Debuting on Amazon Prime in 2019, I finally caught up with "Undone" over the last couple of weeks. It's a rotoscoped animated series - filmed performances that are then animated on top of and with backgrounds that are entirely animated. It helps to sell the fantastical elements of the story, which is largely good stuff.
Following a car accident, Alma (Rosa Salazar) begins to see her late father Jacob (Bob Odenkirk). He tries to convince her that she can project through time and that she should investigate his death, as he had research that made him a target. Whilst attempting to learn how to project, Alma tries to maintain her familial relationships, which her honest, forthright nature has always made difficult. However, there is a history of schizophrenia in her family and this all may be the start of it manifesting within her.
The art style of "Undone" is striking at first, especially as it feels so unnecessary in the opening episodes when the show is quite a straightforward comedy drama. As it runs on though, and the fantastic time hopping elements become more apparent, then it does start to make sense as a creative choice. The acting performances are really good, there's a host of recognisable faces in the show, all of whom do well in grounding their characters in real life. There's something authentic in the interactions between the characters and it's an enjoyable funny element of the show.
So why not a higher score? Even with just eight episodes it feels like there's a bit of padding to fill the run time. Though I quite liked the ending, I can see that other people have found it a divisive one - as I write this, a second season was commissioned, but how far that got in the COVID landscape is unclear. Though I liked the actual last scene, the resolution of the show's mystery element is a little underwhelming.
Assuming that season 2 eventually does arrive, I'll be back.