It was good enough as a show that I binged it over two days, and kept thinking about it during that time. It was also good that they made an effort to represent different flavours of autism, and definitely to employ autistic actors. But as an autistic person, I felt mostly uncomfortable about how it was portrayed.
The actors seemed to be talented. For example there is one part where we see the characters acting as part of their drama club show. We can see a clear difference in how the characters move and speak while on stage, compared to how the actors portray the characters in their normal lives.
I also liked how some aspects were portrayed. For example when Jack gets bad news, first about getting fired at work and then about his father being sick. In both cases he reacts in a clear pattern, such as focusing on food and talking about his intended Roomba purchase. I found that very relatable. It is the sort of behaviour that in real life sometimes causes onlookers to wrongly perceive the autistic person as unfeeling. While in this show they made it more visible that it is a coping mechanism. However parts of Jack's character did not seem consistently written. For example he is mostly portrayed as obliviously rude to everyone, far more so than anyone I've met in real life, yet still aware enough of social norms to know that it is rude to ask a woman about her weight.
I liked how they chose a female character to be the one who was obsessed with losing their virginity. This seemed like a way to explore the issue, without getting sucked off into the "male autistics are all incels" stereotype.
An aspect I did not like was how prominent the neurotypical characters were in the show. From the promotional images and blurb, I'd got the impression it would be "like Friends if the characters were autistic". But it seemed more like their neurotypical carer was the main protagonist of the show. That felt a bit like bait-and-switch, although it was still good that the autistic characters had large parts.
All the autistic characters seemed to be having a lot of support. While this is true of some in the real world, not everyone does. It seemed more balanced when they had a side character who had his own job and his own place. So I was annoyed at the end when it turned out he'd been exaggerating and was instead mostly supported by his parents. This played conveniently for Violet's arc but it seemed to convey the message of "well of course none of these autistics are actually living an independent life. If they appear to be then it is probably a lie." Which is a potentially damaging representation for those of us who've been fully independent with our own responsibilities on top.
Whenever the autistic characters were interacting directly with each other, this seemed to be either illustrating that they were self-centred, a quick way to show plot-related information being shared within the group, or else portrayed in an "aww, aren't they sweet together" sort of view. That was a bit disappointing. I'd expected their relationships with each other to be more central to the show. Whereas instead all their main interactions are with NT characters.
Mandy's character seemed more flawed than how she was portrayed. It seems like most people keep telling her how saintly she is and how she has such a gift with the autistic characters. But I thought some of her behaviour was far from ideal. For example Jack comments on how her constant smiling and empty motivational phrases made him feel sick. I would agree because it came across to me as cheap and condescending. It felt like the show did not want us to agree with him though. And some things she did seemed like a breach of boundaries. For example if someone told me that I must bring a plus-one to a party, that would not be ok.
I also did not like how the show seemed to be pushing Violet into a romantic relationship with the autistic extra guy just because he was a nice guy who genuinely liked her. She explicitly said at one point that she did not feel physical attraction to him. When a minor character advised her, "I've never been on a date with a guy I didn't like", this was portrayed as clumsy and superficial, but actually it sounded like great advice to me.
The actors seemed to be talented. For example there is one part where we see the characters acting as part of their drama club show. We can see a clear difference in how the characters move and speak while on stage, compared to how the actors portray the characters in their normal lives.
I also liked how some aspects were portrayed. For example when Jack gets bad news, first about getting fired at work and then about his father being sick. In both cases he reacts in a clear pattern, such as focusing on food and talking about his intended Roomba purchase. I found that very relatable. It is the sort of behaviour that in real life sometimes causes onlookers to wrongly perceive the autistic person as unfeeling. While in this show they made it more visible that it is a coping mechanism. However parts of Jack's character did not seem consistently written. For example he is mostly portrayed as obliviously rude to everyone, far more so than anyone I've met in real life, yet still aware enough of social norms to know that it is rude to ask a woman about her weight.
I liked how they chose a female character to be the one who was obsessed with losing their virginity. This seemed like a way to explore the issue, without getting sucked off into the "male autistics are all incels" stereotype.
An aspect I did not like was how prominent the neurotypical characters were in the show. From the promotional images and blurb, I'd got the impression it would be "like Friends if the characters were autistic". But it seemed more like their neurotypical carer was the main protagonist of the show. That felt a bit like bait-and-switch, although it was still good that the autistic characters had large parts.
All the autistic characters seemed to be having a lot of support. While this is true of some in the real world, not everyone does. It seemed more balanced when they had a side character who had his own job and his own place. So I was annoyed at the end when it turned out he'd been exaggerating and was instead mostly supported by his parents. This played conveniently for Violet's arc but it seemed to convey the message of "well of course none of these autistics are actually living an independent life. If they appear to be then it is probably a lie." Which is a potentially damaging representation for those of us who've been fully independent with our own responsibilities on top.
Whenever the autistic characters were interacting directly with each other, this seemed to be either illustrating that they were self-centred, a quick way to show plot-related information being shared within the group, or else portrayed in an "aww, aren't they sweet together" sort of view. That was a bit disappointing. I'd expected their relationships with each other to be more central to the show. Whereas instead all their main interactions are with NT characters.
Mandy's character seemed more flawed than how she was portrayed. It seems like most people keep telling her how saintly she is and how she has such a gift with the autistic characters. But I thought some of her behaviour was far from ideal. For example Jack comments on how her constant smiling and empty motivational phrases made him feel sick. I would agree because it came across to me as cheap and condescending. It felt like the show did not want us to agree with him though. And some things she did seemed like a breach of boundaries. For example if someone told me that I must bring a plus-one to a party, that would not be ok.
I also did not like how the show seemed to be pushing Violet into a romantic relationship with the autistic extra guy just because he was a nice guy who genuinely liked her. She explicitly said at one point that she did not feel physical attraction to him. When a minor character advised her, "I've never been on a date with a guy I didn't like", this was portrayed as clumsy and superficial, but actually it sounded like great advice to me.