The conflict coming down to Levi and Hollow is so perfect.

Levi is a creation of humanity altered by Vesta. Hollow is a creature of Vesta altered by humanity.

Levi alters Vesta in turn, giving rise to a new species. Hollow alters Kamen in turn, giving him visions and guiding him.

Levi becomes a part of Vesta's ecosystem through the white lilly fungus, helping it grow. Hollow is torn away from Vesta's ecosystem through Kamen, killing more and growing more than it should be able to.

Hollow destroys Levi, which is the catalyst for Levi's transformation, becoming more than they were before. Levi destroys what Hollow has become, freeing Hollow and Kamen from each other's influence.

Two perfect arcs, coming together beautifully in two perfect confrontations.

@ronaaz and I finished Scavenger's Reign this week and even though its been a couple days, remembering that show makes me

SCAVENGERS REIGN STREAMING NOW ON MAX!!!

Episodes 1-3 available now, batches of 3 episodes dropping every thursday. 12 episodes total.

Scavengers Reign | Episode 12

scavengers reign episode 12 "the reunion" pt 1 | pt 2

The whole time watching Scavengers Reign I was seeing that white lily and I was like ‘okay cool, this represents death’ (see them growing on corpses in the first few episodes and all the fields of them at the beginning of episode 10). BUT in episode 11 they’re shown alongside Levi’s rebirth. So I was like, ‘okay cool, they’re representing death AND life’ and then in episode 12 they’re like little amniotic sacs for the robot embryos so it’s life AND death AND they’re just a little fucked up and that’s kind of the point of the whole show and that’s incredible

I am. moderately afraid that I'm going to get hate on this but. here we go.

Barry is fucking perfect autism representation. I don't know if there's anything confirming that he is autistic but like. Oh my gosh.

He doesn't feel like certain characters where it's just stereotypes and that's the whole character. There's not a single stereotype about him. He doesn't scream "autism" just because he's not that type of character. He's not like extremely smart, or stupid-- he's intelligent, but he's not like. that kind of trope certain shows do where people with autism are just really smart. The way he emotes is perfect. I wish I had my specific examples but like... man.

It's so good. It makes me so happy. It also hurts me because Kris treats him poorly and tries to get him to be different because of his autistic traits. It's just. man...

like that one scene where they're talking about the cargo-- lemme just put in the dialogue and insert images

Kris: This is it. Do you know what this means?

Barry: Yeah. You've told me.

Kris: then why do you still seem not to get it? We did this together, for once you should be proud-- I'm letting you be proud!

Barry: I'm... proud.

[Kris ruffles Barry's hair]

Kris is imposing what she wants Barry to feel on him. She's letting him be proud. She doesn't get why he "doesn't understand". Barry seems to just want to get the conversation over with/he doesn't know why he doesn't understand either (why he doesn't feel the things Kris wants him to feel-- what he "should" feel. Why he doesn't feel the "normal" things). The way he forces himself to say that he's proud is just... perfect voice acting. They got such a perfect voice actor for Barry. But back to this scene-- she ruffles his hair, something that to her means something good, but Barry CLEARLY doesn't like it. He tenses and rubs his head afterwards. She's trying to make him what she wants. Make him feel what she wants him to feel and praise him the way she thinks praise should be received. The only way she considers Barry being different both feelings wise and how he wants praise is her wanting to change those things to what she wants.

there was also this one scene, the scene where Kris and Barry are interacting for the last time, and the shot it relatively simple. just a shot of his face. Zoomed in. In a show like scavengers reign that has so many interesting shots that are so clearly intentional you know that has to be intentional. And what I loved about it is that sometimes autistic people have difficulty emoting or when they do emote it's subtle. And that scene picks on the subtle changes in his expression while he's talking to really show how he's feeling in the moment. That's so cool. Idk how to make a gif and i don't have a link to a video of it but it's in the beginning of episode 12 if anyone wants to see what I'm talking about :)

anyways,, yeah. I hope that this is taken well? I have other thoughts on him as well but this was just something that was right at the front of my mind after finishing

hi hello who is this azi nareen you mentioned in the tags and where can I see/read about her

listen to me young man, i am talking directly into your ear now. i need you to do me a favor. you will do this for me. i need you to go to max/binge/piracy website of choice, and i need you to type scavengers reign into the search bar and watch all 12 episodes. if you come back empty handed youll be in big trouble mister. you will never see the light of day.

If you have HBO/Max Scavengers Reign is a really nice 12 episode mini series 😍

Scavengers Reign weird little creatures appreciation, episode 12 edition, including:

babyfaced psychic buttnewt (yes, even him. just this time, for this moment. this frame. so cute while sleeping),

two old friends: the baby flying moustache (3D edition) and little tripod buddy again (very shy but willing to make friends),

the triangle-faced leggyboyband, the dragonflybird,

and lastly, LITTLE HOMEGROWN LEVI BUDDIES

tv show reccomendation: Scavengers Reign!

adult animated series on HBO Max about survivors of a spaceship wreck surviving on an alien planet, a pal originally pitched it as "Nausicaa meets Annihilation vibes" in terms of whimsy + body horror elements, and I think that both fits and is a compelling way to describe it. the plot isn't the most in depth but I think that allows the show to wrap everything up nicely in the 12 eps and maximize screen time on the best part which is the alien planet's ecology and worldbuilding.

it was also just very refreshing i feel like theres been a divide in western animation in recent years where a lot of "adult" shows are that way solely because they're crude/sexual/edgy, and meanwhile anything "whimsical" gets slotted into kid genres and is therefore limited in how far it can push anything. so its nice to get a show that balances whimsy with body horror elements without relying on like, sex or fart jokes.

also the last episode has a really gorgeous animation sequence nearish the end, you rarely see animation of earth-biology/geology/evolution done with such care and attention to detail, and it was really wonderful to see how much effort the writers/animators put into that aspect of the show and clearly loved it + wanted the viewer to love it too

So. Started watching Scavenger's Reign from a random website. It's not available in streaming from where I live.

Watching the first episode, we were blown away how the show just slams you in the middle of the action, doesn't explain ANYTHING, throws people, places, creatures at you, the stakes are SO HIGH, are those telepathic powers, some guy is falling from the spaceship towards the planet! So many questions! No answers to anything!!

At the end I'm blown away. I really enjoyed the ride and I'm so intrigued to see how all of this will unravel! What a brave first episode! How can they ever top this off?

We watch the next episode. Oh, we seem to be bit in the past now! Cool, this show does this backwards thing. Nice to get answers to questions one by one.

We watch another episode. Still going steadily back in time. We now see the white-haired man whose picture Ursula placed on her desk in the first episode. He was left behind! But maybe the plants will revive him in the future episodes or something? I wonder how he sacrificed himself protecting Ursula.

We begin another episode… and my partner asks me to check the episode number. It says 9. Whattt.

It takes a moment and some googling for us understand that yes, we have started watching the show backwards. The episodes were listed from last to first. And we did not REALIZE A THING FOR THREE WHOLE EPISODES.

It worked uncannily well. Sure, there were a lot of questions we had, but we just assumed they would be answered due time. Other than that, we had NO CLUE.

So, after watching the episodes 12, 11, and 10, we started from 1. And started filling the gaps.

scavengers reign

[Image ID: A drawing of a lush, green forest on an alien planet in the TV show Scavengers Reign. On the left is a large, thick, white stone column covered with large, green, round globules of moss. The center contains large, white circular stepping stones on the ground, much larger than any living being in the image. A grey, deer-shaped alien with a slightly lighter grey underbelly and round, grey protrusions coming from its face sits curled up on one of the stones. On another stone, further back, sits a grey robot made up of a three large metal ovals next to each other. It tends to a small lily with four large, white petals growing from the stone.

In the center of the image, two thick, brown columns that could be stone or tree trunks rest behind the alien and the robot. One is diagonal and points to the upper right. The other is nearly upright and is tilted slightly to the left. The right side of the image contains three tall yellow broomstick-shaped stalks of what look like hay, and there are three jellyfish-shaped creatures with very short dark grey legs, small round red eyes, and dark grey bodies. One of the creatures looks sadly at the deer alien and the robot. The other two are walking away, out of the frame. End ID.]

Title: Scavengers Reign (2023-?)

Channel: HBO Max.

Origin: U.S. American.

Genres: 2D animation, science fiction, science fantasy, adventure, and horror.

Runtime: As of March 2024, there is 1 season with 12 episodes. Each episode is ~25 minutes. The show’s executive producers have mapped out future seasons and are excited to do more, but with HBO’s penchant for cancelling animated/sci-fi TV shows and removing them from streaming, I’m not sure if it’ll get renewed for more.

This show feels: Enthralling, wondrous, hypnotic, and horrifying.

Premise: Scavengers Reign is a science fiction show about the marooned survivors of a damaged cargo ship in outer space. They explore their mysterious, lush, and hostile new planet with caution, and, due to the crash, they have been isolated in three groups who must eventually make their way back to each other. Most of the cast are human, but one main character is a robot. The new planet contains fantasy-transformed plants, animals, and aliens. Does danger lurk around the next corner?

Themes explored by the show: Social isolation, mental health crises, survival in the wilderness, the ability to trust, human-alien interactions, grief, death, community, psychological horror/trauma, and the poisonous control that nostalgia holds over humans.

Representation & marginalized voices: Scavengers Reign has several nonwhite main characters, and about the half the cast are female while the other half are male. The nonwhite characters are also voiced by people of color, and there are many female voice actors in the cast. I appreciate that romance isn’t a core part of the show, as the story explores themes like survival and mistrust instead.

Notes:

Scavengers Reign is well-received by the public. It has a 100% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 8.7/10.

Scavengers Reign originally aired as an 8-minute, dialogue-free animated short film in 2016 on the Adult Swim channel. It is available to watch here on Vimeo.

Most U.S. American shows created by major streaming services or TV networks are available to pirate. Sites like FMovies or LookMovies should have it.

Scavengers Reign

Holy shit, good western animation that’s not comedy and actually has a focus on aesthetics, setting and craft??

Seriously, I still can’t believe something like Scavengers Reign got made. This feels like a student thesis film you’d see on Vimeo, not a full 12-episode series with a healthy production schedule.

I loved this show. The artstyle is a clear rip of Moebius, but that’s… fucking sick? I mean, given how little that style has been successfully adapted for animation, I’m all for it, especially when it’s done with this much care and skill. Seriously, some of the longer environments shots could genuinely pass for later Moebius illustrations. The colors are also gorgeous throughout, managing to make each biome feel distinct (and thus sell how far our characters have traveled) while maintaining a consistent, muted vibe over the course of the story.

The star of the show, obviously, is the ecology and creature design. Even with no added context, the designs are all very cool, from the little rolling polyps we see everywhere to the stampeding ungulates. But the thing that sets this show apart is the clear ecological niche we’re shown for each species. Nearly every creature we see, we learn something about: their source of food, their natural predators, the unique behavior they’ve adapted to thrive in their environment. And the comparison to nature documentaries doesn’t just stop there - they even directly ape the style, editing and content of documentaries, like when the show focuses on territorial disputes between members of the same species, or highlights a predator taking advantage of its prey’s weakest moments to strike.

Some of my particular favorite ideas: 1. All of the various white-coated creatures near Azi’s desert encampment that blend seamlessly into the spires for camouflage 2. The seafaring creatures sucking up their young for protection during the lightning storm, and the parasites that come in to gorge themselves while they’re defenseless 3. The fact that the little Grey-looking gecko-apes (Hollow’s species), given their intelligence and powerful telekinesis, could clearly become apex predators and take on prey many times their size… but instead use their hypnosis to force other species to get food for them, because it takes way less energy expenditure. That’s nature, baby!

The show definitely drags a bit around the halfway point. The start of the story is explosive, as we follow the viewpoints of 3 different groups of survivors and their drastically different situations. The character dynamics are great in the beginning - Ursula and Sam’s early mastery of the wildlife during their expeditions, Azi’s reticence contrasted with Levi’s developing personality, and the slow horror that unfolds as Kamen is taken in by Hollow. For the first few episodes, we have no idea where things will end up, and it’s exciting watching things play out.

By the midpoint, we’ve basically lost Kamen’s point of view, as his arc is put on ice until the end of the show, so we’re just bouncing back and forth between Sam & Ursula’s perspective, and the group Azi finds herself falling in with. Sam & Ursula’s narrative feels like it gets stuck in a rut here, as Sam gets infected with two different parasites back to back; I really feel like they should’ve committed to one (preferably the plot thread about the previous survivor) rather than trying to land the same emotional beat twice in a row. On Azi’s side, while I understand what they were going for with Kris and the other newcomers, their story never really got compelling for me. Scavengers’ strength is the planet and its bizarre alien life. Levi, with their dawning sentience and growing connection to the natural world, really fits into those themes; replacing that with a ‘Humans were the real monsters scavengers all along!’ subplot is a tough sell, especially when the characters driving it are about as charismatic as a puddle and have some of the most awkward acting / writing in the show.

There’s even some form issues in the middle section. In classic anime fashion, the visuals take a bit of a hit; there’s less standout background work in the 2nd act, and the character animation suffers at times. I also found the editing distracting in this section; with only two points of view to go between, the constant cutting between the A and B plot started to feel artificial and distracting. Also, since we more or less have an idea of how the stories are going to come together by this point, there’s a sense of inevitability to the proceedings.

Fortunately, things come back together in the end; Ursula leaving Sam behind is every bit as bittersweet as it should be, Levi’s resurrection by the planet-flowers is fascinating, and the sequence where Hollow is returned to its natural self, courtesy of a Levi-supplied Total Perspective Vortex, is just goddamn gorgeous. Seriously, if anything can become iconic anymore in the constantly shifting hell that is today’s media landscape, it’s this breathtaking animated montage of life germinating and evolving on Vesta. Well, that and the buckwild life-to-death flower pollination sequence in episode 3. Fully expecting to see those posted as captures on random forums one, five, ten years from now.

Here’s hoping for season two, or anything more from this creative team! They can’t leave us hanging with the fuckin Imperium of Man showing up at the end like that, can they?

you NEED to watch scavengers reign. its only 12 episodes. you need to watch it

scavengers reign episode 12 "the reunion" pt 2 | pt. 1