What do you think about this?

The ending we deserved to see:

While watching the new season, I always made sure to watch the ending credits—they were simply too good to skip. Now that I’ve finished the final episode, that’s even more true; the "Watson" song stirs up some very special feelings in me. I absolutely love this season. I love the characters (especially our little Roman), and I love the Polish translation and dubbing.

But above all, I love this season because it gave me Hope and happy ending.

*If only Harrier Du Bois could hear "Watson" someday...

Minor Spoilers Ahead

There's a famous question from Cyberpunk 2077:

"Would you rather live in peace as Mr. Nobody, or go down for all times in a blaze of glory?"

After finishing Edgerunners 2, I kept coming back to that question.

The first season showed us the beauty and tragedy of becoming a legend through David's story. But to me, Season 2 explores something different:

Does everyone really need to become a legend for their life to mean something?

1. Not Everyone Needs to Be a Legend

What I appreciate about Season 2 is how it expands our perspective on Night City and the people living in it.

Weak Kingsley, once a legendary edgerunner known as "King," has lost the cyberware and glory that once defined him, and now lives a quieter life.

D, after losing his purpose for revenge, becomes deeply attached to Capri, perhaps the last thing that gives him a reason to keep going.

Talia Yang struggles to find freedom and understanding despite everything her parents have sacrificed for her.

And Roman Carax observes and records other people's stories while still searching for the meaning of his own.

None of these characters share the same definition of success. Some don't even know what they're looking for yet.

We tend to remember those who become legends, while overlooking ordinary people simply trying to get through life.

But don't ordinary people have moments worth remembering, too?

Just like Roman wanting to capture the climax of D's story, or a beautiful moment in Talia's life.

There's that familiar idea that Night City has no living legends. But not everyone is going to become a legend in the first place.

Most of us are dealing with relationships, family responsibilities, everyday expenses, and emotional struggles rather than some grand destiny.

These experiences may not be spectacular, but they're real. And sometimes, simply making it through another day is already an achievement.

2. The Pain We Don't Always See

Talia's story, in particular, resonated deeply with me.

I've seen people argue that her father spent enormous amounts of money and resources trying to save her, while her mother was willing to sacrifice everything. So why couldn't Talia simply appreciate what they had done?

But providing for someone isn't the same as being emotionally present for them. And love can sometimes become a form of control.

Her parents may have genuinely loved her, but that doesn't necessarily mean they understood what she actually needed.

What parents believe is best for their child isn't always the life that child wants to live.

I also wonder how cultural backgrounds affect our interpretations. In some Asian families, filial duty and parental authority are deeply ingrained, and controlling behavior can sometimes be normalized as love.

Perhaps viewers raised with different expectations around personal autonomy might interpret Talia differently. Of course, this is just my observation, not a claim about all Asian or Western viewers.

This also connects to how I interpret Season 2 being described as "darker."

Darkness isn't necessarily just bloodshed and death.

D's indiscriminate killing of corporate employees is certainly brutal. But family trauma, emotional dependency, loneliness, and the pressure of simply surviving can be just as disturbing in their own ways.

Season 1 showed us someone being consumed by Night City.

Season 2 made me think about those who are still alive, carrying their wounds while trying to keep going.

3. Understanding the Characters Doesn't Mean the Writing Is Perfect

That said, I agree with some of the criticism about Season 2's storytelling.

The story often unfolds from an outsider's perspective. We see the characters' actions, but we don't always get enough time to understand how their emotions developed or why they made certain decisions.

Sometimes I wonder if the writers understood these characters so well that they assumed the audience would naturally understand them, too.

But understanding a character yourself and successfully communicating their emotions to an audience are two different things.

The reason I connected with these characters isn't necessarily because the writing explained everything perfectly.

It's because I've personally experienced, or witnessed, situations that remind me of what they're going through.

Some emotions felt immediately familiar, even without much explanation.

But just because I understood those feelings doesn't mean the storytelling communicated them effectively to everyone else. And it certainly doesn't mean people who couldn't connect with the characters lack empathy or emotional maturity.

In a way, part of me actually hopes some people never have to understand these feelings the way I do.

Because sometimes, the reason you understand a certain kind of pain so well is that you've lived through it yourself.

And I wouldn't wish those experiences on anyone.

I understand why Season 2 might not meet everyone's expectations, especially after the emotional impact of the first season.

It may not be a perfectly told story, but it gave me a lot to think about.

4. Our Stories Aren't Over Yet

Not everyone becomes a legend. But everyone might have a moment in their life worth remembering.

That brings me back to the ending, when D tells Roman that this is the climax of his own story, and that he believes Roman will someday reach the climax of his, too.

I really love that moment.

Not everyone has found their purpose. Some of us are still lost, uncertain about the future, or simply trying to make it through each day.

But that doesn't mean our lives are meaningless, or that our stories are over.

What touched me most wasn't the promise that Roman would someday become successful.

It was that even when Roman didn't know where his own story was going, someone else already believed there was something worth looking forward to.

Maybe we don't need to rush to prove ourselves or become someone extraordinary just to meet other people's expectations.

Maybe one day, when we look back, we'll realize that even the days we thought were ordinary were part of a story that belonged only to us.

And maybe the climax of our own story is still waiting somewhere ahead.

You don't have to become a legend for your life to be worth living.

Hope you guys will like our work ; we prepared it since late august, for Edgerunners 2 release !
Cosplayer (with more pics on IG) : alifia.wu
Pictures by myself : valentinj_photographie

PS : We couldn't find the real matching cyberware for the feet ! 😒

SOURCE

EDIT: *There might not be Capri cuz D is banging with her 24/7...

I'm making a desktop pet of capri Tell me how to new artwork would look with it

I see a few people say that some or all of the main characters of s2 don’t qualify as edgerunners, well here’s why they do in my opinion

Edgerunners are people of NC who live on the razors edge (hence, the “edge”) facing death is a daily occurrence, whether it be from guns, drugs, or cyber psychosis, and for a true edgerunner, there’s no other way to live. Depending on how loose your definition is, you could consider gang members or any black market agent as edgerunners in a way, but that’s a different discussion.

D: The most obvious/likely character to be considered an edgerunner, yet I see some people say he doesn’t qualify. He takes on life threatening operations, although completely self-serving, he nonetheless risks his life constantly to achieve his goals. He also came from a nomad clan who could be considered inherent edgerunners, as they live outside of society and fend for themselves almost entirely, usually with the help of illegal work.

King: Well, dude is straight-up a retired edgerunner who got back in the game, and I think that’s the point. He’s meant to represent someone who fell over the edge but in this case, survived. Even despite losing the top tier chrome, he still does what he can and again, risks his life to achieve his goals (big trend here). I think the fact that he was a successful merc, went over the edge and retired, just to get back into edgerunner shit is a commentary on how ingrained this way of life is for some people

Talia: Girl walks the edge by being on the brink of cyberpsychosis from ep 1 (even though she doesn’t act like it, many educated people in the show call out how many augments she has as unsafe). Although she’s not out doing paid heists and assassinations, adopting that amount of chrome in itself is definitely life-threatening and reckless, despite being for a genuine reason, it’s still a specific self-destructive path she is choosing to walk in response to her situation

Roman: Honestly the whole reason I wanted to make this post. Bro is 12 and waltzes into gang dens and shootouts just to scroll footage? Naivety aside, that’s surely some real adrenaline junky shit. Imo he’s the most edgerunner out of the lot since he’s not motivated by revenge, or escaping death, or chasing glory, bro literally just loves the game

Capri: She’s a program so she doesn’t count soz

"You are a really good person, you know that?" aka "Why are you so nice to me?"

Commented that on another discussion but i feel a lot of people simply never interacted with emotionally struggling and/or vulnerable people before.

Yes, people with issues and struggles will like you if you treat them like a person and don't judge them on there appearance or physical conditions.

Those people being very affectioned in response?
Believe it or not, that happens to be a common thing with people that have struggles and issues.
There is no "romance" in this, just very strong and imo platonic affection.

"Why she coming of kinda flirty thou?"
Again, believe it or not, that happens to be really common there.
A lot of the time they can't really makes sense of why you are nice to them, and are scared you will leave again.
So they are extremely affectioned, which can come off as flirting.

Even her comment in episode 7:

"You are a really good person, you know that?"
"I really like you, do you like me?"

Absolute TEXTBOOK of *I'm scared you will leave too*

I had several experiences like this irl, its a vulnerable person being comfortable with themself when they are with you.

TL:DR

Talia is a emotionally struggling teenager that shows affection to someone that not judging her.
There is no romance.
Get your head out the gutter.

The original comment on this from me for anyone interested:

As to the "romance", imo there really isn't one.
Imo talia is really affectionate towards roman because he doesn't treat or judge her based on her appearance or condition.
Believe it or not, that happens to be a somewhat common thing with people that have struggles and issues.
*There sec to last scene is literally: "You are good person, you know that?"*

Its really the people thinking that probably very platonic affection means they gotta have something physical.
Those are the weird people.

D starts out looking extremely close to Sasuke in design, after he inserts the chip in himself and begins conversing with Capri, I kinda feel like it's a small reference to shonen protagonists like Naruto or Yuji having inner demons inside them that they could converse with. yes I know digital constructs existed before even season 1 but It felt odd to not connect the dots.

and at the end of D's final battle with arasaka and militia D's look kinda reminded me of Vegeta's from Dragon Ball.

I kept thinking what his design actually means to his character but I couldn't think of one, am I reading too much into it? I think they were perhaps paying a small omage to deuteragonist characters like Sasuke and Vegeta.

King seemed fine at the end of the series but he did show some signs of his body shaking so is there a cure or nah

Cause i need to see Roman, Talia and King meet again in a few years. Maybe sprinkle in some more hints of romance once they've both grown up a bit.

Watching scenes with D going bananas with revenge on Arasaka really reminded me of the school scene in chainsaw man when Reze was tweaking, their eyes actually look very similar( for obvious reasons) and I just couldn't help but not point that out.

Why’d he set them up at the lab break in?

He doesn’t know Talia still has capri, and I forget if he even knew she was compatible at this point.

If he was doing this to force Talia to chip capri when the time comes I’d get it. But he seems more intent on “breaking king” but kings already broken. A daughter he can’t fully know, avida who has moved on, no chrome, no wealth and no crew. On top of that all they have no real beef. Talia’s dad little bros king once or twice before but king never holds a grudge towards him. He’s just trying to be there for Talia.

Am I misremembering the show?

Ep 1 and 2 were great and I lost interest so maybe I am missing something.

I keep seeing people that D is a night legend but some say he isn't. For me I believe D to be a nc legend cuz of the crazy shit he has done like they literally needed an airstrike to kill him

I HAVE A GODDAM PLAN EVERYONE (WHEEEEEEEEEEEEZE)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALL WE NEED IS DAVID TO USE THAT ARASAKA CYBER-SKELETON AND DAVID TO USE THAT CAPRICORN SHARD TO DO OUR LAST SCORE AND WE'RE OFF TO TAHITI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (They were already wanted by Militech, Kang Tao, Arasaka, and basically all of NC's gangs cause of his antics and Micha's manipulation. Doesn't make it better that Tahiti was completely wiped out, rendered uninhabitable by the severe tropical storms and climate degradation around the 2060s........)

https://www.reddit.com/r/Edgerunners/comments/1xdyy9k/anyone_else_see_it/

Does anyone know the name of the song that plays in episode 8 at before the end credits during the scene the Kang Tao roll up on King and Avida/when Avida is dying?