1.04 – My Life For One Star – After Judgment Review

Posted by Samuel Walters

“Steven wanders aimlessly but runs into trouble by the beach, he evades a duo of Trainers only to witness them attack an innocent woman.”

“My Life For One Star” features the single best moment of the series thus far: Steven’s haunted reverie about sunsets and stars. In this moment, the series finally fully captures the dismay and desolation of the world in which Steven inhabits. Truly captivating.

In this episode:

Elizabeth says, “don’t go in” the water
Passes by a man in a sombrero
Walks into a park, strewn with litter
Says, “It certainly isn’t the way it used to be, but it could be worse.”
Walks past Michelle talking to some random guy
Steven says, “I remember a time when I’d look out over the ocean … the sunset was so majestic. Now? I’d give my life for just one f*cking star.”
Picks up an old newspaper with a headline of “coping in a changing world.”
Knocked over by a man running wildly down the street
Steven then sees two Trainers and heads off running.
An innocent woman stumbles into the Trainers and is attacked
The episode ends with her scream

Steven’s exasperated wish for “one star” underscores the hopelessness and futility he must feel at the beginning of the series. It seems, then, that his vision of the boy provides Steven with the one thing he has been missing for so long: Purpose.

But considering the events in this episode actually happen before the events of episodes 1-3, Steven still has a little ways to go before he finds his purpose. And in the meantime, the hopelessness and futility are reinforced by the Trainers’ attack on the innocent woman — leading to such questions as: who are the Trainers? What is their purpose? Why would they engage in such a brutal attack?

Topics: Sci-Fi, Web Reviews
Filed under: After / Before Judgment