Critic’s Rating: 4.45 / 5.0

4.45

No, you’re not on acid or tripping hard on shrooms! Blame the break in reality on the latest episode of Sunny!

For whatever reason, I had convinced myself things couldn’t possibly get weirder on this fantastic series. I was oh so wrong in so many ways.

If there is one thing fans of the show have realized, it is that you should always expect the unexpected regarding Sunny.

This series has weaved a well-balanced plot involving pure camp humor with thrilling moments of suspense and danger.

And while it’s been playing with the patience of its viewers, we finally have some answers!

Thank God, because Sunny has been exhausting in the best possible way.

Sunny Is Finally Shedding Some Light On The Many Mysteries Surrounding The Home Bot And Her Creator

Watching Sunny is like being an addict in need of a fix. You want more and more despite the minimal payoff.

Luckily, satisfaction is coming now that the story has finally brought Suzie and the audience into the light.

Who is Masa’s father? Well, now we know! He’s not a yakuza but a tech genius like his son.

It’s not much, but at least it’s something that’ll steer the story towards more answers.

Granted, there’s a good chance the answers to come will be met with even more questions. There are still so many that have yet to even be touched upon.

Is Masa alive? What was his relationship with Hime? What is Sunny’s purpose? Why is the yakuza after the Home Bot?

With only a few more episodes left, the writers need to get cracking unless they’re planning for an epic cliffhanger on this Apple TV+ series.

That would suck because cliffhangers are only effective if they introduce a new unanswered question right at the end. And there are about a hundred to go before we’re ready for more.

The best part of the episode was that we finally got some insight into Masa’s back story.

From Angsty Emo To A Suit Wearing Bad Ass, What Triggered Masa‘s Massive Glow Up?

They say the best way to tell a story is to start at the beginning.

While that may be a great staple to keep in the back of your mind, don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.

And Suzie is learning that the truth is about as relevant as the items deemed as garbage by the Trash Bot.

What’s interesting about Masa before he had a family is how similar he has been to Suzie from the start.

They’re both moody drunks who like their peace and solitude. It just goes to show you that even solitary people still want someone to be alone with.

Both characters guzzle back booze like they’re hiding it from the cops. Can you imagine what those two must’ve been like on date night?

Bar owners probably jumped for joy anytime Suzie (Rashida Jones) and Masa walked through the door together.

We also can’t discuss Masa from the past without talking about what an angsty little emo he was.

Between the long hair and eyes glued to the floor, I’m surprised he wasn’t wearing a spiked choker and eyeliner.

And the way he dumped his emotional baggage onto his mother and father was a CW-worthy teen tantrum.

You’d think he’d be happy to have a different father after the last one spent Masa’s whole life not loving him.

There were some unresolved issues, but Yuki and Noriko tried to comfort and help Masa as much as they could.

He could take a few minutes from playing “Trash or Not-Trash” to get to know his bio dad.

However, for all we know, he did, which led to him working in robots instead of refrigerators.

Still, there’s a missing link between the Masa who drunkenly ran around with Trash Bots to the successful tech genius family man with a solid right hook.

When did Masa go from being the disheveled hermit to the suit-wearing badass?

See? Still so many unanswered questions, but I do believe we have seen the spark that led to Masa creating Sunny, voiced by Joanna Sotomura of Barry.

For a man who suffers from loneliness, you’d think he’d be focused on his family more than robots.

As Yuki said about roboticists, they’re all searching for something.

There Are So Many Situations The Series Can Take Sunny In, But Thankfully, Sex Isn’t One

Which brings us right to everyone’s favorite Home Bot, Sunny! The robot with enough pettiness to fit right in with the Sakamoto household.

Since the start of the series, Sunny has been at the center of all of this craziness, and as the titular character, we would expect nothing less.

After this episode, I think it’s fair to assess that Masa built Sunny to comfort lonely people.

From what we’ve seen of Masa and his family, there was plenty of loneliness to go around.

It makes you wonder if Masa actually had a happy home or if Suzie has been choosing only to remember happy memories.

Regardless, whatever is going on with Sunny has to be related to Masa in some way.

If I were to venture a hypothesis, Masa invented Sunny with his mother and Suzie in mind.

If that is the case, he likely ensured Sunny could protect either of them should the occasion call for it.

And if Sunny were meant to act as a companion to Suzie, that would explain why the robot can trip balls while looking at swirls on a screen. No one likes to get drunk by themselves.

It all comes down to the yakuza and what they want with the “Dark Manual.”

But who’s side is Sunny really on?

Sunny Leaves Audiences Asking Themselves, Are We On Drugs Or Was It All A Dream?

The ending of this episode was unnecessarily confusing, and I loved it.

Usually, I watch Lady in the Lake when I want to get entirely mind-boggled by a show. But I’m getting double the fever dream with “Trash or Not-Trash.”

What was that at the very end with Sunny? Has this whole show been a simulation? Is Suzie getting Total Recalled?

As far as I could tell, there was Zen, then Sunny, who came to the rescue, and finally, a hole that opened up out of nowhere, which the Home Bot fell into.

Make it make sense!

Either the writers are taking the story in a quantum physics direction, or Suzie has been drugged or put unconscious.

That was a lot to hang the last few seconds on. If the creative team was trying to ensure audiences stuck around till the end of Season 1, they didn’t need to try that hard.

Sunny is so much more than a series. It’s an experience through unique and ingenious storytelling tools.

For a show to be captivating while giving so little is a testament to the phenomenal plotting and amazing acting.

We didn’t see much of Hime and Mixxy (annie the clumsy) in Sunny Season 1 Episode 8, so we’ll see what the writers have in store for these odd and still somewhat unknown characters.

Do you have any theories as to Sunny’s purpose?

What in the world do you think was happening right at the end of the episode?

Drop a comment below to let us know, and join me again when I review the next episode of Sunny!