This being a semi-romantic comedy, it's only a matter of time until sparks begin to fly between Nathan and Nora. And yes, it's all a bit odd, since he's a digital consciousness whose real body has died. But if you think about it, that's not too different than online relationships in general. Thanks to advances in virtual reality (and some gross full-body haptics), there's even the potential for them to touch and feel each other in the digital world. As they get to know each other, Nora also starts to learn that Nathan's death may not have been accidental at all, and everyone is a suspect.

Amid the romance and potential murder mystery, Upload is also an intriguing exploration of digital consciousness. Even if some technology could take all of the matter in your brain and upload it to the cloud, is the resulting consciousness still you? For simplicity's sake, the show accepts that's the case. But there are factions within the series that question the ethical nature of uploading yourself to the cloud. And argue that, if it's indeed a miraculous technology that lets humans live forever, shouldn't it be accessible to everyone?

Aaron Epstein/Amazon Studios

"My personal feeling, and what the show is based on, is the idea that if you were to deconstruct your brain, it's, it's a finite amount of information," Daniels said. "It's a very large amount of information, because of the trillions of connections, but it's a finite amount and it's all based on atoms and chemicals. And if you had a large enough computer, and a quick enough way to scan it, you ought to be able to measure everything, all the information that's in someone's brain."

As you'd imagine, there are plenty of people who think its an unnatural way to stave off death, like Nora's father. He'd rather die the natural way to have a chance to be with his dead wife, instead of uploading and being a part of Nora's life (and presumed digital afterlife). And unlike Nora, who has faith in technology even after seeing the downsides of her own company, her father fundamentally distrusts how much tech has overtaken their reality. "The problem isnt capitalisms unholy alliance with big data, no, its the weirdos who want to grow their own vegetables," he says at one point.

Original post:
Amazon's 'Upload' explores the digital afterlife in a world gone to hell - Engadget