Pantheon

Every once in a while, you watch a show that just feels so inspired, so new, and yet so well executed. Pantheon is that show, and you should go watch it, like right now. 

I’ve been in a bit of a watching rut lately, with not much really sticking out to me. This winter season of anime I’m finding a little underwhelming, with most shows having been abandoned after a few episodes. The ones that I’m still watching are mostly junk food watches, exiting my brain shortly after the credits roll. 

My luck on netflix hasn’t been faring much better though. Most of my recent watches I've thrown on in the background while I eat, scroll on my phone, or play games on a different device. It feels like a show that really grabs you by the shoulders and demands your attention have become a lot more sparse lately. 

So, when I saw the second season of Pantheon made its way to Netflix, I was delighted. I thought the first season was excellent, and while I apparently didn’t think of it when drafting my top 10 anime list of 2024, it would be a shoe-in for top 3. The first season premiered in 2022, so that could be why, but either way, this show deserves a spotlight. 

Quite frankly, this is some of the best science fiction I’ve seen in a long time. It feels both so incredibly prescient, while showcasing a vision of the future. I can’t help but feel like sci-fi has gotten a little stale lately, so this was a real breath of fresh air. 

The most spoiler free premise I can give is “A young woman starts to get messages from an unknown number that claims to be her deceased father. Trying to uncover the truth, she stumbles upon a larger conspiracy involving the singularity.” (Taken from IMDB)

Now, I’d love for you to just go watch the show, and then come back. But in a sea of content and things to watch, I’m sure you might need a bit more than that. 

Spoilers up to episode 2 

As we quickly learn, this is a world in which living people are able to have their brains scanned and have their consciousness uploaded to the internet. Imagine if you could trade your physical body for a digital existence. What would you be able to do if you were part of the internet, and could interact with it directly?

Currently, I feel like a lot of people are examining what their relationship with AI is, or might be in the future. Having that concept extended further, being able to turn people into a form of AI (UI in this show’s context) feels like a great exploration of sci-fi.

It explores all the questions that might be popping up in your head. What would that feel like? Are you still the same person? How do you experience the world? How do you interact with people who still have physical bodies? To what ends could people use this technology? 

For me, satisfying sci-fi provides a way to explore interesting questions about fictional things, but in a way that still feels relatable. Pantheon is able to explore its themes, while giving a variety of viewpoints. Even better, it does this exploration through its characters in a way that feels natural and compelling. 

Despite how removed from real life this could all feel, the characters are grounded and relatable. The plot progresses in a way that draws the viewer in, and brings you along for the ride. And oh boy, it’s a ride alright. The first season was really strong, and I was hooked all the way through, but season 2 elevates this into legendary status for more. 

I started to get the feeling by about episode 4 of season that I knew where things were going. It was still playing with interesting ideas, and I was definitely invested, but I felt like it had played its hand. I was dead wrong. 

The final two episodes of this series knocked my socks off. Any ending is tough to nail, and often I find myself let down by endings. They either wrap things up too neatly, crossing over into happy ever after territory, or they lose sight of what made the show interesting. I don’t hate a happy ending, but the kind of ending this show goes for is endlessly more interesting. 

I might have to do it’s own spoiler filled article just about the last 2 episodes, but honestly I need more time to sit with it. It manages to feel like a thematic culmination of the story, while taking some massive swings. Honestly, I think they knocked it out of the park. 

If my word isn’t enough, Pantheon is currently sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. If you like sci-fi, I’d go so far as to say this show is a must watch. I’ll be thinking about this show a lot over the next few weeks, and it might become a show I return to from time to time. 

Good shows feel hard to come by lately. It’s easy for your attention to drift, and nothing seems to have much new to say. Do yourself a favor, and watch Pantheon, it’ll give you plenty to think about, and it’ll keep you entertained the whole time.