Main cast: Graham Hamilton (Decker), Adam Bartley (Sobieski), Jim Pirri (The Master Sergeant), James Horan (Major Reyner), and Ike Amadi (The Platoon Sergeant)
Director: Gabriele Pennacchioli

Alright, before I start, let me say this: while on the whole the visuals of Shape-Shifters are serviceable, I find myself distracted by the characters’ eyes. There’s always something off with the eyes. Either they seem to be trying to flee in opposite directions, the shading is off, or they somehow add to the overall creepy uncanny valley effect of the characters’ appearance.

I notice the eyes because this Episode is set during the Afghanistan war—the one that US was most recently involved in, that is—and hence, there isn’t much color in the landscape aside from various shades of brown.

Also, there are many close-ups on the eyes because, ooh, the two lead characters Decker and Sobieski are shape-shifters serving in the US military. You know how it is, when they go into Hulk mode, their eyes change color.

Furthermore, characters barely show emotion, as most of the time, only their lips are moving. The whole episode looks janky, as if this one had been released before post-production is completed.

In this episode, the two soldiers not only face discrimination from the people they protect and work alongside, but they also realize that the opposing side may have some shape-shifters of their own. Ooh!

What I like about Shape-Shifters is that it doesn’t truly idolize or demonize any side in the war. Considering that most wars in third world countries are both the results of and resulting in power plays by greater forces at bay to control the economy of the country and surrounding regions, anything more can easily be twisted into propaganda, and that will just cause my eyes to roll up.

At the same time, this leaves the episode in a conundrum of sorts. It is just a little over 16 minutes long, so I suppose it can either go full out wartime action or gaze into their own navels. It chooses to do the latter.

For shape-shifters, there is hardly any shape-shifting until late in the episode, and even then, the transformation is unintentionally hilarious to behold. Seriously, did they skip out on post-production?

Instead, this one focuses on how poor Sobieski and Decker are being treated poorly by their own leaders and mates.

Then again, can I blame those people? Decker and Sobieski have superhuman reflexes, strength, and eyesight. That’s scary, as the two of them can do things that would normally take a squad of human soldiers to carry out. Human nature being what it is, normal humans are understandably frightened—I don’t think I can blame them, just like I won’t blame the sheep for being scared and angry that a pair of wolves are allowed to bunk in with them.

What this episode could have done is to perhaps provide much-needed answers to some questions. Why don’t the US and Afghanistan send more shape-shifters to fight, then? That seems like a more efficient way to go about doing things. Why would these shape-shifters enlist in the first place, if shape-shifters in general would face discrimination on a daily basis everywhere and anywhere? They aren’t defending their country here, mind you—they are getting involved in someone else’s war, just because the US decided that it is to its own best interests to help a certain faction emerge triumphant.

Well, that and the poor people that are getting killed, women are raped, won’t someone think of those children, et cetera, I guess, but come on, we all know only ordinary people care about these things. Politicians and military industrial complex players only see dollar signs every time two countries decide to bell-end one another.

So, in the end, this episode is all about humans bad, soldiers bad, werewolves good. That’s a gross oversimplification of matters, one that renders this episode rather pointless, but hey, I suppose there’s not much one can do with a running time of about 16 minutes and awful visuals.

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