The final season of Upload has officially dropped on Prime Video, and Andy Allo is saying goodbye to her role of Nora.
It’s the fourth and last season of the science fiction comedy series, which is set in 2033. According to the official season synopsis, “In the four-part series finale event, sentient AI rapidly turns evil, threatening to wipe out Lakeview (and the world!). On top of greedy executives, lingering mysteries, plus heartbreak in VR and IRL, our characters are tested like never before. The only way they can get through it all and save humanity from deletion is by teaming up one last time.”
Allo sat down with Blavity’s Shadow and Act to discuss how she and her character have both evolved throughout the course of the show.
“I feel like Nora and I grew up together,” she told us. “This was seven years ago when I got the role, and I was a completely different person. I think in the beginning, her motives were more so ‘how can I save my dad?’ and ‘I just need him to upload, and I’m just trying to survive.’ Through the course of the show, it became bigger. She really found her purpose of ‘how can I help others?’ and stepping into more of a leadership role and finding her voice as a leader. And I think at the same time, I, myself, was figuring out my own voice, and ‘how do I step up my own passions more?’”
She added, “When I had gotten the role of Nora, I’d always wanted to be a lead on a show, and I thought that was going to make me happy. Once I got that thing, my life would be kind of complete. I think for Nora, she thought, ‘OK, if I can just get my dad to upload, if I can just save this guy, find the guy, or whatever, everything will be great.’ I think on these parallel journeys, we were both finding that just because you attain the thing or get the thing, [it] doesn’t mean or equate ‘I’m happy,’ and that there is something deeper there, of, well, ‘what do I bring to the table?’ Not something, externally, but ‘how do I connect to myself?’ And I think Nora found that purpose of wanting to make a difference in the world, and using her access, using her leadership qualities and her voice. And then, for myself, really saying, ‘Well, what do I want to bring into the world as a storyteller?’ Not just, ‘Oh, let me get this role, let me get this job,’ or whatever the case was. Like, no, let me come from a deeper place.”
On art imitating life
Throughout its final season, Upload poses numerous significant questions about autonomy and connection in the digital age. In a previous conversation about the show, Allo noted how the series prepared her for the evolution of artificial intelligence that’s now very prevalent in today’s society, but that isn’t the only technology from the show that she has seen advance.
“There’s so much in our show that’s come true. We’re on this group chat, and we all send each other fun links of things that start happening, and there’s this man that just started making copies of his dad’s memories, so that way, when his dad passes, he can, like, re-create them,” she said. “Also, one of my castmates told me about a woman who put on VR and was able to interact with her son who had passed, so I would say that’s probably the cooler side of tech and how that’s evolving, of reconnecting with loved ones.”
“The other side of printing food, which is happening. And that side of it is like, ‘I don’t know, guys,’ so that part’s a little interesting,” Allo said.
Lessons learned from Prince that reflect her journey as an actor, musician and chef
Along with her success in television, Allo continues to make strides in her work as a musician and chef. Her culinary venture, Aköne, offers fine dining experiences that nod to her Cameroonian heritage.
She shared how working alongside Prince for several years, as his protege and mentee, continues to bleed into all of her endeavors.
“The thing that he shared often was having integrity in your work and then coming from you as a source. And one of the things he would say is, ‘If you don’t define yourself, others will define you.’ So, having that integrity with yourself, of, you know, everyone has an opinion, and if you don’t have a strong one about who you are and what you bring, then others will tell you who you are and what you bring.”
Allo concluded, “Throughout my career, my life has been that journey of honing in on who I am and what I bring to the table that’s unique to me. And then being very clear about communicating that, but having integrity with myself and the courage to say, ‘You know what, that doesn’t align with who I am and what I bring,’ which is scary to do. I’m not perfect at it, but that’s a lesson, and that echoes throughout. The more I get to know myself, the clearer I am, and the clearer my compass is as I go about my various passions.”
The final season of Upload is streaming on Prime Video.
