Prime Video’s original sci-fi comedy drama series Upload returns to the platform for a highly anticipated fourth and final season that seeks to wrap up the inventive series that fans have come to know and love over the last five years. From the brilliant mind of Greg Daniels comes this satire set in a version of 2033 where people can upload themselves into a virtual afterlife for the right price. After 27-year-old computer programmer Nathan Brown (Robbie Amell) is uploaded into the expensive digital afterlife community Lakeview, he struggles to navigate his mysterious premature death, intervention from his obsessive girlfriend Ingrid Kannerman (Allegra Edwards), and budding feelings for his living “Angel” handler, Nora Antony (Andy Allo). Since Season 1, a lot has gone down, but through it all, Upload has remained consistently engaging, charming, and full of heart. Will that be the case for these final four episodes, or does the title struggle to stick the landing?
Opening Shot: Nathan (Robbie Amell) and Nora (Andy Allo) are standing at an altar getting married. Despite the happy occasion, Nora is crying, but before she can say why, her simulation pauses as well-meaning intervention from Aleesha (Zainab Johnson) and Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) brings Nora back to the real world, where she finds herself alone in her dark, cluttered bedroom, struggling to accept a reality where her Nathan no longer exists.
The Gist: Upload: Season 3 ended with the major cliffhanger that one of the two Nathans was destroyed by the Lakeview-creating company formerly known as Horizen (now called Betta following a lawsuit) in an effort to get rid of all illegally duplicated uploads that they had created. This season reveals that the dead Nathan is the original one, and Nora has been a shell of herself ever since, eschewing showers or any kind of self-care in favor of remaining in the squalor of her dark room to escape to a virtual reality where she can spend time with a computer-made version of Nathan, who lacks the soul, reality, and humanity of the real man. Aleesha and Ingrid want to help shake Nora from her funk, but they struggle to evoke any sort of response or reaction from her, and grow increasingly concerned following Nora’s claims that she periodically sees and talks to Original Nathan even after his death.
While Nora grapples with her Nathan’s fate, Ingrid prepares for a future with Copy Nathan, the duplicate who is just as devoted to her as she is to him. Ingrid throws herself a somewhat pathetic bachelorette party in the real world that only consists of coworker acquaintances Lucy (Andrea Rosen), Tinsley (Mackenzie Cardwell), and Batia (Yvetta Fisher) because Nora is busy at home talking to what appears to be a ghost version of Original Nathan, and Aleesha gets held up secretly training as an agent for Oscar Mayer Intel. At the same time, Nathan’s pal, Luke (Kevin Bigley), takes it upon himself to throw Copy Nathan an epic bachelor party in the digital space, featuring an assortment of offbeat characters (including a literal advertisement for the Gordita Crunch Taco). All of this leads up to Ingrid and Copy Nathan’s wedding, which Nora brings herself to attend as Ingrid’s Maid of Honor after a reassuring call with her dad, Dave (Chris Williams), who reminds her that no matter what has happened to Nathan or any other loved ones, their souls will always live on with her.
But when it turns out that what Nora thought to be a ghost she’d been hallucinating to cope with the pain of losing her Nathan turns out to be an actual projection of Original Nathan, she has a newfound drive to get to the bottom of this mystery and save the man she loves (…and potentially all of humanity) in the process. Sounds like we’re in for a wild and wonderful ride!
What Shows Will It Remind You Of?: Upload will continue to remind many viewers of The Good Place, while also evoking how Pushing Daisies balances heartwrenching depictions of loss with earnest humor and charm, as well as the high-tech sci-fi moments of Black Mirror, plus the clever comedy of beloved fellow-Greg Daniels title The Office.
Our Take: Upload: Season 4 is the culmination of years’ worth of intricate world-building, thoughtful character writing, and clever social commentary that might be hard to fully comprehend if you’re a total newcomer to the series, but is still accessible and exciting enough to pull you in and make you want to keep watching (although you’ll probably want to start watching from Season 1, to fully appreciate it all). If you’ve already been watching Upload from the beginning, this final season should hit all the right notes as it serves as a culmination of the humor, sweetness, and storylines that have all been building up to this.
From the first episode of Season 4, it’s clear that all of the cast are here to bring their A-game, delivering dynamic, entertaining, and interesting performances that grab your attention with each and every scene. Though the story twists and turns, it’s not so unnecessarily complex that it completely loses you. Maybe it’s the influence of Greg Daniels, but Upload really does adeptly balance sitcom-style comedy and thought-provoking drama. I think that it’s this duality that sets the series apart, because even with all of the silly, farcical, and even raunchy moments that the show has, it’s also extremely heartfelt. For a show that revolves around high-tech robots and AI, Upload is, at its core, shockingly and beautifully human.
Sex and Skin: There’s a sizable Oscar Mayer version of a weiner attached to a mannequin, as well as a shot or two of a naked man without any genitals, so even if it’s not overtly obscene, there’s definitely content that’s suited for more mature audiences.
Parting Shot: Nora enters Aleesha’s living room wearing her Maid of Honor hug suit to greet a half-visible Nathan. At the sight of him, she realizes that Nathan is not a ghost, but is a projection, meaning that he’s not dead, just digital. Nathan doesn’t know exactly where he’s projecting from, but he gives enough details to give Nora hope of finding him. Talk about a cliffhanger!
Performance Worth Watching: Zainab Johnson is very charismatic and entertaining as Aleesha. She skillfully walks the line between a reality-reinforcing straight man (her reaction shots during Ingrid and Copy Nathan’s wedding were cracking me up) while still being down to clown with the more absurd elements of this series. As a result, she’s always a dynamic and engaging presence who can’t help but draw your attention whenever she’s onscreen.
Memorable Dialogue: This little exchange between Nathan’s mom, Viv (Jessica Tuck), Nora, and Ingrid really highlights the ridiculous and sad situation that Nora has found herself in as Ingrid’s Maid of Honor:
“Nora, I’m so happy youre here.”
“Oh, are you kidding? You think I’d miss the wedding of my ex’s copy and my really new friend?”
“You’re gonna make me cry!”
Our Call: Based on this episode alone, there’s definitely no shortage of shocking reveals, big laughs, and moving moments to come in Upload: Season 4, so it feels safe to say that if you’ve invested in this show thus far, you absolutely will want to see how it all ends. Come on, Upload fans, do yourselves a favor and STREAM IT!