Upload Season 3 Episodes 5 and 6: Rescue Mission / Memory Crackers
Upload Season 3 Episode 5, “Rescue Mission,” and Upload Season 3 Episode 6, “Memory Crackers,” are entertaining episodes. They provide a lot of laughs, but the more you think about the events that happen, the more things don’t quite work.
The show is unable to deliver a solid, season-long mystery/arc. The wheels just fall off the wagon when Upload tries, and perhaps it is because it is trying to stretch a conspiracy through multiple seasons when it should’ve been wrapped up a while ago.
On top of that, the big bad is corporate greed. Is it horrible and a real-world problem? Yes. However, it’s not a compelling enemy for our characters to be up against.
Aside from the moment where Ingrid’s father says he wished she died in that car too, you don’t have any feelings about Choak and his minions. You want them to fail, and also for us to move on a bit because this fight is getting old.
The pacing of “Rescue Mission” and “Memory Crackers” is a mess. There’s no nice way to say it.
We jump into Nora’s kidnapping without any build-up. All of a sudden Aleesha is questioning her, and we learn Karina identified Nora as a security risk. Karina went from a new person we’d never met to all of a sudden being very involved in so many things.
Horizen investigating Nora could’ve been a side storyline happening for a couple of episodes before things escalated to this point.
It could have created some tension for the audience as we worry about whether or not something bad will happen to her. If Aleesha had been involved or aware of it earlier, then it could have been some great moments where she had to choose between loyalty and love for her friend (whose been distant recently) and her job.
Instead, we get a brief fakeout of Nora being dead, and then post interrogation, Nora wakes up on a bench, and we move on like it didn’t happen. We could’ve gotten some scenes with Aleesha and Karina afterward like Aleesha asking more questions about why Nora was identified as a risk.
Another instance of this is with the AI guy learning to navigate New York City. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a highly entertaining and hilarious storyline, but it’s quickly abandoned.
The AI is just wandering around the city without any way for Horizen to track him, but we’ve got to pivot to the whole Nora interrogation situation, so who cares what happens there. And then there’s the question of whether or not that AI made it out of the gray zone or not.
Stray Thoughts
- I can’t decide if Luke having a stomach ache is nonconsequential or if something is going to come out of it.
- Princess Leia Luke is a sight to behold.
- Ingrid and Nathan getting drunk is so good. I love seeing them interact and being reminded of their chemistry.
- Luke has been severely underutilized this season.
What did you think of these episodes of Upload? Any theories on what is to come in the final two episodes? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Two new episodes of Upload release every Friday on Prime Video.
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Allison Nichols
Allison is in a love affair with television that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Slightly damaged fictional characters are her weakness. She loves to spend her free time curled up with a cat and a show to binge-watch. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved critic (Rotten Tomatoes).