The good news is that Upload’s last two episodes—7 and 8—of season 3 were chock-full of information, but the bad news is that the season is now officially over and we’ve been left on quite a major cliffhanger.
Notice – this review contains spoilers from the episode.
In retrospect, I guess no one should’ve really counted on the existence of two Nathan’s as a permanent solution in a love triangle. It was the ideal outcome given that both Nora and Ingrid are essentially in love with the same man, but since when is love ever easy? Two Nathan’s was the dream, but reality quickly stomped on it, which isn’t surprising considering the series hinges on Nora and Nathan’s quest to take down Horizen, or, at the very least, hold them accountable for everything that went down with Freeyond and both Nathan’s are the sole property of Horizen. It was only a matter of time before they found out and course-corrected.
In Nathan and Nora’s plan to seek out justice and get uploads basic human rights—because, as Ingrid testified in court, the “person simulations” are people, not products—they also made themselves targets.
The good fight came at the expense of both Nathan’s existence as Horizen got wind of the very fact that illegal copies were being made and then decided to put an end to it. In the final moments of the episode, Nora, Ingrid, and Nathan’s mother get a call from the only man they’ve all ever cared about, and he confirms the sad news that they destroyed one of the Nathan’s…. which leads Nora to ask the million dollar question—which one? It’s the cliffhanger that has the potential to change everything for one of the women, as the finale saw them both getting engaged to their respective Nathan’s.
It makes sense to destroy the copy of Nathan since he’s not the original, which means that Ingrid has now lost the man of her dreams permanently after getting a real shot at happiness, the kind of happiness she’s always ever wanted with him. She no longer has to chase him as he’s now fully in love with her as well. Copy Nathan chose Ingrid over Nora and accepted her, flaws and all.
And if that’s the case, it’s unclear where the OG Nathan actually is. Did they re-upload him? Is he being held in their warehouse somewhere? Does Karina have her paws on him?
One of the bigger developments from the episode came when Holden’s key witness in the trial against Freeyond turned out to be the doctor who gave Nathan the fake gas pills. And the reason the pills were basically a placebo is because Nathan never needed them in the first place. It was revealed that the doctor took a bribe to sabotage the first download so that the digital afterlife services, including Freeyond, could thrive, but he was now a liability, so they took him out before he could even testify to all the shady things he’d been made privy too.
However, it also proved that Nathan wasn’t in any real danger and the nosebleeds were just that—nosebleeds. He didn’t have to reupload to the digital afterlife and could, instead, have a happy and beautiful human life with Nora.
The only problem is that he technically wasn’t a human. Remember how I said both Nathan’s are Horizen property? Well, that’s still the case even after the download, so with the current laws—that they were aiming to change—he couldn’t legally become a legitimate person.
Just when you think Nora and Nathan caught a break, the other foot seems to drop.
Regardless, I’m pleased that the series found a way to recapture the magic between the couple, proving that even when dealing with all these external situations and factors, they are still determined to make their love work. They know that it isn’t always going to be rainbows and sunshine, but the fact that they have been given the chance to be together is enough—though that doesn’t mean they should stop dreaming of Montreal!
Aleesha wrestled with whether or not she could turn a blind eye to Karina’s shadiness, eventually realizing that the bad outweighed the good. It’s so nice to have Aleesha back on the right side! She risked it all by teaming up with Luke to dig up some incriminating information on Karina’s laptop, fully knowing that she wouldn’t just lose her job, she could lose her life as Karina doesn’t seem above killing those who pose a threat to her.
Aleesha and Luke make the best duo, and their friendship—and possibly more—is something to be envied. Through their efforts, Aleesha was able to send over plenty of dirt to Nora, which helped in the trial against Freeyond.
The victory, which included winning millions for the families of all of Freeyond’s victims, wasn’t all that they hoped, however, as it meant that all the incriminating records would be sealed and their public takedown of the company wouldn’t happen. The world would never know just how horrible and corrupt Horizen/Freeyond actually was, including us as it was never revealed what was in those documents—though I’m hoping we get to find out eventually.
The problem was that Nora and Nathan didn’t fully understand what they were signing up for. They wanted revenge and justice at any cost, and so they invested everything into helping Holden’s case.
But their goals were never aligned. Holden had no vested interest in bringing down Horizen and exposing them, she was looking for a payout for her clients, which she achieved. She was never there to represent the uploads.
Following the lawsuit, Horizen did what they had to do to save face and they rebranded to Betta, promising a better experience to shareholders, employees, and members, but behind the scenes, the whole facade was crumbling as Horizen was on fire. And we can’t forget Workload, the perk of spending your afterlife working—proving that the bill successfully passed even after being exposed.
It’s unclear if there even is a version of Horizen in existence anymore—but that’s a problem for season 4 to tackle. Are you listening, Prime Video? We need more!
One of the highlights of the season was definitely the character development between Ingrid and Nora. Ingrid’s jealousy always clouded her judgment of Norma, but once she walked a mile in her shoes, she realized that she’d been judging her unfairly. They actually had quite a lot in common.
Ingrid and Nora went from despising each other to sharing heartfelt hugs while talking through their relationship woes with their respective Nathan’s. Look how far they’ve come!
And now, with one Nathan eliminated and another Nathan being held hostage somewhere, they only have one another to lean on, which I’m hoping will deepen their bond rather than destroy it and re-infuse it with jealousy.
No one understands the dangers and unethical practices of Horizen like Nora and Ingrid, so they are in a unique position to do something about it. They simply have to be willing to risk it all…. if there’s even more left to risk.
We also don’t know what happened to Aleesha as last we saw, she was being summoned to Karina’s office. One can only assume that she pinpointed Aleesha as the actual whistleblower, but will she attempt to destroy her?
Is Luke ok? Is the AI guy—all versions of him—going to exist still?
It wasn’t the strongest season as things did get pretty messy at times, but the unhinged nature of the show is what makes it stand out and keeps drawing us in. At its core, it’s just a show about people wanting to do right by others and ensuring equality for all while holding corporations accountable. Aren’t you glad nothing has changed in 2030?
Is anyone even concerned about what happened to Choak? The secret is going to end Ivan.
What’s Nora and Ingrid’s next move? How can they find Nathan now that everyone is on the outs with Horizen and their covers are blown?
Will Nathan get to finish what he started by creating his version of Freeyond that actually helps people?
Can they get the other Nathan back? Horizen has so much control, they can pretty much do anything they want, but it also means that there’s a possibility that backup Nathan was, well, backed up somewhere.
What did you think of Upload Season 3?
Upload Season 3 Episode 5 and 6 Review – Rescue Mission & Memory Crackers