This is a fascinating series of vignettes --each about 15 minutes in length --- that tell the story of a teenaged "girl" named Aisha who discovers by happenstance that she is actually an android. Her "mother" is her literal creator. Her "father" is an academic. He was introduced to her as the daughter of that "single mother." He had discovered earlier, and quite traumatically, that the teen is not a human (some episodes are flashbacks to years past to provide context, so they are not chronological). Due to the loss of his own human daughter, he had developed a bond with Aisha and intentionally formed a family with her and her mother. The first episode starts with the three of them as a family unit residing in Merced, California and Aisha in high school. The layers are then peeled away. We later learn that her program has been wiped clean several times and reset over the years. Unsettling!
It's interesting that the droid's programming is reflective of her human age -- a teen around 15/16 y.o. -- and this limit is what causes the chaos to snowball. She's not Mr. Spock, full of logic and decisiveness and self-reflection, she acts and thinks like a teenager, with all of the angst, anxiety, and frustration that accompanies this age. She does not view herself as a droid, and she gets pretty irate when treated otherwise! We see her have what appears to be true friendships and a sweet love with her father. We see her sexual awakening. We see her manipulate her mother into over-riding the administrative controls that limit her behaviors and movements (in a stroke of genius). The final episodes show her on the run. I thought to myself, well, this can't be good!
The show is thought-provoking. As a parent, I had some uncomfortable moments --- but try to let that wash over you, embrace the awkward and weird! I am looking forward to Season 2!
It's interesting that the droid's programming is reflective of her human age -- a teen around 15/16 y.o. -- and this limit is what causes the chaos to snowball. She's not Mr. Spock, full of logic and decisiveness and self-reflection, she acts and thinks like a teenager, with all of the angst, anxiety, and frustration that accompanies this age. She does not view herself as a droid, and she gets pretty irate when treated otherwise! We see her have what appears to be true friendships and a sweet love with her father. We see her sexual awakening. We see her manipulate her mother into over-riding the administrative controls that limit her behaviors and movements (in a stroke of genius). The final episodes show her on the run. I thought to myself, well, this can't be good!
The show is thought-provoking. As a parent, I had some uncomfortable moments --- but try to let that wash over you, embrace the awkward and weird! I am looking forward to Season 2!