Robbie Amell and his abs returned for another season. The show continued to point out his amazing body as much as they could as well, not just me! The sci-fi, comedy-drama and mystery series came back with more antics and answers to Nathan’s death—along with the true scheme behind Horizen’s upper management objectives.
Amazon Prime Video’s alleged number one comedy show, Upload season three, kicked off right where it ended in season 2, with Nathan getting his uploaded-self downloaded to a physical body—despite having the risk of his head exploding. This season began with a lot of Nathan figuring out how to live in the real world again, but at least he could now be with Nora (Andy Allo) physically. The two investigated more into Horizen and Freeyond while working out the kinks in their rocky relationship.
Ingrid struggled to let go of her obsession with being with Nathan forever. Meanwhile, Luke also had to deal with his abandonment of Nathan, who was now being downloaded, as well as having money problems that led him to work in the Grey Zone. However, the actions of intern Tinsley, who uploads a backup version of Nathan back into the digital world of Lakeview, quickly seep into the lives of the Lakeview crew. You can probably guess how problematic two Nathans can be.
“The best part of the series as a whole is always going to be the satirical jokes on AI, brand sponsorships and technological capabilities in general.”
As for Aleesha and Lucy, they have both continued to run the upload department of the Angel services. All through this season, Aleesha has had to learn the ropes of moving into a more managerial position, which has had its perks and greater responsibilities. Aleesha has also gained a love interest to add to the worries of her already busy life. The big bad CEO of Horizen, David Choak, continued his efforts to stop Nathan and Nora from finding out the truth and from shutting down Horizen.
I thought this was a nice buffer season for Upload (pun intended) because it did not introduce many new, grand plots. It seemed like it was more of a setup season for a disastrous season 4. The CGI and VFX work in the show still held up when it needed. I felt like some of the environments may have even used an XR stage or LED volume to capture some digitized moments…or it was typical blue screen work. Either way, it looked fairly flawless.
The best part of the series as a whole is always going to be the satirical jokes on AI, brand sponsorships and technological capabilities in general. Imagine a world where Intel ran dairy farms, Lady Gaga partnered with Balenciaga, or Justin Bieber collaborated with Reebok. Upload eliminates those “what ifs” and brings it to life in the funniest way possible. They gave some funny collab names too, such as “Snoop Diorgg,” “Balenciaga Gaga,” and “Comme de Fieri.”
I thought this was a nice buffer for Upload (pun intended) because it did not introduce many new, grand plots.”
While I thought this season of Upload was a little filler-y for the main plot, it still entertained me with a lot of shenanigans—especially having two Nathans roaming about. It gave me a little vibe of Gemini Man, or They Cloned Tyrone. The world rules just felt really fleshed out, and anything newly referenced just made me giggle to see—like ginormous cows with VR headsets that laze around to get milked by farmers. And it just makes sense to me. Do not even try to guess the context.
I thought the charm of each main character was fully realized this season, as we got to see them struggle to achieve their goals and overcome numerous hurdles along the way. The character development was really nice to see, even for someone as infuriating as Ingrid. I really thought she was going to be annoying again this season, but she has some moments that made me re-think her caricature of the dumb, rich blonde.
By the end of the season, I felt like it made sense with the direction it went for everyone. It really showed me how Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation) really thought about the structure and storylines leading to the finale. But he really perfected how to sprinkle in some whimsical moments, especially with the fake tech introduced throughout the series. While I thought this season was on the slower side of advancing the plot to even more detrimental stakes, I found the side characters had more time to shine this season too, especially Luke.
The things Luke gets into…let us just say he may or may not have worn something resembling Leia Skywalker’s Jabba’s Palace outfit in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Again, who needs the context? Even Aleesha got a lot more screen time this season as she was mostly separated from the core crew most of the time since she was in a different role at Horizen. Fans of the show can expect countless comparisons to our current world, as the previous seasons have done. But I would say some of the references will be portrayed so ridiculously.
The show continued to show off interesting technologies like a 3-D printed ham, and really knows how to make fun of our current society. They referenced a University of TikTok degree and I facepalmed so hard. But it still made me laugh. Amell’s acting chops really shone this season, with him having to play two Nathans. As for how long this clone double act lasted, you will just have to watch and see. The new season of Upload begins on October 20, 2023, with a two-episode premiere you will not want to miss. It may not be as good of a mystery show as Only Murders in the Building, but definitely check it out to see how Nathan and the others’ stories expand and uncover more Horizen secrets.
