Upload Season 2 review: Robbie Amell and Andy Allo light up this afterlife drama

3.5/5

Story: After a brief leave of absence, Nora returns to Lakeview with an agenda and gets herself upgraded to tech support. Reunited with Nathan in the digital world, they try to piece together the puzzle that is his murder. But can they make headway given that Lakeview’s latest upgrade could reveal their plans?

Review: It’s been two years since Upload Season 1 dropped on Amazon Prime Video, so, let’s rewind a little before we get cracking on the latest seven episodes. Upload is a show set in 2033, a time where the rich can have an afterlife in digital paradise, provided their consciousness is uploaded on to a network – at a premium, of course. It follows Nathan Brown, a tech whizkid, his super-rich girlfriend Ingrid and Nora (Andy Allo), a customer-support angel at the digital afterlife, Horizen’s Lakeview, where Nathan is uploaded to following a car crash.

When we last saw Nathan, he was frozen, having run out of his downgraded 2gb plan, after breaking up with Ingrid and funding his own afterlife. Earlier in the season, Nathan and Nora had figured out that Nathan’s car crash was not accidental after all and that his murder could be connected to a software – a free version of Lakeview - he was developing with his best buddy. The mystery surrounding Nathan’s death deepens when his cousin Fran, who was looking into the suspected foul play, also dies after her self-drive car plunges into the ocean. By the end of the season, Nathan had connected some of the dots, as to why someone would want him dead, but the who evaded him.

While season one was about the technological possibilities of the future, a rom-com and murder mystery, there was also the socio-economic divide at Lakeview, depending on the amount of data one could afford. This time around the show is a lot more focused. We are still nowhere near finding not as fast as we’d hoped. And that’s because Ingrid is also in Lakeview, having uploaded herself to be with Nathan and build a future for themselves in the afterlife. We are reminded, time and again, that nothing comes for free at Lakeview, with residents charged for even basic amenities; the more upgrades you want, the more it costs. Corporate greed doesn’t end there, though. Lakeview has even been recording residents’ dreams and selling them online depending on the content.

After a fringe group’s cyber-attack on Lakeview, causing a series of glitches, they decide to step up security, which would be a serious infringement on the privacy of residents. Can Nathan and Nora team up again and prevent this, while also figuring out the whodunit in his murder case?

Season 2 made little headway as far as taking relevant plot points ahead. In a technologically-advanced world, it seems a bit strange that an anti-tech group can go around and cause disruptions without detection. But like season 1, what made this follow-up immensely watchable is the cutesy chemistry between Nathan and Nora. Robbie Amell is adorably charming, but Andy Allo steals his thunder this season. Allegra Edwards’ Ingrid also walks away with some brownie points, making us empathize with her and the reason she’s so clingy in her relationship with Nathan.

Verdict: Prime Video has not yet announced a third season, but the makers have said that it is in the works, so, hopefully we’ll get some of the answers we are looking for. In the meantime, if you are looking for something light-hearted to binge this weekend, it wouldn’t hurt to give Upload a look.