Scavenger’s Reign (TV) Review

Though HBO isn’t known for its animated series, Scavenger’s Reign is their newest venture into the genre. The series totals twelve episodes and tells the story of the crew of a space vessel called The Demeter which crash lands on an alien planet. Although this is a pretty standard plot line for a science fiction series, Scavenger’s Reign certainly does the best with the idea and will easily stick in your mind for a while after with its powerful themes surrounding nature and the cycle of life.

The best thing about this show is the world-building. The unnamed world that our characters must traverse is filled with an impressive variety of creatures, plant life, and ecosystems which provide new challenges in each episode. Though the planet is alien it still shares many similarities to our world and this makes it feel even more real. Plants and animals share symbiotic and even parasitic relationships, the food chain is on full display along with the process of natural selection. Throughout the story, we witness how all life on the planet is connected and that nature can be unforgiving. These two ideas comprise the core themes of the show.

Another thing I enjoyed was how nature is utilized to convey some light elements of horror. If you enjoy films like Alien or Annihilation, you’ll find things to like here within the unnerving parasites, vicious predators, and eerie psychedelic plant life that can harm our characters in any number of nightmarish ways. It’s these elements of horror that keep your attention while you watch Scavenger’s Reign. At a certain point, you’ll be constantly kept on edge wondering if the characters can survive.

The show is also wonderfully animated. Characters and landscapes pop with color and are richly detailed. Movement is fluid but can at times feel as though it’s capturing a still painting with how picturesque backgrounds look. This is all accompanied by a soothing orchestral score that fits perfectly.

While the setting is easily the strongest point of this show characters aren’t too bad either. Most are decently compelling and are given solid characterization throughout the story. I particularly enjoyed the antagonists here as they aren’t simply pure evil. Most are deeply flawed individuals who make the wrong choices leading to a self-destructive downward spiral. There are a few characters that could have used a little more development but overall they serve their purpose well.

The first few episodes of Scavenger’s Reign are also rather slow. There’s little dialogue and it takes a while for the main story to get going as we spend most of the screen time simply experiencing the world. Another issue I had was the ending.

The final confrontation resolves in a way that feels too convenient and the final scene seems to tease future plot lines that I’m not sure would make sense to explore as the main plot feels resolved. Nonetheless, I would recommend Scavenger’s Reign to all fans of classic science fiction series. The show is a masterpiece of worldbuilding and character design that deserves more attention.