“We’re not meant for the world. We’re the monsters they made.”
The Dex Legacy audio drama is a work of huge ambition and scale, set in a fully realised sci-fi world with an in-depth history and complex and believable politics amongst the various ambitious nations vying for power. In Season One, Dex Industries established itself as a military superpower on Planet SP714, the island where the corporation is based gaining recognition as a country in its own right. Their president, Nathaniel Dex, has achieved great things, yet the premise of Season Two is whether he can control his company’s most powerful assets – his adopted children, the trio of genetically enhanced teenage super soldiers Varian, Isra and Ren.
Season One did a lot of heavy lifting in order to establish the large cast of characters and the political situation driving events on this colonised planet. Consequently, writer Emily Inkpen has things perfectly poised at the start of Season Two, moving into an action-filled series whilst still taking the time to allow her characters to grow.
Most notable in Season Two is the much larger professional acting cast. I didn’t expect Inkpen to expand her world so quickly but the decision is absolutely necessary for the story, allowing the listener to understand how the actions of Varian, Isra and Ren impact their colleagues and fellow soldiers in the Dex Military. In a cast which is uniformly excellent it feels wrong to highlight individual actors. However, I particularly enjoyed Stevie Skinner’s performance as skilful pilot Rhaya, Rae Witte’s chipper and upbeat, to the point of it being seriously disturbing, portrayal of the soldier Pax and David S Dear as Idris Morrowether, the grimly realistic Admiral of the Dex Fleet.
Kamara Elliott (Varian), Kelsey Griffin (Isra) and Charlie Richards (Ren) all turn in nuanced performances, perfectly capturing the strong relationship between the trio as well as their emotional vulnerability and naivety, due to their age and cruel upbringing by Nathaniel. An aspect of the story I particularly enjoyed was how their status as Nathaniel’s adopted children sets them apart from other members of the Dex Military. In Season Two we learn more about the other subjects of Doctor Devek Za’s heinous experiments – the so-called ‘unadopteds’. Of a similar age to Varian, Isra and Ren, this group have also been enhanced but their abilities have been curtailed, whilst Nathanial’s children get the best and most cutting-edge treatments to maximise their potential. Whether this preferential treatment is something to be envied or feared depends upon your perspective, and this issue is cleverly explored throughout the show.
Right from the off, The Dex Legacy has never shied away from tackling difficult themes. However, things take an even darker turn in Season Two. The list of trigger warnings is extensive for a reason and, whilst nothing ever feels gratuitous or done purely for shock value, please note this is very much a sci-fi show written for a mature adult audience.
Overall, Season Two successfully builds on the massive potential demonstrated by Season One, with a perfect combination of character development, action scenes and unexpected twists and turns. The bar is set high for the forthcoming Season Three but I’m confident Emily Inkpen, her producer Chris Gregory and their amazingly talented cast are going to absolutely smash it!
You can find links to listen to Seasons One and Two of The Dex Legacy here – https://pod.link/1603811886
