Upload was a big surprise when it arrived on Amazon, some 2 years ago now. Of course there has been this minor pandemic in the way, so I won’t begrudge them too much. But giving us only 7 episodes, come on Amazon! You have all the money, give us moar! As you can tell, I really enjoyed season 2, almost as much as season 1, the review of which you can see below:
That was season 1, what about Upload season 2?
The season starts off a few weeks after season 1 ends, but sadly doesn’t capitalize on HOW it finished. The ending of season 1 was heartbreaking. It was something I had never seen before. To the point where I kept talking about it! It was smart writing and left us wanting to see exactly what happened next. We got that, kindda…
Instead we have Nathan (charmingly played by Robbie Amell) and Nora (Andy Allo) getting on with their own lives for the first half of the season. Of course there is the whole ‘we’re pining’ thing that happens. But it’s done in a very ‘cliched’ way. As I said, the ending of season 1 was superb, and new. This romance stuff in season 2, wasn’t. That doesn’t mean it was bad, it just wasn’t as GOOD. You dig!?
In season 2 Nora falls in with the hippy crowd who hate all things tech, which is the main plot of the season. Nathan, in virtual space, spends most of the season playing silly buggers and trying to fend of stunning fiance Ingrid (Allegra Edwards), who has apparently also uploaded.
As the show has already set the parameters of the world, not much comes as a big surprise. The virtual world still has its zany and whacky stuff going on. You can buy virtual babies, who all look like the ginger A.I (for some reason). There is a poker tournament, a crazy dinner party and a whole manner of oddities that only virtual space will allow. And it’s a blast, all of it!
The one thing which they failed to capitalise on was the exploration of selling the uploaded citizens dreams. An entire episode looks at how this is an invasion of privacy, but then sweeps it under the rug. One moment you have this idea that people’s own dreams are posted to Pornhub without their consent, then it’s forgotten for the next laugh.
Upload sideckicks
Owen Daniels as the ginger A.I Guy is brilliant. He plays so many different characters he must have had a blast! Including… a bunch of babies. Kevin Bingely is also great as Nathan’s sidekick and is given a lot more airtime. Zainab Johnson as Aleesha also seems to have a blast as a corporate drone.
It’s a solid season, with a very obvious season 3 cliffhanger. I like the direction of where the story is going and how it deals with topics like the top 1%ers. It also looks at what it means to ‘do the right thing’. Doing something just because you BELIVE in it, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing. The growth of Ingrid was also really well done and will have huge ramifications of further seasons.
I just felt that it hurried over some of the more interesting ideas that they presented. I’ll give them the benefit of COVID as an excuse, and look forward to season 3!
All the series and all the movies couldn't put society back together again.