Summary: Amy and Frank meet up on a dating system but they can only date for 12 hours and the system will find their perfect match after several relationships. They click immediately and can't stop thinking about each other, even during other relationships. They are matched together again and are happy but they have a break-up. After several other empty relationships, they meet up and choose to leave the world together. They succeed and they are revealed to be a simulation. In real life, the real Frank and Amy meet and are the apparent best pairing.
The Good: This was a much better episode of the show. This episode told a lovely story which I instantly got involved in, I got invested in the characters and had emotional investment with the story which was being told. This episode's concept was absolutely brilliant. While the others this season have been pretty good, they do seem somewhat familiar when compared to previous episodes. However this episode felt entirely original, only having similarities with "San Junipero" which is certainly not a bad episode to be similar to. The concept is wonderful and seems like an examination of a futuristic Tinder of sorts which is another genius idea. I really enjoyed the one line about how difficult it must be to work out relationships on your own without the system as it demonstrated how a technology like this could become so appealing. Relationships are tough, and wouldn't it be nice to have a system which does everything for you? Well now that I've established that the concept is great, how are the characters? Well they are easily the most compelling this season (with the exception of Daly), and are very easy to like and root for. My investment in these characters was what made this episode so powerful and memorable for sure. Most of that is because of the outstanding chemistry between these 2 which was on show from the moment they met. If I didn't care about these 2 getting together in the end, this episode wouldn't have worked well at all. A lot of this episode actually doesn't feature the 2 main characters together at all. Instead it shows them in other, less successful relationships for a lengthy portion while they longed to get together. It was really good to see and I loved how both of them were put in equally terrible situations where they just longed to be with each other instead. Frank ended up with a girl who he actually loathed and was forced to put up with for a while. Amy was put with a physically attractive guy and had great sex, but the relationship had no depth to it and lacked any form of intimacy. It's easy to see why both were unhappy and the writing, colouring and cinematography was phenomenal and did well to portray the depth of their unhappiness in a very human way. On top of that, there was a ton of humour here with the various ticks of the other guy and girl which added a nice lightheartedness to the episode. The rest of the episode was really well done too. Eventually they both reconnected and continued to develop their relationship in a lovely way until Frank chooses to check the expiry date and ruins the relationship. The break-up was very sad and it's really easy to understand both sides when they got upset. The follow-up was much better though. I loved that they didn't hold a grudge against each other for what happened and instead tried to move on with their life. But what came next was incredibly lonely and depressing for the both of them as they both found more empty and meaningless relationships while they craved each other. There were some really powerful scenes here, such as the montage of Amy sitting in her room as time passes and she goes from one relationship after the other, and also the scene of Frank having sex with a girl as they both just reminisced about past relationships instead of feeling anything for each other at all. This led up to the climax where Amy and Frank immediately decide to meet with each other again and instantly kiss and embrace. They decide to rebel and leave the world they are stuck in together. This scene worked incredibly well. After everything we saw them go through, it was so satisfying to see them together again. It's such a simple and easy story, but it goes to show that with outstanding writing and a meaningful purpose, anything can become great. The decision to rebel and the realization that the world is all a simulation is so cathartic and beautifully brings the story together, making it a very successful climax which leaves no loose ends or feelings of disappointment. Let's discuss the twist though, which is MUCH better than last episode's. The realization that everything was a simulation was really satisfying and led to one of the best endings of the show so far. I love these happy endings which we seem to be getting now, and the meeting between the real Amy and Frank was a great way to end the episode. But the twist also worked as an effective way to solve the many inconsistencies with the world-building and how inefficient it seemed to be. I was ready to complain about the world-building and how weak it was, but in the end that ended up becoming a positive. With the world taking a backseat to the central relationship, I didn't think about it often and that meant that the final twist genuinely surprised me because I didn't even see it coming. And on top of that, they even subtly included some foreshadowing when Amy and Frank teased being in a simulation which I had chalked up as an easter egg to "San Junipero", but that clearly wasn't the case. I love the actual concept of the simulation too. This entire existence was a simulated version of both characters and put them in situations to test if they were perfect for each other. It essentially means that all of the bad relationships were just a test to see if Frank and Amy would keep thinking about each other while they were apart, and since they ended up rebelling and escaping together despite the system, they passed the test and the simulation suggests that they would certainly work out as a couple. The Bad: The initial boyfriend and girlfriend were a little over the top, but it's not a big problem since they were revealed to be AIs anyways. The Unknown: How does the simulation actually work? Are there just a bunch of AIs or are these actually other simulations going on at the same time? Is it a different world for each couple that is being simulated or is it the same one? What happens if the match is a failure? Best Moment: There were a lot of really good scenes, but the stand-out was definitely the reunion of Amy and Frank at the end of the episode. Character of the Episode: Tough to choose so I'll go with both Amy and Frank since they are better together than they are apart. Yeah I'm cheating, but it's my review so deal with it. Conclusion: This was easily the best episode of the season which was lighthearted, well-written and very easy to enjoy. This episode worked on pretty much every level and left me with no complaints even with its simplistic storyline. Score: 73
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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