Sunny Review: He’s in Refrigerators / Don’t Blame the Machine (Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2)

Sunny Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2, “He’s in Refrigerators” and “Don’t Blame the Machine,” lays the groundwork for an intriguing, darkly comedic mystery, with a strong performance from Rashida Jones. It’s not a perfect debut, but it’s entertaining and narratively enticing enough so viewers stick around to watch the season unfold. 

All Is Not Sunny 

At the center of “He’s in Refrigerators” and “Don’t Blame the Machine” is grief. It’s what grounds this realistically futuristic story. Rashida Jones is our anchor, delivering a nuanced, messy performance as Suzie. She makes Suzie profoundly relatable in her grieving. 

We see Suzie experience a few sides of grief we seldom see on TV: anger, weariness, and numbness. Jones’s portrayal digs deep into all the colors and facets of the grief process. It’s incredibly truthful and resonant in that regard. 

It’s A24, Baby

A24’s trademark style is all over Sunny. The series runs the genre gamut, from horror and dark comedy to sci-fi thriller and drama. This amalgam of genres works well for the show’s tone and has a nice balance throughout.

Pacing-wise, “He’s in Refrigerators” and “Don’t Blame the Machine” move steadily, if somewhat slowly, to establish this world and Suzie fully. The show also cleverly tackles relevant themes like AI and our increasing reliance on it. With AI gaining sentience and homicidal homebots wreaking havoc in this world, could this spell humanity’s downfall? 

It’s a rational fear to have and one we collectively face as AI moves center stage in our reality. As for other themes, episode two, in particular, addresses loneliness versus being alone and how different both are. Suzie moves to Japan to live like a hermit, but we as humans need connection, whether we realize it or not. 

The double-episode premiere also dissects our relationship with technology in the face of such loneliness — how we use social media as an adequate substitute for human connection. It’s effective and poignant. 

More Questions Than Answers 

“He’s in Refrigerators” and “Don’t Blame the Machine” raise plenty of questions regarding the overarching narrative and Suzie’s place in it. Who is watching Suzie? What really happened to Masa and Zen?

Furthermore, why did Masa lie about his job? Why did he seemingly create a homebot perfectly tailored to Suzie, complete with his mannerisms? Was Sunny the bot who murdered that man at the beginning? What does that fox symbol mean? 

Sunny presents said questions in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the viewer. Instead, it sprinkles them intermittently throughout as Suzie pieces together what she knows — or thinks she knows — about her (late?) husband. 

Other Performances 

Besides Jones, Joanna Sotomura delivers a fun vocal performance as the titular homebot, Sunny. Her voice is equal parts upbeat and sympathetic. Yet, there’s certainly room for more colors and “emotional” ebbs and flows as the season progresses, especially if she killed that man in the pilot’s opening minutes. 

Hidetoshi Nishijima is charming as hell as Masa. He maintains an enigmatic status while coming across as a charismatic, funny, and sweet man. 

Overall, Sunny delivers a solid debut, with dynamic performances from the core cast (especially Rashida Jones), a compelling mystery, rich in-world mythology, and a moving meditation on grief. Here’s to seeing where this ride takes us, and here’s to Suzie’s new bot not going homicidal. 

Stray Observations: 

• Suzie’s shoe game is impeccable. Those white platform combat boots in “Don’t Blame the Machine” are envy-inducing. 
• I’m also jealous I didn’t write this line: “What if, in here, we can be our own ecosystem? Fight off entropy. Maybe we can break the laws of thermodynamics.” Listen, I don’t blame Suzie for melting after hearing Masa say this. I’d be a puddle, too. 
• I can relate to Suzie’s knee-jerk reaction to joke amid her grieving. It’s a defense mechanism. Also, I found her forgetfulness, i.e., when she couldn’t recall Masa’s shoes, really relatable. 
• Suzie’s house is gorgeous. Is there room for one more? 
• I’m simultaneously charmed by Sunny and horrified at how advanced AI is in this world. I’m not ready for the Singularity. 

What did you think of these episodes of Sunny? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Sunny drops new episodes every Wednesday on Apple TV+.

 Follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!