I can understand why Netflix’s Uglies made some of its big changes from the book, but there’s one alteration I’m just not buying. The sci-fi film is based on the 2005 book of the same name by author Scott Westerfeld, which was followed up by two direct sequels, Pretties and Specials. This was a series that I read as a teenager, and I’ve been anxious to see it adapted to the screen ever since. While no movie ever stacks up to the book, I was overall pleased. Still, I’m a little annoyed with one Uglies change that feels entirely unnecessary—and even harms the overarching purpose of the story.
Perhaps the biggest change Netflix made to Uglies was Peris and the agents of Special Circumstances—but I at least understand why this was necessary. Peris never became a Special in the book, and he certainly didn’t fall from a dam to his death. Additionally, Specials were never presented as mindless soldiers in Westerfeld’s Uglies series. Their goal was always to protect the planet from humanity’s ugly ways. Still, there is no guarantee that the Uglies movie would get a sequel, and changing Peris’ story helped shape the film into a one-off. But the change to the white tiger orchids is a different matter.
The Uglies Movie Making The White Tiger Orchid An Energy Source Makes No Sense
I Don’t Understand The Justification For This Change
My first instance of surprise when watching the Uglies movie came during the opening sequence, when Joey King’s Tally explained that, following the collapse of civilization, a genetically engineered flower called the white tiger orchid was developed as a form of clean, renewable energy. While this flower existed in the books, it was never a source of energy—it was just a genetically altered flower that became an invasive species. It had been created by the Rusties (humans from our era), and the cities of Tally’s time were fighting a constant battle to keep the “white weed” from destroying the ecosystem.
The white weed represented humans in the
Uglies
book, capable of beauty but a “disease” to the planet.
Netflix’s Uglies saw Tally similarly learn that the white tiger orchid was destroying the environment, but the fact that this flower was currently in use by Tally’s city as a form of energy completely defeats the purpose of the series’ overarching theme. In the books, Dr. Cable believes with all her heart that if humans aren’t controlled through the Pretty lesions, they will destroy the world. Special Circumstances’ primary goal is to protect the planet—they just go about it all the wrong ways. This can’t be true in the Uglies movie since Dr. Cable and Tally’s city is actively destroying the planet but doesn’t care.
Netflix’s White Weed Change Simplifies The Moral Conflict Of Uglies
The Uglies Movie Shot Down Its Own Point
My primary frustration with Netflix’s white-weed change is its needlessness. The news that Tally’s city is actively destroying the environment is used to reinforce the idea that Dr. Cable was lying to everyone, but there were already plenty of ways that this was true—the news that the Pretty operation was a cover-up for giving everyone brain damage was more than enough. Now, by laying it on too thick, Netflix’s Uglies eliminated the moral dilemma presented by Westerfeld’s book, which was the most compelling aspect of the whole series.
Netflix created a clear-cut, right vs. wrong story when there was really no reason that the more interesting moral conflict of Tally’s story had to be cut.
In the Uglies books, Tally struggles with two contradictory ideas. On the one hand, she knows that humanity nearly destroyed the world because of greed and wars, and things got exponentially better for the environment once everyone started getting the lesions. However, Tally also knows that forcefully damaging people’s brains to control them is wrong. In the end, when the Smokies successfully spread the cure around the world, Tally is never entirely confident that she did the right thing. She knows that a freed humanity will go right back to destroying the planet.
Through this moral dilemma, Uglies presents a lot of compelling ideas. It’s a nuanced story that I have loved for nearly 20 years. Unfortunately, a change as simple as the white tiger orchid somewhat dumbs down Tally’s story. Dr. Cable and the government no longer have any justification for what they are doing since their “clean” energy source is still destroying the planet. Netflix created a clear-cut, right vs. wrong story when there was really no reason that the more interesting moral conflict of Tally’s story had to be cut.
Netflix’s Uglies Changes Make A Sequel More Difficult
Westerfeld’s Uglies book is what first presents the moral dilemma that Tally finds herself in, but the sequels Pretties and Specials are what really dived into the mess. Every time the city alters Tally’s brain, she gets increasingly confused about what is right and wrong. Since Netflix’s movie made Tally’s city “wrong,” cut and dry, there isn’t as much left to explore anymore. I still hope to see a Pretties and Specials movie become a reality. However, I fear they will be harder to pull off in the same way now that Uglies made such a needless change.
