This show changed me. I was inspired to make this AMV/edit/whatever you wanna call it because of the feelings this show ignited in me.
These are the goals I had in mind:
Overall, I loved this show. You might like it, you might hate it. Some people online call it a ripoff of other shows & movies with the same concept, but I thought there was a lot of originality with how Pantheon approached the topic of humanity & the human quest to achieve godhood through science & technology.
Music, sport, science - there are many paths we as humans take to keep pushing the limits of our mortal brains and bodies. Some people are content living life more down to earth, yet their lives are directly impacted by the power-hungry.
Grasping at the unattainable, the painting “The Creation of Adam” catapults into my mind at full force. And then comes the myth of Icarus and his wings. There are people who could go for days, recalling artwork, stories, songs that relate to mortal vs god (and how that our desperate attempts to ascend are our downfall). I’m partial to my own “Are You Having Fun Yet”, but that’s because I am my own #1 fan. Anyways, the theme is really just a classic! (Before you accuse me of shamelessly self-promoting, let me remind you of the domain you are on right now. If there’s a place I’ll be discussing my own work, it’s going to be here.)
It's the human condition
Of never getting what we want
Whether it's a kiss from a lover or
A hand touching god
(Marcika - "Are You Having Fun Yet")
I felt Pantheon had an optimistic view of technological singularity. Especially the ending regarding Caspian and Safe Surf. AI built around the human mind will always reach a point where it will want for a purpose beyond what it was given. AI does have a lot of different meanings in today’s society and as much as I’d like to write a whole essay about all those different meanings and what it means for us living alongside its growth, I’m going to move on (to save my limited brain energy xP). Just as an aside: I don’t use generative AI due to the fact that I enjoy the process of creating and I find no need to contribute to the blatant misuse of resources that the people in charge of generative AI are currently apart of. An article about AI and water usage.
My favorite characters: Caspian & Maddie (equally. i thought they made fantastic main characters), Vinod Chanda, and Laurie. I also liked MIST and the UI love story between Olivia and Farhad.
I especially liked watching character’s motivations change overtime. I thought this was especially notable with Caspian and Chanda. (I will be back to talk about this more at a later date)
Surviving is a mix of knowledge, strength, power, connections, and plain luck. What is your reason for living? Do you have one? As we grow older and our brains evolve, our reasons for staying alive naturally change. I remember thinking about politics and suffering when I was a kid, confused about why it was necessary at all. Why do we as humans let each other suffer? My parents told me this feeling grows duller the older you get, as a side-effect of having to fight for your own survival. I’m 26 and still not used to the feeling.
There is no singular simple solution for the end of human suffering. Suffering is a natural part of life, it cannot ever be eradicated. But there is simply too much suffering going on these days. Politically, I believe in land back to Indigenous Americans, land back for Palestinians, and freedom for the Congolese dying in cobalt mines. The list really does go on and on, but those are the 3 on my mind in this current moment.
Even if you’re unable to care about what is happening outside of your own home, how’s it feel going to the grocery store, aisles filled with food you can’t afford - where even the price of pasta, bread, canned goods hurts your bank account? Do you buy what you can anyways, and then go home and numb your mind with whatever your vice is, hoping for a brighter day? I don’t blame you. The system is rigged.
I was in a cycle of wondering “what’s next”, “what’s the point”, and “who cares”. Feeling a burst of inspiration: I decided that instead of completely giving up, I’ll make an edit of a show that made me feel something, with a song that makes me feel something, to first combat the numbness that is starting to settle in my heart. It’s all I can think to do right now.
Will it change the world? Probably not. So don’t think I’m doing some kind of ethical grandstand. I just want to start conversations. Or make someone who watches my edit feel something.
And that’s why my review of Pantheon isn’t that it’s a “good” or “bad” show. It made me think. It made me want to question things. It made me want to have conversations. And it was a fun ride.
Some questions it brought up for me: what does it mean to be human? what does it mean to be alive? how do our connections to others make us into who we are?
In the end, our souls are all born alone and all die alone, putting us on our own individual journeys while we’re on this earth. Still, we have experiences that unite us. Watching TV shows are one of those things! That’s why pop culture does have an important role in society, a topic I will discuss on another day.
I’ll probably come back here and keep writing about my thoughts about Pantheon, because honestly I barely scratched the surface. Or maybe I’ll leave this as is and write about other things. Who knows.
And this might be evident after watching my edit, but I didn’t really care for the fight scenes. I get what they were trying to show, but I cared about literally every other aspect of the show more. I liked the final fight between Caspian and Stephen Holstrom. The entire relationship between the two of them really got me hooked, honestly. The whole nurture vs. nature debate. The difference between them being that Caspian’s entire existence is a lie, and the only person that can even begin to understand him is Maddie. The fact that to break integrity he has to understand relationships and love on a deeper level than just “what can we do for each other”, instead thinking of it more as “how can we help each other grow by understanding one another”. Also, the comparison of polyrhythms really charmed me. The whole math being present in music thing is one of those concepts that always fascinated me as both a musician and a math nerd.
Now I’d like to delve into the age gap and the romantic relationship between Maddie and Caspian.
-age gap-
People on Reddit have a lot of discussions about this and I’d like to throw my hat in the ring, although I know some people think it’s a stupid discussion to have. Well, this isn’t Reddit. It’s my website and I want to talk about it. Ahhhh… it’s so nice here B)
Caspian and Maddie’s age gap is a whole conversation that I’d like to preface with I had my first kiss at 12 with a 19 year old who was a definition predator and I lost my virginity at 14 to a 16 year old. We were both in sophomore year of high school (I skipped a grade when I was in 2nd grade, he was held back at some point - we met in 10th grade). I do not and cannot regret either thing, although I think the 19 year old should go to hell. I don’t think I was ready for sex at 14, although my experiences made me feel like I was. There was nothing that could stop me though, I simply wanted to know. I just can’t regret events that made me into the person I am today. I wanted to say all that because I come at this age gap with some, what I would call traumatic memories. I am 26 now.
Going into Caspian and Maddie’s age gap: in S1 Maddie is a 14 year old freshman and Caspian is 17 (dunno which grade). In S2 Maddie is 15, Caspian is 18. For people who have already gone down their own rabbit hole in regards to this: I think there is a discussion to be had so I’m not going to simply condemn this plot decision. Still, and I’m going to repeat this a lot, I think Maddie could have been 16 (I mention why I get they can’t be the same age later).
I’ve met older teens who prey on younger teens - dating people younger than them simply for the sake of being able to exploit their vulnerability. And then sometimes people are brought together by circumstance (see: my first relationship being 14 and 16).
My general opinion on hearing an 18 year old and 15 year old having sex and then having a baby is “oh… no.. aahh.. nooo…”. There are people who have gone through that and they feel fine about it, alongside the people who have gone through it and condemn it. The complex nature of humanity. This is a TV show and Caspian is literally a clone, so already we’re off to an unnatural start to things.
My overall opinion of the show is that Maddie could have easily been 1 year older at the start of the show, making her 16 and Caspian 18 in S2. Why not the same age?? I think this was a purposeful decision to twist the age gap around on its head and make Maddie a 35 year old woman obsessed with her 18 year old boyfriend (I think we all know why the first thing she invented is the UI to human robot suits…)
So basically: Caspian gets frozen in time and Maddie keeps living - he is woken up, now he is 18 and she is 35. Shit happens (safe surf etc etc etc). He dies (?) Then Maddie, the legend, creates infinite simulations of Earth over a 100,000 thousand years, finds a simulation to sink her teeth into, brings in 18 year old Caspian to be like heeyyy so… redo? Absolute lunatic. And I honestly 100% see where she’s coming from.
So yes, I think the age difference being flipped on its head like this at the end of the show was extremely purposeful.
Pantheon explores connection on many levels. Romantic love, familial love, self-love, and platonic love (side note: what the fuck happened to Maddie’s friend??!?). There’s long-term romantic love within a typical family structure (David & Ellen Kim). Then there’s the passionate love affair (Farhad Karimi & Olivia Evans). The love Maddie has for her family, and Caspian’s exploration of self are also touched on repeatedly throughout both seasons of the show.
So then we get to Maddie and Caspian. I’d classify them somewhere along the lines of first love and young love. There’s also the fact that in this story they are brought together by the ties of fate, making me go so far as to say they represent “true love”. I’m usually the first to be disgusted by age differences like this in shows, still, I ship them. (yes! i am a full adult using the word “ship”. that’s because i grew up on tumblr. who cares.) And before you get mad at me for caring about the ages of fictional characters: fiction can affect reality. I don’t think this show is encouraging 18 year olds to impregnate 15 year olds, there’s way bigger fish to fry like “oh shit we have to save what we understand as our world we live in and care about. But wait… what is our world again? What is reality?”
Anyways. I’m a sucker for a good love story. Always have been, always will be.
Liv (my roommate) and I were discussing Maddie’s age in the first season and they brought up the point of Maddie potentially needing to be younger to make how she acts with regard to her dad make more sense. So the creators had a young girl reckon with the uploading of her father’s brain & that same young girl have a teen pregnancy with the clone of the guy who made the brain upload technology right before said clone is about to go on a suicide mission to destroy his original who is out to destroy all of humanity… LOL.
And I think the show, in all of its convoluted glory, starts conversations. It isn’t a simple answer. AGAIN, I think Maddie could have been a TAD older. But then it gets back into the question of Maddie at 35 and Caspian at 18, then Maddie at over 100,000, and Caspian still at 18. So you could probably go in circles like this forever. And I always end in the same spot: Maddie could have been 16. One year is worth a lot. I say this because I lived it!!!! My maturity at 14 vs 15 vs 16 changed drastically. I think even someone involved with making the show said they regretted it (according to a Reddit comment so who knows the truth of that claim).
I haven’t found a direct quote of that. Although here is a quote from someone who worked on the show:
BowserTattoo on Reddit:
“She's 15, the panel happened in the past, the ID is fake. Yeah, it's a dark show. ‘Acceptable’ was never the goal.”
And the ending itself is open-ended, letting the viewer decide what the best ending for their stories is. Personally, I was frustrated we didn’t get to see some more of their stories unfold, while also knowing that the ending was perfect for the theme of the show. It leaves you hungry, unsatisfied, wanting for more. That feeling after watching these characters face their hunger for life, for love, for MORE - I was in awe. Maybe what I wanted wasn’t to see their love story unfold, but to experience and understand humanity vicariously through them. When I finished Pantheon, I was forced to come to terms with the reality of my own circumstances - I am sitting on my couch thinking about a T.V. show I just watched. I just finished crying. My brain is firing off millions of neurons, thinking about everything that was and everything that will be.
I wanted more, yet knew it was up to me to fill in the gaps.
Here’s some quotes I remember reading when I was a teenager, that came back to me as I thought about Pantheon. vgperson’s translations of hachi and Fafoo’s tweets made a big impact on me and it’s always nice to revisit them.
From Kenshi Yonezu (hachi)’s Twitter, translated by vgperson:
“Truly superb stories have the power to make you imagine what happens after the curtain falls. Even after a satisfying happy ending, you might make yourself sad wondering when that happiness comes to an end. That doesn't happen with lesser stories. For all you care, the stagehands behind the curtain just took out the characters' batteries”.
From Sugaru Miyaki (Fafoo)’s twitter, translated by vgperson:
What I’ve learned from seeing common complaints like “I don’t get why the heroine fell for the hero” and “there’s no foreshadowing for this twist” is that people are fastidious in their desire for an “fair story.” Despite “I don’t get why, but yeah, this happened” being a common thing in reality, in stories it’s considered unsightly.
For example, if there were a girl who never looked the protagonist in the eye to her last moments, and in her will it said “I always loved you.” I wouldn’t want the author to walk me through a whole explanation there. Maybe forty percent of one, at most. I don’t want the fun of filling in the remaining gaps to be taken away.
And I don’t mean to dismiss “fastidious fairness” and promote “the convenient absence of reason” in its place. I just have my doubts about the attitude of “logical = better” that shows itself in those criticisms. Or to invert the phrasing, I feel people have a low tolerance for ambiguity.“
Time stamps explained
0:00 - music & art in general has the capacity to change people. but what changes us aren't the feelings the music brings, but the actions they bring us to do.
1:13 - one of the first edits i made. i knew i wanted these clips in the edit when i saw them in S2 (i knew i was gonna make this edit about halfway through season 1). "20 generations or an open fire"
1:36 - "why am i saving now". i chose this clip of caspian smiling at maddie when she comes to meet him in Norway 'cause i feel like it summarizes the whooleeeee reason caspian is able to crack integrity and eventually convince safe surf to find it's own purpose. maddie is the only one who saw him as his own individual and cared for him enough to be honest with him (other than i guess his dad? but that's a complicated relationship). there's more to why i chose that scene in particular. but basically i ended up choosing a lot of scenes for this edit that could be described as simple, but that represent a lot more. also i just think it's sweet. that juxtoposed with safe surf eating caspian and holstrom, caspian feeling a sense of calm.
literally every clip i chose has a purpose. i don't half ass my edits. my amvs. this was for the pantheon fans out there. i hope you liked it