Undone

Undone is a riveting and visually stunning adult animated series on Amazon Prime Video, first released in 2019. This groundbreaking show takes viewers into a world where time can be bent and reality can be shifted, making the experience unpredictable, thought-provoking, and captivating. This complex narrative infuses themes of mental health, grief, personal growth, and metaphysical exploration into its story, forming a tapestry that is as much a surreal psychological thriller as it is a study of human relationships and the human mind.

The narrative follows Alma Winograd–Diaz, a 28-year-old daycare center worker from San Antonio, Texas. Having grown tired of the monotony of life and the dullness of routine, Alma longs for something greater, something beyond the triviality of her everyday existence. Her life is dramatically altered after a car accident leaves her in a coma, and she wakes up to find herself with a new relationship with time and reality, completely outside conventional understanding.

But this isn't the only change in her life. She also starts seeing her deceased father, Jacob, a theoretical physicist who died under mysterious circumstances when she was a child. Jacob reveals that he is there to train Alma to manipulate time, in a bid to prevent his untimely death in the past. Throughout the course of the show, Alma's newfound abilities serve as fruitful grounds to explore subjective reality, mental health struggles, human relationships, and the fabric of existence itself.

Undone's narrative style draws heavily from magic realism and purposefully blurs the line between reality and illusion. The lingering question of whether Alma's experiences are indeed bending the laws of physics or simply the result of her psychological disarray stemming from her brain injury, adds a psychic tension that deepens the intrigue around the story.

The secondary characters in the show are just as complex and multilayered, ranging from Alma's younger sister Becca, who is upbeat and organized but is battling her own emotional unrest, to her loving and loyal boyfriend Sam, who grapples with his own feelings of inadequacy and struggles to understand and support Alma through her trials. Each character's personal journey intricately intertwines with Alma's narrative, adding more depth to the overarching storyline.

One of the standout elements of Undone is its distinct animation style. The show uses the technique of rotoscoping - a process where real actors’ performances are meticulously traced over into animation. This painstaking process endows Undone with an aesthetic that is at once both real and surreal, perfectly fitting the ambience of the narrative. The vibrant, fluid visuals that are created through this animation technique are nothing less than a feast for the eyes, enhancing the show’s ability to confront and portray intense, complex ideas in a captivating, absorbing way.

Undone's strong script, penned by Kate Purdy and Raphael Bob-Waksberg, the creators of the acclaimed show BoJack Horseman, provides a perfect balance between its heavier themes and lighter moments. The dialogue is sharp, witty, and often deeply introspective, providing comic relief while anchoring the seriousness of Alma's journey.

In all, Undone is an ambitious narrative marvel perched between psychological thriller and existential exploration. Its ability to capture complex themes of mental health, the essence of reality, and human relationships, juxtaposed with an innovative animation technique, makes it a standout show. Driven by a strong script and robust performances, Undone pulls you in from the very first episode and keeps you hooked until its breath-taking conclusion. It's a show that is not just watched, but experienced, traversing the viewer through the labyrinth of the human mind in a way rarely seen before on television.