Upload: Season 3 Review
By Sioph LealUpload is back and picks up with freshly downloaded Nathan (Robbie Amell), who is trying to save millions of lives and his own from Freeyond and have a real life with Nora (Andy Allo), but he is worried it is just a matter of time before his head explodes. Giving up the luxurious afterlife of Lakeview, Nathan left behind an afterlife of luxury and friends to save others, but his presence is still felt in the form of a copy. So now we have a Downloaded Nathan and a Copy Nathan to navigate through the real world and the digital afterlife.
In the first season, we saw the first download attempt and the gruesome result, so you wait to see if it will happen to Download Nathan. The show teases you throughout the eight-episode run that it will happen to him, and Amell navigates this complexity with Nathan while keeping the humour and charm that has thrived with the series. It is the most compelling part of the season and creates a new layer of possibilities when more is revealed about Downloading and the aftereffects.
Downloading and saving people from Freeyond is the driving force of the season in the real world, but the horrors of Freeyond are also instantly shown. What is interesting about this season, and what gives it a different tone from the rest, is that it is more about dealing with what comes next. After Freeyond kills people, they plan to destroy their hard drives, destroying people's hopes of an afterlife. Instead of focusing on himself and his relationship with Nora, Nathan chooses to reunite the fresh uploads with their families. He is a complex character, but we see a new side to him this time, one that will stand up for others and put his own needs on the backburner. Unfortunately, the charming relationship between Nathan and Nora loses some spark in the first half of the season as they navigate the reality from the virtual reality. Part of this is with the plot and seeing what comes after, but they are constantly on the move for their cause and barely have time for each other, but it works. They still have that connection; it’s just different outside of Lakeview.
We don’t spend much time in Lakeview, which is a shame, and when we do, the strengths lie in Luke (Kevin Bigley) struggling with his finances to keep his residency in Lakeview, the new AI (Owen Daniels), who wants to learn to be more human, and the promoted again Aleesha (Zainab Johnson). They learn to be more human (in good ways and bad), but they can easily be the comedic highlight of the season.
While Nathan’s segments provide a serious tone, Lakeview provides the levity and culminates in a good balance. Despite being against AI in the real world, AI Guy is a fantastic character, and learning to be more human provides new opportunities for humour in the series. Still in Lakeview is Ingrid (Allegra Edwards), who finally comes clean to Copy Nathan and reveals she has not been uploaded. They are finally honest and vulnerable with each other, but it is still Ingrid, and there is still some deception, but she overcomes it and even stands up for Nora against her coworkers, which is empowering for both characters. One thing that works well for this series is that there is no bitterness or cattiness between Nora and Ingrid. Ingrid remains insecure about Nora’s relationship with both Nathan’s but ends up standing up for Nora and giving her some power.
Just when things appear to be stale, Upload freshens things up by introducing Nathan and Copy Nathan in a hilarious quest to save Luke from his own actions. While they are the same person, both are at different stages of their afterlives and relationships and have different goals, which sets up a nice contrast.
Newest addition Karina Silva (Jeanine Mason), the charming senior executive at Horizen, gives the season a much-needed villain, but her role could have been expanded had she been introduced at the beginning of the season. She is a brilliant mix of appealing and dangerous that will serve well in the upcoming seasons.
This season of Upload finds its balance as it steps away from Lakeview and ventures into the real world. The serious themes balance well with the humour, but it is AI Guy who keeps things funny. It holds up to past seasons and sets up interesting prospects for the future.