Dhruv Trivedi
Amazon Prime’s ‘Upload’ is a surreal journey into the near-future where death is merely a hop-skip-jump away. When Nathan Brown unexpectedly dies in a freak self-driven car accident, his domineering and wealthy girlfriend Ingrid quickly has him enrolled in the poshest afterlife facility available — Lakeview.
Soon, Nathan finds himself (reluctantly) living a luxurious existence on his girlfriend’s dime, finding it increasingly claustrophobic being so dependent on her. Things get even more complicated when he starts to fall for his customer service executive, or “Angel,” Nora. So how do things play out? Does Nathan escape Ingrid’s clutches and get together with Nora? Let’s find out. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Do Nathan and Nora Get Together?
Nathan and Nora form the warm and fuzzy will-they-won’t-they romance at the center of ‘Upload.’ From the time she first sets eyes on him (which is a few moments after his death), Nora is attracted to Nathan. It isn’t long before the latter begins to reciprocate the feelings. However, in addition to the obvious problem of one of them being dead and the other alive, there are some pretty big hurdles for the two to cross before their romance can blossom.
While Nathan grapples with his controlling girlfriend, Ingrid, Nora fills her time dating men that inevitably disappoint her (Byron in season 1, Matteo in season 2). Nathan and Nora get tantalizingly close to proclaiming their love for one another, and by season 2, it is essentially an open secret that the two are desperately in love with each other. Only, the stars just don’t seem to align for them. The season 2 finale, however, makes some dramatic turns, and suddenly, Nathan finds himself “Downloaded” into a body, back in the realm of the living.
Despite Ingrid being present, our hero turns to Nora, making his feelings quite clear. It gets better as the two then find themselves alone in a train cabin and finally hug in real life (as opposed to through avatars and “Hug Gloves”). Things get steamy, and it looks like Nathan and Nora finally get together. Of course, moments later, a warning sign hints that Nathan’s head is about to literally explode, which might result in a gruesome end to the short romance. However, that is a matter for future seasons.
Does Nathan Break Up with Ingrid?
If you think the dynamic between Nathan and Nora is complicated, wait till we get into Nathan and Ingrid. Ever since our hero is placed in Lakeview, his existence has been overseen and largely controlled by Ingrid, who holds the purse strings. At the end of season 1, in a desperate ploy to get out from under her thumb, Nathan moves into the pay-as-you-go 2 Gig section, only to quickly run out of data and become frozen.
Ingrid then rescues him and goes one step further. She essentially sacrifices her life and becomes an Upload so she can be with Nathan. Or at least that’s what she tells him. Racked by guilt about his girlfriend’s monumental sacrifice, the reluctant boyfriend tries to keep some semblance of a relationship. Ingrid, never really satisfied, then begins looking into having a digital baby. However, before long, it is revealed that the dastardly girlfriend hasn’t really sacrificed herself but is merely pretending to be an Upload using a Hug Suit.
In the tumultuous season 2 finale, Ingrid reveals to Nathan that she is in a Hug Suit in the hopes that he will consider someday having real babies with her. Unfortunately for her, the strategy completely backfires and Nathan — suddenly free from all the guilt and feelings of indebtedness towards Ingrid — promptly breaks up with her, saying: “I owe you nothing.” Soon after, the point is further reinforced when our hero, downloaded into his body, embraces Nora even as a tearful Ingrid looks on.
Despite Nathan finally breaking up with Ingrid, this is definitely not the last that we’ve seen of her. The vengeful ex-girlfriend has made it quite clear that she will stop at nothing to get Nathan back (and under her thumb again). To this end, we see Ingrid pull out a hair from Nathan’s old hairbrush, and though it’s unclear what she plans to do with it, we can be sure it’s not something that will help Nathan and Nora’s budding romance.
Read More: The Ludds in Upload, Explained
