With just four episodes, Upload has wrapped up with its fourth and final season. Since the beginning, it’s felt like this quirky sci-fi rom-com was The Little Engine That Could. It’s funny, clever, and full of heart, but it stands in the shadow of Prime Video’s bigger releases and has never fully had its time in the sun. So it may have been a surprise to some viewers when this series got to have its ending and wrap up the story neatly, after ending each season on a progressively more intense cliffhanger. However, despite offering a delightfully original story that often hits the nail right on the head when it comes to satirizing a digital near-future, Season 4 of Upload misses the mark in its final moments and fails to give the story a satisfying ending — especially for its most endearing characters.

Nathan (Robbie Amell) looking at another version of himself in a Horizen lab in Upload Season 4
Image via Prime Video

One of the things that Upload has always managed to do is clever and hilarious satire. From turning Thanksgiving into a capitalist holiday sponsored by a company rather than the spirit of giving thanks to allowing the rich to upload themselves into a digital paradise so they can essentially live forever, the series has never lacked in sharp social commentary. The fact that the series is produced by one of the companies that could arguably bring about this grim future just adds to the pile of irony. However, Season 4 can’t deliver the same new ideas. While previous seasons comfortably blended the drama and romance of the series with its more fantastical elements, the show struggles to find a balance between the two this time around. Now, in the final stretch, the show has abandoned some of its best jokes about the dangers of technology and the surveillance and capitalist state that the characters live in, and has chosen to add some extra levels of personal conflict to wrap the story up neatly. The unfortunate part is, what made Upload so good was this element. A rom-com is good, but when it’s wrapped in the package of Upload, that’s what makes it so much better. Other than gerbil-driving cars — which apparently are safer than self-driving cars — and a vindictive and snooty A.I., the season lacks the hallmark that made the show unique. And without that aspect, the flaws of its dramatic writing become far more obvious.
‘Upload’ Season 4 Doesn’t Give Nathan and Nora Nearly Enough Time Together

Nora (Andy Allo), Aleesha (Zainab Johnson), and Ivan (Josh Banday) sitting in front of a screen and looking at it in surprise in Upload Season 4
Image via Prime Video

The main issue when it comes to the emotional side of Upload is the fact that the season is a bit too scattered. Adding a second Nathan (Robbie Amell) creates another major problem for Nora (Andy Allo) to solve, rather than wrapping up the conflict with the dangerous Horizen company. Instead, the Nathan we do get is wrapped up in a story with Ingrid (Allegra Edwards), and while Ingrid and other Nathan’s storyline is sweet, it really pales in comparison to Nathan and Nora. It’s not made much better by the fact that Amell and Allo have far more romantic chemistry together. In fact, the season as a whole doesn’t spend enough time with Nora, the character we first started with, and our protagonist. Much of the time is spent with other Nathan and his best friend, Luke (Kevin Bigley), or Ingrid, or even their new roommate Ivan (Josh Banday). Aleesha (Zainab Johnson) also has a significant upgrade to her screen time, but her storyline falls flat toward the end, given a bizarrely unrealistic ending — even in a world as surreal as the one in Upload. Part of the charm of Upload was that even in a messed-up world where everything is monetized, everything is commodified, connection is shallow, Nora and Nathan found each other. A dead man and his angel. They were the secret ingredient to making Upload the delight it was. Season 4 not only plunges them into depression, but their storyline largely exists outside of the main plot. As a result, much of it is emotionally heavy but not impactful. Some of the best scenes of the past are of Nora and Nathan working together to take down Horizen or expose some plot. It feels like the show has forgotten that Nathan was an extremely talented programmer and instead has filled his role with Aleesha, who, in turn, has become the character connected the most to Horizen. As a result, Aleesha is involved with the main conflict, but the rest of her character gets swept to the side.
The Cast’s Performances Save ‘Upload’ Season 4

Like always, what is really highlighted in the show are the performances. Aleesha, Ingrid, and Nora grow closer together, and Johnson, Edwards, and Allo have fantastic chemistry together as friends and allies. It’s been a long road to get here, but it’s earned. It’s a bit of a low bar to clear to ask that stories let women be friends rather than pitting them against each other, and after the events of Season 3, it felt like this would be a distinct possibility, especially with Nora and Ingrid. However, the show does this one thing very right, and Ingrid’s development is easily one of the strongest of the show. Robbie Amell, who does double duty this season as two similar-but-different versions of Nathan is as charismatic as ever. The two versions of the character remind us of Nathan’s growth, and although other Nathan is far less complex than the one we’ve come to know and love, Amell’s comedic chemistry with Edwards is winning. On the flip side, when Amell embodies the more enlightened Nathan who has fallen head-over-heels in love with Nora, we can see the deeply complex man he’s become thanks to his experiences at Lakeview and beyond. Amell really excels at being a romantic lead, and never has it been more obvious than in this season.
‘Upload’ Ends by Returning to the Status Quo — and That’s a Bad Thing

Ultimately, the greatest crime of Season 4 is how, by the end, we’re back at the beginning of the story. The characters who were alone at the start of the show are still alone, and the characters who were together have come back together and gotten their happy ending. It’s a disappointing ending, one that teases hope but leaves a bittersweet taste behind. The fact that the only two women of color in the cast seemingly get the short end of the stick romantically results in an even fouler taste. Even more peculiar, rather than taking the universe in a more realistic angle when it comes to the technology, Upload opts for a fairytale ending on that front. There’s no grand message, no big lesson learned. It straddles an awkward line between not delivering the justice that characters deserve and also neglecting to actually give all the characters a happy and fulfilling ending. The season dallies around its main overarching plot, which is disjointed and more like an epilogue of Season 3 rather than a singular season on its own. The season is the shortest to date; although each episode is an hour, the time is not used well. There wasn’t enough time to introduce the new villainous A.I., and it also felt like there was too much time spent on it. Owen Daniels, who plays A.I. Guy, is a surprising breakout from this show, and he does the best with what he is given, playing the most different versions of this silly A.I. Guy character yet. But it seems on the front of A.I., Upload doesn’t know how to thread the satirical needle properly. Perhaps it is because the reality of A.I. is too close and hits a bit too close to home, or perhaps it’s an attempt to see the bright side of things in a time when everything seems bleak. It isn’t clear. What is clear is that Upload was a brilliant show with some of the quietly most clever satirical jokes, but it still stumbles on its way to the finish line, resulting in a disappointing ending in the wake of an entertaining and unique show. Upload Season 4 premieres August 25 on Prime Video.

Upload

Upload Season 4 lacks the same sort of sharp, funny satire and flops when it comes to the rom-com element of the series, delivering a lackluster finale to a unique show.

Release Date

2020 – 2025

Network

Prime Video

Directors

Jeffrey Blitz, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Daina Reid, David Rogers, Sarah Boyd, Jonathan van Tulleken, Tom Marshall

Pros & Cons

The performances that made the show so fantastic are still top tier, with Robbie Amell shining as a romantic lead.

Season 4 lacks the same type of excitement and innovation that the previous seasons have, feeling more like an epilogue rather than its own chapter.
The ending of the series feels unsatisfactory and is bittersweet, as it clings to hope but doesn’t give it to the audience.