Maniac
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Americans have spent the last several decades in the zealous, exhausting pursuit of happiness.
Its all a matter of the right mindset, weve decided.
The basis of Annies need for the A pill is rooted in a bizarre addiction.
Its the anti-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Minddrug, designed to dredge up your most traumatic memories at will.
But for some reason Annie cant quit it.
She snorts her last pill, lapses into a stupor, and then wakes up reinvigorated.
Im healthy Annie now, and healthy people read books.
And travel, and exercise.
And take care of their minds.
What follows is far more fascinating as a world-building exercise than a character-building one.
Despite its analog nature, privacy is essentially nonexistent in Annie and Owens version of New York.
Fellow workers are carting in shredded papers to reassemble in some back room.
But the scene hints at the broader loneliness in Annies world.
When Annie mocks Tricia for using FriendProxy and Tricia hits back Oh, you have real friends?
its pretty clear that authentic friendship is a rare beast in this New York.
From there the episode veers off in two wildly divergent directions.
Im a smart computer, ought to be the tagline of every Apple commercial from here on.)
Gertie will then identify, map, and confront the learned programming of their brain.
In the closing scene, Mantleray gazes directly into the camera and misses his shirt pocket with the pen.
Because now I wont have to feel bad about not calling you or doing anything with you.
Youll be far away.
And we can grow apart, and we wont have to pretend we didnt.
That speech must be stuck in Annies head on repeat, even without the ULP.
So why does she keep diving down this same dagger-lined rabbit hole?
I guess happiness is only desirable for people who want to stop revelling in their sadness.
Im eager to figure out what the obsession with this book is all about.
Annies dad in the A-Void pod in his backyard was one of the brilliant moments of this episode.
Im not fucking crazy, Im just goal-oriented is my new mantra.
