It’s hard to estimate how many people are actually viewing Extrapolations, let alone how many people are enjoying it, given the general lack of buzz surrounding it on social media sites. Since I’ve been watching from the beginning, I believe that last week’s edition of the Scott Z. Burns show was the best one yet. In case you missed it, in episode six, an adult Ezra Haddad served as a stand-in for people who had lost a loved one. While he makes an effort to avoid developing any serious relationships with his clients, Natasha Alper and her daughter Harlyn quickly win his affection. As a result, when Ezra loses everything and is about to lose his memory of his deceased wife, Lola, he and Natasha resolve to let go of the past and live out the remainder of their days together, sharing their love. This week’s episode centers on a New Year’s Eve dinner party and jumps forward in time by two years, to 2068.
Warning: Major Spoilers
August Bolo Drops A Bombshell Of Information
The Going Away Party, the penultimate Extrapolations episode, begins with Anna traveling through a polluted San Francisco to a home where she will spend the night cleaning. The hosts of the event are Sylvie and August Bolo. They aren’t the richest people in this dying world, Sylvie claims, and all of this arrangement is going to cost them a lot of carbon credits (which are the currency in this alternate future Earth). This is in spite of Sylvie’s regal attire and an absurd amount of food. But Sylvie makes sure that Anna gets a good tip because, in this economy, it’s the least she can do. August is seen briefly sitting alone in his underwear and quietly discussing making a decision until Sylvie interrupts him and tells him to get ready for the party. They argue about their history and present, showing that they haven’t been a happy pair for a while even though they have been married for a very long period. Thankfully, their guests, Nic (August’s student) and Elodie (Nic’s girlfriend), come and force them to halt their argument.
As they exchange pleasantries, it becomes clear that Sylvie has a no touching policy. Additionally, it appears that Nic and Elodie have different technological savvy levels—she is essentially an influencer who uses a camera attached to her lens to record every moment of her life and upload it to the internet. Regardless, they start the evening off by drinking champagne that tastes like armpits and gossiping about August without allowing him to introduce himself. August, on the other hand, lights up when Nic mentions the idea of digitally saving one’s awareness and then reproducing oneself in a new body when the earth heals itself. He has news to share. He reportedly invested in a business called LifePause 15 years ago, and it has since become the top choice for wealthy people since it enables them to leave their mortal bodies and live in virtual paradise until it is secure to return to mortal life. They are all shocked to learn that they are spending their final minutes with August before he is transported into LifePause as soon as the Earth approaches the year 2069 because they had all underestimated him. Please feel free to make comparisons to the Black Mirror episode San Junipero since it focused on a related idea.
Nic Ruins A Good Moment Between Sylvie and August
At first, Sylvie believes August wants her to leave her current situation and travel with him. She is mistaken, though, as August was chosen in a lottery among all the investors to receive the ticket to LifePause. His plus one is absent. Technically speaking, Sylvie ought to rejoice because we have witnessed her loathing for August and are aware that she opposes digitizing her awareness. She isn’t content with August’s choice to make such a significant decision without consulting her, though. August claims that he longs to once more taste things like food, fresh air, sunlight, and the great outdoors. Sylvie disagrees and asserts that because the aforementioned things are no longer an option, they must put their families and their love first. Sylvie leaves the dining table after Elodie insensitively inquires about Sylvie and August’s child. Elodie stays behind to keep August company as Nic chases Sylvie to calm her down.
Now, each of these conversations take two quite different turns, one of which was somewhat anticipated and the other of which was very unanticipated. Sylvie is somewhat drawn to Nic, who is obviously charmed by her. However, Sylvie’s no touch rule prevents them from truly acting on their urges. As a result, they turn to self-gratification while gazing at one another. Meanwhile, Elodie makes an attempt to trick her way into LifePause by persuading August that, deep down, he still yearns to remain on Earth with Sylvie. Therefore, August tries to inform Elodie about the aptitude test she must pass in order to enroll in LifePause, while Sylvie and Nic effectively cheat on their respective relationships. Elodie successfully completes the questions but fails when she encounters a bear hologram. Just at that moment, Sylvie enters again, and August lets her into his heart. He claims that he didn’t want his choice to harm Sylvie in any way. In reality, he was confident Sylvie wouldn’t object because, in his opinion, she doesn’t regard her as a person. And just as it seems like Sylvie and August are about to find common ground, Nic enters the room with his pants’ zipper wide open, indicating that they had sex behind August’s back.
Extrapolations, Episode 7 Ending Explained: How Did Anna Get To Go To LifePause?
They bring this awkwardness to the dinner table rather than revealing that Sylvie and Nic have cheated on August and Elodie, respectively. Everyone toasts one another after the meal is served. After the magnificent act of betrayal by Sylvie and Nic, August claimed he has no regrets about attending LifePause. Sylvie expresses her happiness that August has been able to execute a plan at least once in his life. Elodie declares that Nic and everyone else in the room are nuts and that they are breaking up. Nic, being the moron that he is, uses his toast to declare his love for Sylvie, setting August off balance and resulting in a four-way fight in the dining room. When Agnes, the daughter of Sylvie and August, enters, that comes to an end. But as soon as Sylvie shuts Agnes down, it’s obvious that she’s an artificial intelligence created for infertile couples rather than a real person. As Nic and Elodie eventually depart, August takes Agnes’ lifeless body upstairs, and Sylvie gives Anna the tip she had agreed to give her before going upstairs. August hugs Sylvie after admitting that he doesn’t want to go after talking about their daughter and that she shares his feelings.
After clearing up the mess the two couples left behind in Extrapolations, Episode 7, Anna chooses to take August’s coast rather than her own and even cancels Sylvie’s tip. Posing as August, she strides up to the LifePause cab with assurance and gets in to go to digital heaven. That kind of emphasizes the main lesson of the series, which is to put your loved ones before everything else. Every character in the episode (with the obvious exception of Anna) has their sights set on an impossibility. Even though his heart isn’t in it, August wants to ascend to the realm of the digital. Sylvie is Nic’s target. Elodie is vying for August’s LifePause position. And because Sylvie is overthinking everything, she is simply bewildered. After the dust settles, though, Nic and Elodie decide to part ways since they come to the realization that they aren’t a suitable match. Despite their long-standing differences, August and Sylvie recognize that they still want to live together. Bottom line: Rather than putting all their eggs in a hypothetical, futuristic basket, they all have a purpose to live out their entire life cycle. Nothing Anna has can help her stay grounded in the here and now. It makes logical for Anna to restart her life and maintain her hope in a different way because that is not her fault and the circumstance is completely circumstantial (or environmental because Anna’s loved ones died in a heat wave). The environment and the servers will determine whether it works out for any of them.
