I binge watched an amazing show yesterday called ‘Scavengers Reign.’ I wasn’t expecting much going in, but it really blew me away once I started. It’s about the survivors of a crash landing on an alien planet. While the setup sounds pretty straightforward, and has been done a thousand times, this show took it to another level. The ecosystem the characters are forced to contend with is explored in depth, and I’ve never seen such a thorough depiction of an alien planet. It feels so vast with how many different kinds of life they were able to squeeze in. Every animal and plant has a clearly evident life cycle, and those cycles play a huge part in how the characters survive (or not) on the planet. The artwork is beautiful, and the story is well told, and the premise is great, and the characters are great, and, and, and. I’m really pleased to find a random show that’s so good.

What really convinced me that this show is a cut above though, is the horror. It has it’s beautiful, hopeful moments, but those can only shine thanks to the background of incredibly messed up things going on. It explores how life in all it’s forms can be both beautiful and brutal. Some of the most beautiful creatures there also end up being the most terrifying. There are a myriad of predators with horrific adaptations from paralyzing spore puffs, to parasitic mind control.

There’s one plant in particular that I made me physically gasp when I realized what it was doing. It hits my favorite character, Sam, with small sting that you just know is going to end up looking disgusting later on. Right after this happens, a series of quick shots explore the lifecycle of the plant that makes it so much worse. It shows what happens after the plant hits a cow-like creature with the same appendage. The plant doesn’t just inject venom, it also steals a bit of blood. Using the creature’s DNA, it incubates a clone of the animal, which then seeks out the original, kills it, and takes it’s place among the herd as an imposter. No no, it gets worse. After taking the place of the original, the clone leads the herd back to the grove where the plants grow, and then explodes. The gasses released by the dying clone immediately kill the entire herd, dissolving them into the soil to feed the plants. Ugh.

This kind of highly logical and efficient lifecycle is explored in every episode, mostly with disastrous outcomes for the poor survivors. If you like sci-fi or horror like in the movie ‘Alien,’ I have to recommend you watch ‘Scavengers Reign.’ It has all the most interesting parts of the Xenomorph lifecycle condensed down, over and over again. It’s awesome, and disgusting in a visceral way.

Thank you for reading,

Benjamin Hawley