Line #10 Recap/LoveDeathAndRobotsShapeShifters


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ss_82.png]]
2	->''"I've got his scent now."''
3
4	An American Marine stationed in Afghanistan tries to sniff out an enemy. Based on the short story "On the Use of Shape-shifters in Warfare" by Marko Kloos.
5
6	Graham Hamilton voices Decker.
7	----
8	!!Tropes:
9
10	* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: The ending differs from the short story. After defeating the Afghani werewolf, Decker is simply sent back to Bagram on a helicopter by the captain. During the fly, Decker tears his reenlistment form. In this episode, Decker deserts the army and takes Sobieski's body to bury him. The episode also leaves out Decker [[WorthyOpponent treating his enemy with respect after killing him]], even burying him under a pile of rocks and pointing the grave toward Mecca and refusing to reveal the location to his superior who might desecrate the body. Notably, the respect is instead given to Sobieski who in the short Decker simply lets get sent off in a body bag, only bothering to keep Decker's Werewolf ID.
11	* AdaptationTitleChange: The original story is titled "On the Use of Shape-shifters in Warfare."
12	* AdaptationalVillainy: Unlike the original story, the Afghani werewolf doesn't face Decker in a fair battle and treacherously brings a second fighter.
13	* AllThereInTheScript: The Major's name is Reyner according to the credits.
14	* BashBrothers: The American Werewolves Decker and Sobieski, not those [[Film/AnAmericanWerewolfinLondon American Werewolves]], are depicted as very close, though we never get to see them fight together before Sobieski dies.
15	* BittersweetEnding: One step from a {{Downer\|Ending}}. Decker feels tired of keeping up with humans and the non-stop FantasticRacism he faces and decides to abandon human world for good. His revenge for Sobieski [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty doesn't provide any sort of satisfaction or comfort]]. But at least he could avenge his friend and can finally do what he wants to, rather than what he's told.
16	* BodyHorror: The werewolf transformation is not pretty, with twisting bones and skin ripping off.
17	* BrainsEvilBrawnGood: Not that Decker is stupid (being a prominent user of the DeliberateInjuryGambit) but the antagonist werewolves - or at least the older one - are far more cunning, using surprise tactics and never fighting alone. And they clearly need their pragmatism, as Decker's wolf form is noticeably larger than either of the antagonists' (the young one barely reaches his shoulder and is at most half his mass) and there's no reason to think that Sobieski's isn't as large, if not more so.
18	* BulletTime: Used when Decker first dodges a bullet.
19	* CanonForeigner: The elder werewolf has no ally in the original short story.
20	* ChunkySalsaRule: Decker takes an immense amount of damage in the fight with the two werewolves and survives. Conversely the damage Decker inflicts to his opponent is pretty minor until the killing blows of biting the younger werewolf in the neck and ripping his throat out, and forcing the elder werewolf's entire head into his mouth in order to bite down on his skull.
21	* CombatPragmatist: The Afghani werewolf brings a second, younger werewolf to his fight with the American, having him lie in wait to attack Decker in the middle of his transformation.
22	* CompressedAdaptation: Some of the world building elements are missing from the original short story. Notably Decker simply assumes there's a complicated reason he and Sobieski aren't used in battle, while the short states that its considered a war crime to use Lycanthropes in combat; the two of them are explicitly enlisted to serve surveillance roles only, but Sobieski was hoping there was a chance he'd get to see battle when he enlisted anyway since the United States was one of the few countries that didn't actually sign that particular accord.
23	* CurbstompBattle: The assault by the enemy werewolves on Sobieski's unit; nobody's left alive and it's evident they were taken completely by surprise.
24	* DeliberateInjuryGambit: Decker takes a non-fatal shot from a sniper so he can figure out where the sniper is hiding, giving the rest of the squad a target to shell into oblivion. He does the same again in the fight with the two Afghani werewolves. The elder is cautious, but Decker catches the younger one off-guard when they charge in to finish off what they assume is an opponent already near death.
25	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: If you follow the interpretation that Decker and Sobieski are lovers, the way they are looked down upon by their fellow soldiers can be likened to the homophobia and discrimination against gay people in the army. One of the words they are called includes "unnatural", which is often said by those who don't support same-sex relations.
26	* FantasticRacism: The other Marines aren't too pleased to be working alongside werewolves, even officers are open in their hate.
27	* FantasticSlurs: "Dog Soldiers", an insult used by the other Marines when referring to the werewolves in their midst. This has an extra layer of an insult, since [[SeriousBusiness they are Marines, not Army]].
28	* FirstPersonPerspective: Done for the scene where Decker enters the raided camp.
29	* FullFrontalAssault: Werewolves have a tendency to run around naked, at least when expecting to transform. The original story explains that werewolves need to be naked to transform and Sobieski was easily killed off because he couldn't shed his clothes off in time.
30	* HeadbuttOfLove: Decker and Sobieski share one just before the latter leaves for his fatal mission. When Decker finds Sobieski's dead body, he repeats the gesture.
31	* HealingFactor: Werewolves can regenerate their injuries, something the other soldiers consider unnatural. In particular, Decker gets his arm stripped down to the ''bone'' in a fight, but few hours later it's just a bunch of cuts.
32	* HiddenInPlainSight: The older enemy werewolf keeps going about his life even after Sobieski's death, likely having deduced that Decker wouldn't rat him out because he wanted to kill him personally.
33	* ItsPersonal: Decker's superiors want the enemy werewolf alive, which won't do for him as they kill his best friend/only pack mate.
34	* LonelyFuneral: On his own, Decker buries Sobieski under a pile of rocks.
35	* MagicalBarefooter: The two werewolf soldiers are barefoot, in comparison to the uniforms worn by their human comrades.
36	* MilitaryScienceFiction: The episode at the very least has shades of this genre.
37	* MrFanservice: Decker's run towards the battle against the opposing werewolves is one of the few times in the anthology where male nudity (or ''any'' nudity) isn't used for {{squick}}, instead straightforwardly showcasing his toned body as he runs.
38	* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Unlike Decker, Sobieski believes in his country no matter what.
39	* OneWomanWail: The ending provides a rare male version with Rafe Pearlman's wordless singing.
40	* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: The Werewolves shown here have heightened senses of smell, hearing and sight, even in human form. Their werewolf forms are of the anthropomorphic kind; clearly wolf-looking, but they're still able to run on just their hind legs. The transformation involves, among other things, ripping off their skin, and evidently can be interrupted before it's completed.
41	* PatrioticFervor: Sobieski is clearly proud of belonging to the Marines and fighting for his country even in spite of the FantasticRacism he suffers. Decker is far more subdued and at the end abandons both entirely.
42	* PrimalPolymorphs: A major plot point; [[WorkingClassWerewolves Decker]] starts out abiding by protocol, maintaining only a few animalistic habits like travelling barefoot and occasionally voicing misgivings of the human marines' dependence on technology. However, after Sobieski is killed, Decker disobeys orders and hunts down the enemy werewolf responsible - naked and using the full extent of his powers. Once he's done, he buries Sobieski with a farewell of "see you in the wild," before deserting the marines out of disgust for their FantasticRacism, instead opting to live alone in the deserts of Afghanistan from then on.
43	* RedOniBlueOni: Sobieski and Decker, respectively. Sobieski is fun loving, cheerful and relishes being a marine; Decker is far more reserved and calm.
44	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After killing the enemy werewolves, Decker abandons the military and disappears off into the wilderness.
45	* StartingANewLife: At the end, it's made clear by his shed clothes that Decker is not just quitting service but human civilization altogether, opting to live in the wilderness.
46	* StealthPun: When Decker and Sobieski are called "Dog Soldiers," the insult actually has a few layers to it. Beyond being compared to animals such as dogs, there is the fact that US Marines ''hate'' being called soldiers (in the American military, "Soldier" refers primarily to members of the US Army; [[InterserviceRivalry the two branches tend to look down on each other.]]) Further, the preferred nickname for Marines is ''Devil Dog''.
47	* SemperFi: The central unit is a Marine Corps company or battalion, that also has werewolves.
48	* SuperSenses: The werewolves have at least heightened senses of smell, sight and hearing, even in human form.
49	* TeenyWeenie: Sobieski [[VitriolicBestBuds jokes]] that if the enemy sniper could hit a target as tiny as Decker's dick, they should be hiring him.
50	* ThisWasHisTrueForm: Werewolves revert back to their human forms upon death.
51	* TragicBromance: Decker and Sobieski, brothers in arms and fellow werewolves ostracized by the rest of their unit. After Sobieski dies, Decker avenges his death and then deserts the military.
52	* TransformationIsAFreeAction: The elder Afghani werewolf transforms without interruption. When Decker tries it, a younger Afghani werewolf attacks him before he can finish, forcing Decker to fight the younger one off before completing his transformation.
53	* VengeanceFeelsEmpty: Decker feels absolutely nothing after avenging his friend and ultimately gives up on humanity entirely.
54	* VoluntaryShapeshifting: These particular werewolves can transform at will.
55	* WolfMan: When transformed, the werewolves look bipedal and fairly humanoid.
56	* WolvesAlwaysHowlAtTheMoon: After the final fight, an exhausted Decker, in wolf form, howls at the moon.

Context Recap / LoveDeathAndRobotsShapeShifters