After four quick and short episodes, Upload has come to an end. It’s a bittersweet ending that is sure to make a lot of fans of the series angry. In my opinion, it’s just far too rushed.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Upload season 4, episode 4.
It’s always hard to stick a landing on a great series. Upload is not the first to struggle with it, but at least, it’s somewhat filled with hope. Upload’s final season would have been much better just being a little longer, though.
Nathan and Nora finally reunite in the Upload series finale
There is a sense of hope to start the episode, as Nathan and Nora finally reunite after the ending to Upload season 4, episode 3. However, that hope is quickly dashed, as it’s clear that Nathan is suffering from the 125 uploads he’s been through. Each one has slowly deteriorated his memory and his body.
In fact, when he goes to the ER, the doctor there makes it clear that his body is shutting down and there’s nothing she can do. The only option is to be uploaded to preserve what is left. Naturally, Nathan doesn’t want that—nor can it happen with the other Nathan in the system. When he says he’s been uploading 150 times already (he got it slightly wrong but can’t blame him with everything he went through), the doctor is quick to dismiss.
It's clear that people don’t expect uploading to get to a point where people can do it without dying immediately. Oh, what could happen!
Nora learns that there is a doctor on the streets who has been helping people in mysterious ways. When they get to this doctor, it turns out to be the clone that was released into the world. I had wondered when he would come back into the story, and it seems like a wasted part considering how little time we spend here.
In the end, Nathan can’t be saved, so he and Nora go back to her place, where she shows him all the virtual moments that she created with him. It’s a bittersweet moment as they get married, and he leaves her the flash drive ring that he got with all his memories on them. One thing he asks Nora not to do is wallow in her grief. He wants her to live her life with him in her memories.
Saving Lakeview from the evil AI
In the previous episode, we saw that the new AI was absorbing all the others and becoming more powerful. Well, he continues to look for a way to save Horizon money, and that means pushing all the two-gigs into the torrent. He’s also absorbed so many clones that he’s getting far too strong for Horizon to control.
When the AI guy who went to Cape Cove comes back, Evil AI absorbs him, becoming too powerful to stop. He is going to get himself into the torrent to get all the way across the web, and so, Horizon has to shut down Lakeview to stop him. This cuts them off from Lakeview.
Aleesha opens it briefly to get a message to Luke, so he can help save Lakeview. They can get the clone in the real world back into Lakeview to help take down the Evil AI, but it has to be at a specific time. Of course, with all the knowledge the AI has gained from the real world, it takes much longer to upload him into the system.
Luke and Ingrid’s Nathan work together to prevent Evil AI from getting into the torrent. This leads to Luke being pushed into it, and Ingrid’s Nathan almost is as well. Fortunately, the real-world AI guy is back, and he’s able to remove all the absorbed AIs and get rid of the Evil AI as a threat.
Lakeview is saved without having to be shut down permanently. There is a sense of hope.
Upload series finale ending explained
We cut to months later, with Ingrid and now her Nathan downloaded doing an interview. They have started growing an empire together, becoming the world’s power couple, and it’s clear that everything they have learned over the last four seasons has left a lasting impression.
It’s in this that we learn that Nora has decided to live her life, getting a dog and heading to Quebec. While there, a man asks her if he can buy her a coffee, but she turns him down, flashing the ring that Nathan gave her. However, as he walks away, she thinks and switches the ring to her other hand.
Is she ready to move on? That could all change as now on the right hand, the ring connects to her device that she’s drawing on, indicating that it’s a flash drive. Nora is about to get all of the memories Nathan stored and gave her.
It’s a bittersweet ending, with Nora and Nathan not getting nearly enough time together. While things were somewhat wrapped up, the Upload final season could have done with being a little longer to really flesh out storylines and give closure to all. What it did do was remind us that technology isn’t always that great, and AI is a dangerous thing went in the wrong hands.
Upload is available to stream on Prime Video.