Vagrant Queen, Season 1 (2020)

 

Elida is a scav: she lives on the fringes of society, drinking in dingy bars and taking on whatever shady jobs she can find.  Anything that'll pay to keep her spaceship more or less running and herself out of the clutches of the law.

All scavs want to avoid the attention of the law, but Elida has a particular reason to stay out of their sight: she's actually Eldaya al-Feyr, the former child queen of Arriopa.  And while Elida has no interest in reclaiming her throne, the military junta that deposed her have a great deal of interest in making sure she's too dead to change her mind.

The relentless pursuit of one Commander Lazaro, in particular, will soon drive Elida - along with the oddball collection of more-or-less friends she has made along the way - into a corner where she will have no choice but to return to Arriopa and face her past ... and her future.

Vagrant Queen is a comedic science fiction adventure show made for what I suspect was "not a lot of money".  They've used what resources they did have quite well, though: the cast are all solid and the cheapness of the production is often given an in universe explanation.  It makes sense that everything looks like recycled junk and duct tape when your characters openly admit they keep their ship running with recycled junk and duct tape, after all!

Entertainment-wise, this is overall a pretty fun romp.  I like the romantic sub-plot they work through the series, and that Elida's lack of desire to the queen is fully sincere.  Overall it builds well and the concluding episode - even if it does feature a new development that was obviously intended for the cancelled second season - makes a pretty good culmination of the story.

It's not without negatives, of course: certain of the plot elements are perhaps a little formulaic, and the humour doesn't always work.  I think the first gag I genuinely laughed at instead just smirking a little did not come until episode 2.  But overall I am glad I checked it out, and if you like this kind of stuff, I suggest you give it a look.