Let’s Talk Love, Death, and Robots: Shapeshifters

Hey y’all!! Today, I’m switching gears from talking about Stoicism to something all of us can relate to: Netflix. Most of us have our own or “share” someone else’s subscription, and there are plenty of shows to talk about (even though lately that talk has mostly been about Game of Thrones, for good reason). The North remembers that there are other shows though, and one that caught my interest was Love, Death, and Robots.

The series consists of 18 episodes, each with their own unique stories and animation styles. It’s pretty impressive. And while they are standalone in nature, most of them cover some pretty interesting and sometimes kinda personal topics. This post is about some of the themes in the episode Shapeshifters. This will contain spoilers, so you should watch the episode before reading the post. Just a heads up though, the series as a whole is very not safe for work (NSFW), and contains violence, language, and sexual themes. If you’re still with me here, pull up a chair and let’s talk Shapeshifters.

*Takes a deep breath* First, a quick summary

The episode takes place in a slightly alternate universe based off a short story called On The Use Of Shapeshifters In Warfare by Marko Kloos. Like in our universe, if you’re one for the multiverse theory, the US invaded Afghanistan. But unlike our universe, werewolves sign up to join the military. Yes, I did just say werewolves.

As you probably guessed, most non-lycanthropes (or regulars) weren’t really vibing with that decision, albeit the werewolves technically being US citizens. Two lycans, Decker and Sobieski, are embedded in a Marine contingent tasked with finding and eliminating insurgents. Even though they fulfill their duties like the other Marines, the others discriminate against them. Which causes tension in the ranks.

The major in charge assigns Sobieski to a squad of Marines to help man their forward operating base (FOB). Decker stays back in base camp with the rest of the troop. That night, an enemy werewolf attacks the FOB, killing Sobieski and the ten other Marines at the camp. Decker gets the scent of the lycan, and accompanies the major to a meeting with the leader of the local village, hoping to find the assailant. Decker marks the killer, but keeps the information to himself.

After everyone has gone to sleep, Decker meets the enemy werewolf and his son. They fight, and Decker prevails. He returns to base camp, battered and bruised. Decker leaves the military with Sobieski’s body and buries him in the wild. Roll credits.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way

There are a bunch of interesting themes in the episode, but the ones I want to focus on are discrimination, self-identity, and loyalty. So let’s dive in.

Discrimination is something most of us are all too familiar with

And it’s one of the overarching themes in Shapeshifters. Decker and Sobieski experience discrimination in the form of slurs (dog-soldier or dog), people not wanting to sit next to them in the mess hall, and being referred to as “animals” or “inhuman”. Not long ago in the US, black people weren’t allowed to sit in certain sections, were disenfranchised, and were treated like animals. There’s a commonality in the way the lycans are treated and the way many ethnic groups are treated today.

In one scene, Sobieski is talking to Decker about the discrimination. Decker says “They don’t understand us any more than they do this f******* war, which is why we don’t belong here.” He acknowledges that they’re different, and that their mistreatment comes from a place of fear, because people fear what they don’t understand. And if you’re a Star Wars fan, you know what fear leads to.

But the interesting thing to me is how the Marines’ feelings towards the lycans change. No matter how they treated Decker, his response to them was always about the common good. When the enemy werewolf attacked the FOB, Decker requested to go and help, since he could get there faster than the relief column. A Marine insinuates that he just wants to help Sobieski, and Decker responds “F*** off! Those are men up there. It doesn’t matter what kind.”

When Decker returned from the fight with the other werewolves, the Marines saw how much damage he took during the encounter. They realized that he went through that not just for Sobieski, but for them and those that they lost. That without Decker putting his life on the line, that they might have all died. So when Decker decided to leave with Sobieski’s body, no one tried to stop him. They respected him, who he was, and everything that he had done. Which I feel is something that we can apply to our day to day lives. We should remember that what someone looks like and where they come from doesn’t determine who we are. Rather, let’s be like Stan Lee and the X-Men.

What about self-identity?

The main take away for me was that people hide who they are on the daily. Ironically, the very idea of a werewolf is hiding the animal inside the guise of a human. There are multiple references to “the leash” in the show. This refers to the fact that Sobieski and Decker have to remain in human form, rather than turning into their more primal states, even though it’d make their jobs infinitely easier.

At the end of the episode, the major calls Decker an animal. Decker responds “I may be an animal, but I’m done wearing your leash”. He’s implying that he’s done restraining his true nature to fit a mold set by the Marines. There’s a quote from the short story that I love with regards to Decker staying “on the leash” and remaining in human form. He says “Every time it happens, I loathe myself–not for obeying orders, but for accepting the leashing willingly.” Like, wow.

Think about all of the times that you have stifled some aspect of your personality, just to fit in. And I’m not talking about stuff that’s actually a problem, like being inconsiderate or egotistical. I’m talking about something that makes you you. Like, your laugh, the fact you like anime, or that you listen to specific types of music. We put ourselves “on the leash” daily, but eventually we have to realize that we can only do that for so long. As long we ignore our truth, as long as we are on the leash, we can never be happy. In leaving the Marines and burying Sobieski, Decker accepted his truth, and freed himself from the leash.

Which leads into the last theme: loyalty

Decker is fiercely loyal to people. This mainly comes out in his relationship with Sobieski. On top of killing the enemy werewolf and burying Sobieski, he does something that, to most of us, will seem kind of weird. He runs his hand down the corpse face and sniffs it. Admittedly, I was looking at the TV sideways during that scene, but it makes sense when you think about it.

The werewolves have an extremely sensitive sense of smell. So much so they they can track people off of smell alone. Decker’s action is entirely because he wants to internalize the smell of his comrade, so that he never forgets him. Loyal to the core.

On top of that, he’s loyal to the werewolves themselves. He doesn’t rat out the enemy wolf to the major after he identifies him. Even though he locked eyes with the man. All because he wanted to face him all on his own. He is loyal to himself and to the traditions of his people. But all of that stemmed from what Decker thought was right.

And that’s the important thing about loyalty. It’s entirely grounded in what is morally correct. In that way, we can seek to be loyal to ourselves and those in our lives.

Where does that leave us?

It leaves us with quite a bit of real world application. But also some things to think about. It leaves us with the considerations of how discrimination plays a part in our lives and how we can counteract it. We can think about our self-identity, and living our truth. And we can visit how to be loyal, to not only ourselves, but with every living being we come into contact with.

I want to thank you for talking humans with me today. Check out the short story this episode was based on, On The Use Of Shape-Shifters In Warfare by Marko Kloos, it’s pretty dope. If you liked this article, please subscribe! And if you think someone might get something from it, please share! If you want to continue the conversation, drop a line in the comment section or hit me up via the Contact Me page. And don’t forget to talk humans (or werewolves) with someone this week. Catch y’all later!!