"Like A Boy" is the second episode of CD Projekt RED and Studio Trigger's Cyberpunk: Edgerunners series.
Characters[]
In order of appearance:
- David Martinez
- Doc (Ripperdoc)
- Katsuo Tanaka
- Mr. Tanaka
- Marcus
- Principal
- Lucy Kushinada
- Maine
- Dorio
- Pilar
Description[]
- With his newly enhanced body, David heads to the Academy seeking revenge on his bully. Later, he meets a mysterious woman who wants to recruit him.
Summary[]
Like A Boy is a continuation of the events from episode 1 Let You Down. David Martinez is in Doc's ripperdoc practice and demands to be updated with James Norris' Sandevistan. Doc warns him that the cyberware is too much for his body, but then reconsiders and begins the painful surgery.
From this second episode on, the show received an intro animation directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi, with the song "This FFFire" by Franz Ferdinand.
After the intro, David returns to Arasaka Academy and enters his class room. The AI teacher is in the middle of a lecture and chides David again. When David turns around, one can see the blood stains, resulting from the surgery, on the back of his EMT jacket. Katsuo begins making fun of him again, but David kicks him out of his chair and challenges him to a fight. Katsuo aggressively shows his fighting stance, and David activates the Sandevistan for the first time. The implant allows David to walk around Katsuo unnoticed. He finishes him by a violent punch into a glass panel that breaks Katsuo's nose. The assault is recorded on video. David leaves the Academy.
In the next scene, David can be seen with his blood stained EMT jacket walking the sunny streets of Night City. The bystanders are surprised when he suddenly bursts into laughter and seems to disappear into thin air. The scenery switches to his mother's old apartment, and David pops into the scene in front of the washing machine to clean the jacket. Exhausted, he's trying to relax on the couch.
A video recording of David's attack on Katsuo is shown in the next scene. Katuso's father watches the video, but questions why it should interest him. A man named Marcus explains to him, who the attacker of his son is, and mentions Norris' cyberpsycho incident and the implant. They are aware the implant is now installed into David, but he seems not to be affected by any side effects, as Norris was. Marcus is sure David could be sufficient candidate to test their "product". Katsuo's father seems interested and wants Marcus to find David. In this conversation the audience is also informed about that David was expelled.
As my heir, it's high time he learned what it means to serve the company's best interests.
— Tanaka, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, S1/E2 Like A Boy
When it comes to his own son, Tanaka doesn't seem to feel much compassion and puts the company first, which he demands of his son as well.
David is still on the couch in the apartment and when he receives the call from the principal of Arasaka Academy. He declines the call and takes a shower, before he returns to the Night City streets again. David uses the NCART, and suddenly has the weird feeling of something going on behind his back. He recognizes the girl with the white hair on the train picksocketing passengers and uses the implant to slow down time to grab her hand. She quickly pulls him aside. After a conversation, she forcefully grabs and slams him into the wall of the train and curiously checks his data.
Ah! Lookey, here, boy, you are in trouble.
— Lucyna Kushinada, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, S1/E2 Like A Boy
She becomes aware of the illegal Sandevistan, and proposes they could also work together. It turns out, she especially is looking out for Arasaka suits to steal from. David joins her now as her "trainee" (she calls him that a bit jokingly) and introduces herself as "Lucy". Both begin their picksocketing venture using David's abilities. Lucy challenges and tests him with a variety of different victims, before they get out of the train.
After their heist, they discuss their cut, but David passes out on the stairs with a nosebleed. Off-screen, Lucy called for an ambulance, and David finds himself strapped to a stretcher in the next scene. The present EMT wants to know the details and asks for David's immunosuppressants. Lucy seems to care little and has no idea about David's insurance, but eventually mentions Arasaka Academy. The EMT then obviously wants to check the data and disappears for a moment. Lucy realizes, the ambulance passed the hospital and the returning EMT threatens them with a gun. It turns out, David wasn't insured, and the EMT now wants to make some quick eddies with the illegal implant.
Lucy kicks the stretcher with David in the EMT's gut, opens the door and both go on a wild ride on the road. She stops the stretcher with David on a Plaza, but David collapses again and wants to be taken to Doc. The scene turns to black.
Doc checks David and is amazed he even could fire the implant eight times in one day, which means extreme stress even for an adult. Lucy insists, that Doc should sell the boy the right medicine, but someone with this advanced implant demands more exclusive drugs. Lucy pulls out the stolen chips, but they can only pay for two days of meds. Doc suggests to better remove the implant again, because David probably can only cope a few more days with it. He warns him about the psychological dangers posed by the implant. David leaves Doc's practice.
Lucy is waiting for him outside in the next scene and they talk business and about his debt. David is invited home to her apartment and she serves them a beer. She can convince him to take off his mother's jacket, puts it on herself, and reprograms it to display the letters "Edgerunners" on the back. Lucy explains to him it's another word for "Cyberpunk". David admits he is a fan of JK's Edgerunners series. He then tries to change subject when drawing her attention to a poster on her wall, advertising a new life on the moon. He somewhat sneers at the idea of going to the moon, but Lucy seems hurt by his comment. David opens up about his mother and why he attended Arasaka Academy, although he never felt comfortable there. He comes to the conclusion, his mother wanted him to live her dream, and Lucy suggests he should rather fulfill his own. Lucy then hints at her own dream, which really is to leave Night City and fly to the moon. She invites him to join a moon simulation. The two can enjoy a few minutes, before an aggressive call from Maine pulls him from the BD with the words: "You fell over the edge, punk!".
David returns to reality, just to stare into the faces of Maine and his gang members.
Tough deal, but... That implant you chipped is all mine.
— Maine, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, S1/E2 Like A Boy
Maine is not amused about that David has the Sandevistan installed and demands it back. Lucy is next to him and seems completely unperturbed. David is threatened and punched into the face, while the episode ends with a rocket rising into the night sky.
From this second episode on, the show received an outro animation featuring Lucy, supported by the song "Let You Down" - by Dawid Podsiadło and Magdalena Laskowska.
Soundtrack[]
- "This FFFire" - Franz Ferdinand (opening song)
- "Acid Breather" - by Mastiff
- "Blurred" - by Earth Trax
- "Sustain/Decay" - by Piotr Maciejewski/Drivealone
- "Friday Night Fire Fight" - written by Jacques Barbot, performed by Aligns
- "Retrogenesis" - by Private Press
- "Lithium" - by SLG
- "I Really Want To Stay At Your House" - by Rosa Walton
- "Let You Down" - by Dawid Podsiadło, Magdalena Laskowska (credit roll song)
Notes[]
- David's meeting with Lucy here is not pure coincidence, but it's revealed at the beginning of episode 3, Smooth Criminal, that the group around Maine were looking for the stolen implant. She admits in episode 3, she had planned otherwise, but when she recognized the wanted implant on David, she informed Maine.
Trivia[]
- The episode is titled after Ciara's song "Like a Boy" from her 2006 album Ciara: The Evolution.
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