Skip to main content

blade runner series - Is Joi an (unwilling) accomplice of either Wallace or the rebellion?


There are moments in Blade Runner 2049 where Joi (K's holographic girlfriend) seems to act in ways that help the rebellion:



Her requesting the prostitute to have sex with K allows the prostitute (who is working with the rebellion) to slip a tracker into K's pocket



But Joi is also a Wallace product and there are moments when one would suspect that Joi is an (unwilling) collaborator:




Luv is angry when she finds that Joi's holoprojector's antenna is broken off, which suggests that it cannot transmit anymore. But that would imply that it was transmitting earlier on.



So which is it?



Answer




Luv and other mishaps


Joi is a known Wallace Corp. product, Luv even mentions



I hope the product is to your satisfaction




when Joi's ringtone alerts K in the Wallace Corp. headquarters.


It is evident also, that Luv was using Joi's trackers to keep tabs on K and the progress of his mission. However, there's no evidence that Joi was aware of this happening or aiding it in any way. In fact, before the pair set off to Las Vegas, Joi mentions to K that he needs to remove the antenna and have her fully contained within the 'Emanator' (also removing her backups from the wall unit) in order to not be tracked.


I believe in this case, Joi was telling the truth as Luv displays obvious frustration as soon as the signal is lost and she checks the wall unit.


Mariette or Marionette?


Now in the case of Mariette and the 'Resistance', Joi still cannot be complicit as she shows no signs thereof. Mariette and the other 'Doxies' were told to approach K in the market by Freysa:



Go to the man in the green jacket, he's the one who killed [Sapper] Morton. Find out what he knows



Joi just happened to be listening to K and Mariette's conversation and picked up on the vibes between them. That was the reason she called in Mariette specifically for their 'date night'. It was a pure coincidence that worked out well for the Resistance.


You're such a good Joe



Look, no matter how strange this may seem, I believe that Joi truly did 'love' K. In her own way. In fact, that's what she was programmed to do. She wasn't a reconnaissance or sabotage agent, she was a purely 'pleasure' device built to give her 'owner' a sense of love, affection and loyalty. Yes, there are potentially tons of the 'Joi' programs out there, but that doesn't make her any less real; to K.


Luv was able to track Joi because she seemed like she was an accomplished hacker. She was able to walk into the LAPD, steal a corpse, kill a person and escape; then return later to kill another person. She was able to hack into whatever orbital system it was that she used to 'save' K near the orphanage in the



now do your fucking job



scene.


The part where K tragically realises that Joi is a simple AI machine designed to tell him everything he wants to hear, including his suggested name "Joe" is another impetus for him to believe that nothing in his life is real. That's what makes him do the only real thing left to do: to sacrifice himself for a 'cause'. To finally be human. In fact, he was



more human than human




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...