Amid all the violence and cool cyborg technology, the first season of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a tragic love story at its core. But in the second season? It might be more punk-rock, following a new cast of characters around Night City, but according to showrunner Bartosz Sztybor, emotional themes of love and parenthood are the connective tissue between seasons.
“Honestly, from my perspective, all the themes, emotions, and questions are almost the same as with season one,” Sztybor said to GameSpot. “I really like to treat both seasons as connected, as mirrors of each other—two pieces of something bigger that have a constant dialogue with each other. It’s still a tale about sacrifices and what you will do for love. In season one, we saw the relationship between David and his mother in the first episode, and how the things she told him shaped him. Even in the last episode, he mentions his mom. Season one had this parent-child relationship from the kid’s point of view. In the second season, we also have a parent-child relationship, but from the parent’s perspective. A lot of those things are connected, but the cast and the choices are different, so the outcomes may also be different. It’s like walking into the same river, but choosing a different path.”
The new season features an overarching storyline split among four characters, each bringing a unique viewpoint to everything happening around them. King is a former Night City legend who has had to downgrade his tech to avoid falling victim to cyber-psychosis; D is a Nomad netrunner out for revenge; and Roman is a young cinephile with barely any cybernetic enhancements. The young Talia, a Maelstrom gang member who has heavily modified her body, becomes the group’s focal point as they find themselves drawn into a web of intrigue revolving around illegal technology, warring corporations, and even a lingering plot thread from the first season of Edgerunners.
“It was in the first pitch that Talia was the main point of conflict for everyone, and we slowly built things around her,” Sztybor added. I knew King would be her father and an old Edgerunner wanting to rebuild that relationship. Then we thought she needed to be connected to Maelstrom, super-chromed, and special in a way that connects her to [the AI superweapon] Capri and then to D. It was a puzzle from the start. I knew from the moment I thought about Edgerunners 2 that I wanted it to be like Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction—a few characters who eventually connect. What they share is that they don’t fit the system and are unhappy with who they are, except Roman, who has that glimpse of hope.”
Could there be a third season of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners? Sztybor is taking things one day at a time, but one thing is for sure: if it enters production, you can expect more threads from the wider Cyberpunk 2077 universe to be woven into it. “I don’t know if there will be a perfect story,” Sztybor said about a potential third season.” Of course, there are a lot of stories to tell. I love worldbuilding and connecting characters, places, or elements from comic books and the game.”
“In Edgerunners 2, there’s Sal Bigelow, a character who was shown earlier in the Cyberpunk: Big City Dreams comic book. The main goal is to show that this world is alive, and all these characters have their stories, agendas, and very often sad endings. To answer your question about season three: let’s see, but there are definitely more stories to tell in this world.”
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 2 is now out on Netflix with 10 new episodes. For more on the show, check out how its anime talent radically changed Edgerunners’ style, and yes, there is a quick Hideo Kojima cameo hiding in the middle of the season.