Good morning Mads!
I think we have already FaceTimed about this one and you might have even already seen it, so I just want to tell you my reactions :)
“Atypical” is a Netflix Original Series that was released in August of 2017. The story follows 18 year old Sam, who is on the autism spectrum. His condition creates challenges as well as beautiful moments that are so unique to this show.
I really think Sam would be your favorite character. In the beginning it is easy to think that he will be weird and maybe we can’t connect to him. He struggles to read people’s emotions but is constantly making an effort by researching and asking questions to those around him to figure people out. It is so sweet that even though he is aware of his differences and the effort that those close to him put in to help and understand him, he always tries so hard to learn ways to connect and understand others and make himself more “normal.” In a way it breaks your heart watching him try to change but at the same time want who is he to be enough. One of his quirks that I thought was so endearing was his extensive knowledge of all things Antartica, particularly penguins. He uses many metaphors of nature and how animals live to relate to people and it helps him learn behavior. The Antarctica parts were my favorite, the way he would compare learning how to be a good boyfriend to how penguins find a mate, or comparing going out of his comfort zone to the first explorations of the south pole brought a depth to both his character as well as the seemingly simple plot points. I rooted for Sam from the beginning, seeing how he would research and take notes on what seem to the majority of people to be silly social cues that we have picked up naturally, working so hard to be normal. Another point that I think the show did in an interesting way is how each of the characters handle Sam and his “atypical” behaviors.
His mom was one of my least favorite characters in this show, sure she is loving and handles Sam’s episodes with incredible strength but that is really all I liked about her. From the beginning when her daughter punches a mean girl at school in defense of another getting bullied, Elsa, the mom, is more concerned that the mean girl was too pretty to get punched and admits to her own bullying behavior in high school. From this we learn that she was and still is a mean girl and in many ways is still stuck in high school. Another point that bothered me was how she made everything in their family about Sam’s autism. When he wants new and different clothes she brings it back to his autism, and her daughter's track career is always second to her brother’s autism. Now, I understand that for most of Sam’s life this attention and family effort was likely necessary, but the way his mom made excuses for missing her daughter’s track events or even neglecting her husband made me upset and feel like she was using her son’s condition (that we watch him handle remarkably well all this time) to her benefit. Hiding under her role of “autism mother” and transitioning to her son’s growing independence leaves her quite lost. I really wanted to see her develop and to surprise me but unfortunately that didn’t happen, I hope in later seasons we see Elsa make attempts to find out who she is without hurting her family.
In contrast to Sam’s mom, his dad was SUCH a good character, not perfect, but each time we learned about a flaw or a past mistake, he owned up to it and did whatever he could to amend it. One way is his relationship with Sam, in the first episode his wife points out that he is scared of his own son and implies that he might even be ashamed of his to the point that he doesn’t even know his child. For the rest of the first season, Doug (Sam’s father) fumbles his way through learning how to really love Sam and to let go of the “perfect” father-son relationship he thought he wanted. Slowly we see Sam start to turn to his dad for dating advice and other little things about his life that he would have in the past gone exclusively to his mom for. Another mistake that we learn about Doug is when Sam was about 5 and recently diagnosed with Autism, he stepped out and lived with his parents for a while. This broke my heart to learn, Mads, because he was grieving the son he always wanted and made the choice to leave rather than try and figure it out. Obviously he came back, but the time he was gone impacted his wife in ways that have not been fully revealed. The difference with Doug compared to Elsa, is that he knows he was wrong and spends so much of his time trying to make up for it. One scene he talks about the time for Sam’s birthday he spent countless hours in the garage building him an igloo, only for Sam to tell him he did it wrong. It is a very interesting dynamic to watch a parent work so hard for their child’s approval.
The last character I want to tell you about is Sam’s best friend Zahid, you would LOVE this guy. Such a dork who thinks that he is so smooth with the ladies. He truly shined in the way he handles Sam and treats him like any other person. Of all the characters, I felt Zahid did the best job of just seeing Sam as a whole person rather than constantly seeing where his autism made appearances. Zahid was an amazing example of a true friend, he understands Sam’s comfort level with things and answers questions as if they are legitimate and normal and he gives advice to Sam as if he would anyone else. Not only was he hilarious and one of the most entertaining characters on the show, but he is the best example of how to treat people. Not as if we are all the same, but learning how to love and know people with their own “atypical”-ness in mind.
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