned victim, buries it. 4. The clone infiltrates the victim's group, detonates itself in an acidic explosion 5. The dead from the explosion becomes fertilizer in which a new Cloning Tree forest blooms. Multi-stepped extremely complex reproduction method, this plant is dependent on herd animals.

[@gbort1]

Guess the acid is laced with seeds or spores, which would mean the are very hardy wherever they ended up.

[@lesserdad]

i think its more a virus or some sort of sickness rather than a poison

[@Blargleflakes]

Most common lie in zombie/scifi horror: “It’s nothing I’m fine”

[@cock_sauce8336]

Well... he was indeed fine. The problem is that now there's a walking "human" time bomb that tries to find other humans to absorb.

[@twokool4skool129]

Yep. It's never nothing. They're never fine. Sam basically dies there.

[@aria5614]

And THAT would be a good reason why humans have a fear of the uncanny Valley.

[@newtybot]

No, it’s because of Neanderthals

[@PikaPetey]

That is horrifying way of reproduction

[@Solar_vitality]

I agree with you on this 😎👊

[@Frncy]

This is cordyceps on explosive crack

[@caseybaierl1562]

​@@Guyontheinternet469It would use humans as its own fertilizer

[@futuregameryt5133]

That is similar to how mushrooms reproduce some use ants though to get them the food

[@Christian-gy6fk]

This is EXACTLY how viruses reproduce.

[@aaa-my5xy]

the fight with the clone blew my expectations out of the water, because it wasnt really a fight at all. ursula digs up sam and the clone immediately sprints to her and pushes her out of the way just to bury sam again and then go back to what it was doing because thats what its designed to do. its meant to blend in with the group and act as they do before reproducing, its not trying to fight or eat, it just wants to reproduce.

[@aria5614]

The clone: no no no! He's dead he's dead! Stop uncovering him he's dead! I'm Sam now!

[@EagleTimberWolf]

Funny thing, it actually WAS shown eating, but as you said, its job is to blend in, so the only reason it even went near the food was simply because it had been watching them. This is honestly one of my favorite horror tropes - when something is exhibiting human behavior but doing so in a way that clearly lacks the intent/thought process behind said behavior because it's trying to mimic it with no understanding of it.

[@FunKayyy]

You mean it wanted to reproduce with Ursula, like in the sense of horizontal gene transfer?

[@simulping4371]

@@EagleTimberWolf so uncanny valley

[@gbort1]

Something I think about is when Ursula is fighting the simulacrum it has a rose colored upper torso and beige lower torso, imitating Sam's outfit. That's not something the pods could pick up from DNA. We also see one of the creatures in the pods with its eyes open which is atypical of a creature in a womb. I guess that means that the seed pods use the eyes the simulacra its growing to watch its "prey" to make the simulacrum look the part. This would have been over some distance which means the whole colony watches and plans. Creepy.

[@snage-thesnakemage]

It’s like a super version of that fungi that zombifies ants.

[@VitchAndVorty]

Cordyceps.

[@RyanCunningham]

That is one crazy biosphere, almost every plant and animal or combination of the two are parasitic.

[@slomnim]

or... hypersymbiotic?

[@Novumic]

Apparently the number of parasitic species outnumber free living species

[@themushroominside6540]

​@@slomnim Parasitism IS a kind of symbiotic relationship, alot of people dont know that at first because it is discussed in greater detail in higher Biology levels, its quite fascinating how this planet's biosphere works, This Pod tree for example seems to employs a mimicry tactic in order to reproduce, taking genetic samples from specie that travel below its canopy, the more social the species are (herdlike) the greater successfulness of the doppelganger "fruit" it produces is able in spreading tis genes. In order to more successful integrate the doppelganger "fruit" into its group, it poisons the target organism in order to allow the doppelganger to reintegrate though this does not seem to kill the organism which is why the fruit goes as far as to bury the original. I can imagine that the genetic sample taken from the target organism is to not only create a convincing doppelganger but also as a method to horizontally integrate genes into itself allowing it to have a greater genetic variety, it also may allow it to create more effective enzymes in order to kill its hosts once the doppelganger bursts. Since it appears that a whole forest of these Pod trees can be generated from one event, it can possibly be concluded that each "tree" is genetically distinct due to horizontal gene transfer, the corrosive fluid released by the doppelganger being the "seeds" that integrate the dying host organism's genome into its own, a truly magnificent and creative concept of parasitic reproduction, some parasitic plants here on earth do something similar.

[@MisterCynic18]

Fun fact: around 40% of all animals on earth are some kind of parasite. We are very lucky that most animals are bug sized; would be a goddamn nightmare if we were born as beetles.

[@slomnim]

@@MisterCynic18 by number or by weight? ;)

[@JAMES.CRADDOCK]

I would destroy those pods before they affect someone else, the scary thing is that your clone must bury you

[@aria5614]

Absolutely must? Like it won't survive if it doesn't?

[@w47765]

​@@aria5614Probably will but has evolved to have instincts like a cuckoo bird where its early stages have use every movement to eliminate competition. The clone must eliminate the real one since the real ones allies will dispose of it before it can pollinate. I bet it low-key probably could have detonated but evolved to only detonate after successful "infiltration" which is why it spazzes when the real one gets dug up.

[@bucklerrandomfrel3441]

Like I said before, in the end I guess... hey, they're just another organism trying to survive, well... they're not bad, but... this way of preying... this is the first time I feel like a species should be exterminated, burned, all that evil forest until nothing is left but ashes.

[@Gubble-oq6dn]

Someone else? There’s like 5 awake people alive on the planet. Plus there’s probably thousands of locations where these exist.

[@aria5614]

"I stopped caring a loooong time ago." That's how you die my dude. You're still likely to die if you do care, but not caring means you won't investigate and if you don't investigate you won't learn about a potential danger.

[@MisterCynic18]

Sam just isn't built for this space exploration shit. R.I.P. 😭

[@mesiagamer5217]

He at least brought up that he got hit.

[@gbort1]

Thing is we see the tentacles almost get Ursula, It really seems like random chance that it got him and not her.

[@Panzer_the_Merganser]

Awesome, thanks for posting this. Anything that raises awareness of this great show is a good thing.

[@JJK-he1xn]

For a biologist perspective this is the most beautiful portrayal of the similarities of the natural environment. It’s beautiful at a distance but when you are inside it, you truly realize how small you are. Only in this world the horrors of the predators are so unnerving and unpredictable it keeps you in toes the entire time. It’s horrifying but you can’t look away.

[@fireorb2]

I think what personally scares me about the whole process. Is the fact that it's ultimately never-ending. This fungus / thing won't stop until the entire planet is filled with nothing but pods which would destroy the entire ecosystem.

[@threegenders201]

But then there's probably another creature that feeds on the pods

[@fireorb2]

@@threegenders201 I mean I hope for this planet's sake.

[@NothingHereForYou]

So many artsy shows that come out in animation tend to be all visual and next to no actual storytelling I’m glad to see there’s some more stuff going on then just the weird stuff

[@nevahknowman2886]

What creeped me out is how fast the parasite duplicated a humanoid

[@lofi5992]

this show is absolutely breathtaking, reminds me ok akira in some aspects

[@Francisco_Manos]

Poor Sam, and then he got a more serious parasite after this ordeal.

[@micheljavert5923]

And this is why you don’t walk around in xeno-jungles without encounter/environment suits.

[@Brydav_Massbear]

This thing reminds me so much of invasion of Body Snatchers!

[@eurosalamander]

This place is INSIDIOUS!!!

[@MrSkillns]

It is so fascinating to see the full reproductive cycle of an entirely alien species. We humans often think we are the first to do certain things, such as hydraulics. Then we learned of the jumping spider which uses its blood as hydraulic fluid. Here in this example, no matter when we learn to use cloning, this species of... I want to say plantlife had already learned how to use it. Again, nature is our teacher.

[@talesofgore9424]

insects had invented armor, camouflage, agriculture and slavery while humans didn't even exist yet.

[@daniellclary]

I have not seen this show, but from looking at this, these people are not professional explorers or scientist. No way a professional will think any bite or wound from on an alien world is nothing.

[@endless_ocean7987]

Tbf these two are just workers on a deep space hauler, the guy worked in piloting I believe and the lass in hydroponics. Neither of them are really trained for a scenario like this, their just kinda winging it

[@thomas7726]

Even on Earth, with disease and real threats, people downplay it. From behaviors like ""I'm going to drink liters of alcohol and then drive, it's nothing." Psychological illnesses like "so-and-so the other day tried to slit his wrists, but it's nothing, he just wants to get attention." "All the doctors talk about a pandemic, but why am I going to wear a mask? I am strong, no epidemic will reach me." Denial behavior exists on Earth, and will probably exist among people in the future, wherever they are.

[@irecordwithaphone1856]

Even if it is something there's not much he can do about it stranded on the planet with no doctor or medical equipment

[@BE-fw1lr]

Ursula is a biologist, but I mean... There's not really anything they can do is the thing. They have no resources to treat him.

[@EagleTimberWolf]

Ngl actually had a nightmare recently about one of those things exploding by my bed X'D

[@ea-nr2hd]

5:59 He got that Pikmin type treatment. Bro got that bad timeline Olimar fate.

[@gizmo835]

So the pods gather blood from various different hosts (2:56 and 4:33), using it as nutrients for the creature that develops inside the pod (4:08). When the creatures die, their bodies start decomposing rapidly (5:32), and tree-like structures grow in their place, which bear more pods (5:42). A complicated and horrifying way of reproduction indeed! Also, the first pod gathered a blood sample from a human host, which i think is why the 6:01 creature at the end has a human-like body shape.

[@ithrilzyne4542]

I think the blood is gathered to use the DNA to create a sort of clone to infiltrate herds and nests. Once the original dies from the venom the clone takes its place and when it finds a place with high enough density it explodes in a shower of acid, dissolving the nearby creatures to act as nutrients for the seeds that are also scattered.

[@OrcistCleaver]

It took Sam's blood. All this was pretty self explanatory

[@aria5614]

Makes me wonder what would prey on the pods, since their main source of spread would be migratory herd animals (like the pack of Lizard things) and they spread an awful lot. Something must eat them to keep them under control or slow their spread. It would have to be a carnivore, one resistant to the poison (so they can stab and clone it all they want it'll just keep trucking, or at least not die unless OD'd) and have tasty little meat snacks in convenient stationary pods.

[@themushroominside6540]

@@aria5614Since they are primarily sessile organisms with the only moving part of them being the pod tentacles and the "fruit" (i like to call them doppelganger fruit) im certain some organisms are capable of feeding on them or the "fruit" it generates especially considering the fact that it can mimic prey animals which would be a strange kind of frugivory. The reason why these tree pods mimic herd or at least social organisms because it has greater potential to reproduce in that manner, in another comment I argue that it may even be the primary method of genetic diversity in it's species by integrating its genome with a sampled organism in order to not only more effectively mimic them but also to increase its own genetic profile through horizontal gene transfer doing so with each successful kill, which encourages the tactic that it uses, the bigger the population within a herd species, the greater the genetic variability from one "fruit" bursting.

[@MisterCynic18]

​​@@aria5614they might be highly susceptible to pathogens. Given how much they just stab at random creatures it's possible they pick up absolutely bizarre parasites that use their pods as incubators, "spoiling" whole crops of doppelgangers. Really they'd be the wet dream of several multistage parasites on earth, I can barely imagine the nonsense that would evolve on that planet to take advantage of them.

[@seva809]

I just wonder why the clone even bothers to bury the corpse? Buried cloned carcasses do not serve as fertiliser and do not grow any parasitic fungi, as we saw when Ursula dug up a dead body in the cave. Burying the carcass so that other animals don't notice it doesn't make sense either, because the infected alien bull died far away from its herd. And even if they were inteligent to notice that their mate was missing, they would also be smart enough to notice that the imitating clone was an impostor, so they need to get away from it as fast and as far as possible before it bursts into lethal cloud of spores.

[@w47765]

Note that the plant was able to imitate a human. Something tells me this plant has needed to thrive with relatively smarter prey some creatures can recognize others by maybe scent? I imagine a duplicate appearing when the real one is close enough for the others to smell if it's not buried may result in the clone getting throttled considering the whole biome is full of parasitic threats this also doesn't take into account the creature being resistant to toxins and it's designed specifically to only approach once it sees "itself" ready to be buried. I imagine it's some messed up cross between a cordyceps fungi and a cuckoo bird. Thank God it didn't learn how to just pull a suicide bomber tactic instead cause the effectiveness of the propagating spores was wild.

[@gbort1]

@@w47765Probably a suicide bomber strategy would be less effective in the long run, as over a long enough period of time animal would learn to recognize the acid pod on legs like a predator and run. but since they don't have a uniform look the targeted creatures can't adapt as well. Maybe it can find another herd if its intended herd rejects it.

[@sirwaffleman860]

At 4:28 one of the creatures stops to dig, presumably taking an interest in one of the buried corpses. This gives the the plant an opportunity to infect it.

[@gbort1]

@@sirwaffleman860 Good point!

[@emberdrops3892]

Another wonderful example on how hazmat suits would've solved 75% of this planets problems

[@ComicPundit]

100% true

[@AzureDefiance3701]

Yeah but they crashlanded on the planet which they never intended to visit in the first place. Meaning they were unprepared.

[@user-bx5rq7rq2l]

Я пошёл это смотреть. Пожелайте удачи моему желудку и сну! Желаю тому кто прочел: хорошего здоровья и сна!

[@vickit9190]

hahahahahahaaa ya know what? I'll stay inside.

[@ItImia]

So it clones you , hangs out with you then waits for you to go to sleep then busses on you🤨

[@w47765]

Clones you, replaces and disposes the real you and then does it to your community. It's a more complex cordyeceps.

[@caymansharp623]

I did not expect them to use my name holy shit.

[@gbort1]

Watching it back i guess the creature the speculate as "Sick" was actually one of the simulacrums.

[@bartkorol611]

0:40 interesting same type of dialogue from Horizon ZERO dawn, the Prometheus movies... changing someone's mind, not so simple, very arrogant to say that you have the ability to sway someone, especially as a scientist... seen this happen on earth in recent years, the experiment must always go on regardless of the fall out.

[@trankien7477]

Poor Sam, he and Kamen suffered the most

[@tiberiusdawn2042]

Yeah this is catachan

[@niceuy5028]

The heck, it's fun

[@lourdesadlaon6287]

That the alien fungus

[@Frieren_Lienel]

this is technologies twin, Organic machine, they function in unison and cycle like mechanical cogs made of veins and flesh

[@nazaren45]

👍👍

[@eugenechaks9452]

So they are just a fictional zombie fungi

[@eugenechaks9452]

Its also interesting how the copy stalks the prey like a comodo dragon only to burry the prey and destroy the whole group for lack of a better word

[@rscull210]

Hey, are Ursula and the little guy doing the same breathing synchronization that Terrence and Kris do?

[@TheSilverTRex]

I wonder if it has the intelligence of a human because it’s based off the DNA of a human

[@bungusdoogungus7981]

Nothing on Vespa makes sense. Yet in a way, everything does.

[@flameyoshi07]

imposter AMONG US

[@simulping4371]

the sussy forest

[@davidmicheaels343]

warning:not an ideal watch when eating.

[@JinnyAdlaon-ty3jz]

The giant fungus a make the copy

[@JinnyAdlaon-ty3jz]

All creature

[@simulping4371]

what if you leave the planet 💀

[@awesomeeliam7882]

The alien pods remind me of plant reproduction on our planet taken to extremes. The pods might be sporophytes that use specialized spore capsules to absorb genetic information from a moving organism (like that poor froggy-looking fellow at the end). Horizontal gene transfer may then ensue, causing the gametophyte to be molded in the shape of the organism it absorbed from. The gametophyte then wanders to a place where its progeny can grow, possibly guided by the scent of its dying victim, and bursts, spilling gametes and digestive enzymes/acid to aide in the gametes' growth. My understanding of biology is quite limited, due to my lack of formal education, but yeah.

[@bucklerrandomfrel3441]

In the end I guess... hey, they're just another organism trying to survive, well... they're not bad, but... this way of preying... this is the first time I feel like a species should be exterminated, burned, all that evil forest until nothing is left but ashes.

[@WilliamlAndrewsjr-wt2qd]

Nope

[@romerodelacruz5232]

they make it so easy to just hate her can't stand her

[@nualamaher4482]

Who?

[@aria5614]

Why? She seemed fine to me. Sam was the one who wouldn't stop griping even though he agreed to stop.

[@IgnizNova]

This is a very stupid way to expand colonies ... LOL