Cyberpunk Edgerunners: How David's Fate May Not Be as Obvious as Portrayed

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a breath of fresh air from recent Netflix anime adaptations, as a gripping storyline and engaging lineup of main characters make this show a joy to watch from beginning to end. Edgerunners takes all the beautiful aspects of the game and perfectly builds on them; with each member of the edgerunners having their niche storylines that appeal to all sorts of audiences.

At the end of Season 1, viewers witness what seems to be David's death in his fight against Adam Smasher. However, is the audience really so sure that's the last time they see David? Cyberpunk's world of rich lore reveals that there are ways to escape what would be death to a normal human. Ripperdocs are able to fully reconstruct humans and outfit them with the most advanced technology that works alongside the anatomy of the body. Therefore, some theories suggest that David may have survived his encounter with the meched-up monster.

Before David's "death," Adam Smasher stands above him while loading up a final blast, but the audience never actually sees David die. He's practically fully dismantled on the ground with no arms or legs but seems to snap out of the cyberpsychosis and be fully present mentally. Then, the camera cuts, and viewers see Lucy reminiscing before a shot of the moon appears. This could be a typical misdirection by the writers to make people believe that David perished at that moment. However, the rule of thumb generally is that if one doesn't actually see the body, the character could still be alive.

In the story of Season 1, the audience learns that David's natural resistance to cyberpsychosis makes him a prime candidate to be Arasaka's next personal bodyguard like Adam Smasher. This is why David is able to wield the cyberskeleton and last as long as he does without succumbing to the madness.

How could Arasaka go all this time trying to secure David for experiments just to give Adam Smasher the go-ahead to kill him? It doesn't make much sense -- more likely, the writers set some other plot points in motion given how much they mentioned Arasaka's interest in David. This gives viewers more reason to believe there's more to be seen of David in the next season, should there be one.

David Martinez has a very relatable backstory, and it's clearly one that was formed with great thought and attention to detail. That's something the audience needs to keep in mind moving forward. It would be very surprising for the writers to put that much work into making the character relatable and fun to watch on screen and then simply kill him off, and his death not being shown on screen is enough of a reason for viewers to keep hope. The added interest that Arasaka has in David's potential is the most worthy reason to be positive about his future in the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime, meaning that fans have a few reasons to be optimistic about a potential return.