Sunny Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Trash or Not-Trash
Sunny Season 1 Episode 8, “Trash or Not-Trash,” picks up where we left off last week, bringing Masa’s backstory to light as Suzie stumbles upon a game-changing revelation in the final moments. It’s easily one of the strongest installments to date, with a cliffhanger ending that makes you question your grip on reality.
Trash or Not-Trash
Hidetoshi Nishijima has been sorely underutilized this season. Thankfully, “Trash or Not-Trash” rectifies that. Nishijima’s relatable, grounded performance proves Masa and Suzie are more alike than their previous scenes led us to believe.
For starters, both Masa and Suzie lash out in anger when licking their grief wounds. They also rely on sarcasm and their acerbic wit as defense mechanisms. It’s easy to see how they gravitated toward each other.
I Am So Lonely
Additionally, Masa’s narrative and how he came to design homebots speaks to an underlying theme in Sunny: loneliness in the modern world. Yuki/Hiromasa’s narration about Masa’s lonely life and finding his humanity through a robot drives this home.
We see Suzie’s self-isolation in the wake of losing her family, but in reality, this began well before starting that family. The reasons she provides Mixxy for moving to Japan on last week’s episode feel superficial at best. Despite spending over a decade (presumably) in Japan, Suzie treats it like a tourist on vacation.
The series deftly addresses the global loneliness pandemic and how our increased reliance on technology is the antithesis of our inherent need for human connection. AI can’t replace raw, messy humanity.
We see evidence of this when Masa trains the robot to discern between “trash” and “not-trash.” The homebot struggles to understand nuance. For example, an unfinished can of coffee isn’t necessarily trash, and that “fuel” is the same as the bot’s need for a charger.
The sequences featuring Masa and his training sessions are a lot of fun. They lean into Sunny‘s darkly comedic roots, providing that A24 quirky edge. While the placement of this episode feels a bit late in the season — especially since Masa isn’t a main character — this context regarding Masa’s origins lends value to the overarching narrative.
What Happened to Sunny?
This series has utilized the red filter a few times. It usually indicates violence, a flashback, or a break from reality, like Suzie envisioning Masa beating the Yakuza member in episode four. This thematic tool resurfaces in the final moments of “Trash or Not-Trash” when Sunny kills Tetsu. She seemingly returns to herself before falling through the floor.
It seems as if Sunny returned to her usual cheerful, loving self before the Yakuza took her offline. Her falling through the floor isn’t happening literally, but it represents Sunny going dark — her real self falls away. It makes for a delightfully engaging cliffhanger: Sunny might be gone for good, and Suzie finally sees her son, Zen.
Rashida Jones delivers compelling work as usual. Suzie’s panic is tangible as she frantically searches for Zen, following his voice. The tension is also palpable. You don’t know if the voice is authentic or fabricated.
Overall, Sunny really hits its groove with “Trash and Not-Trash,” offering a narrative that moves at a steady clip, great performances, and plenty of intriguing loose threads to ensure audiences tune in next week.
Stray Observations:
- That poor techie woman. She was dragged against her will into this Suzie versus the Yakuza mess. I hope she gets to keep most of her hand.
- For those not in the know, hikikomori is a complete withdrawal from society, most common among younger folks. These reclusive youths are like modern-day hermits.
- Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein had a philosophy called “Wittgenstein’s Beetle,” which can be found in the posthumously published Philosophical Investigations. Yuki/Hiromasa’s opening question, “If I say that I know what pain means, how do I know that what I mean is what you mean when you say that you feel pain?” is a play on Wittgenstein’s own remarks about pain, prefacing his beetle philosophy.
- I love it when young Masa gives adult Masa flowers in the hospital. It’s a clever scene transition.
- I knew Zen was alive! I’m pretty sure Masa is, too. Here’s hoping they all reunite in the last two episodes.
What did you think of this episode of Sunny? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
Sunny drops new episodes every Wednesday on Apple TV+.
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Melody McCune
Melody loves TV. Maybe too much. Besides being a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV, she's the Managing Editor for Geek Girl Authority, an Independent Contractor for Sideshow Collectibles, and a Senior Writer for Eulalie Magazine. Additionally, she has bylines in Culturess, Widget, and inkMend on Medium. To top it all off, she's a critic for Rotten Tomatoes and CherryPicks.