Utopia Season 1 On Amazon Prime – Top 10 Moments of Mind F**kery
Utopia season 1 is sci-fi gem released on Amazon Prime in 2020. It was adapted from a British version of the show which aired under the same name back around 2013.
Typically, Amazon Prime shows can fall a little flat. But Utopia season 1 has a enough mystery and suspense to hold up to some of the best shows you’ll find on other streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu.
Utopia Season 1 Background
Utopia is about a series of rare comic books that grimly predict viruses and outbreaks across the globe. The comic is about a scientist who’s trapped with his daughter inside the walls of an evil corporation set on world domination. Until one day, they are liberated and spend the rest of their existence hiding in the shadows, killing bad guys, and picking up some pretty ill Kung-fu techniques.
The first comic book in the series, Dystopia, was well known to comic nerds. The discovery of the sequel Utopia sends a group of conspiracy obsessed tweeners into a frenzy to acquire the book. In pursuit of their illustrated fantasy, they discover a little about torture, killing, and a plot to reduce the population of the world.
After watching season 1 of Utopia, I was wanting more. In a short 8 episodes there were a lot of shocking moments. Going into the show I had no idea what to expect, in fact I thought it would be some soft-ass teenage action type show. Nevertheless, i was wrong.
Here are 10 noteworthy moments from Utopia Season 1 on Amazon Prime in no particular order. SPOILER ALERT, but TFB you clicked on it.
1. Hotel Massacre
I was skeptical of this show when I first tuned in. I figured it was another young adventurer show like Locke and Key or Outerbanks that had plenty of action but very little in the way of consequences. The end of episode 1 let’s us know that human frailty is nothing strange for Utopia.
This is where we get introduced to Arby (or R.B. – short for Raisin Boy). The audience quickly finds out that Arby is much more than Super Cuts special gone wrong. He’s a vicious mass murdered to boot!
2. Rad Wilson not so Rad with One Eye
Arby and guy who was killed to early in the show that I can’t remember his name finally track down Wilson Wilson in his underground bunker. Wilsons friends are out getting donuts, and the torturous fun begin.
Using a sequential combination of salt, bleach and a spoon, Arby removes Wilson’s eye when he can’t provide any useful information. I love how the eye is placed on the table for effect after the scooping. Wilson Wilson proves that he is just a fan boy of Utopia, and not much more despite his hours of of watching YouTube conspiracy videos.
3. Jessica Hyde saves Wilson Wilson
Oh Shit! Jessica Hyde just dropped an axe in the head of the guy who was killed to early in the show that I can’t remember his name!
Ok, so she’s a vicious killer as well and ends up saving Wilson Wilson. Later in the episode we find out, besides being a super solider, she’s also a terrible driver.
4. Jessica Hyde kills Samantha
Oh shit! Jessica Hyde just took out one of the main characters (or so we thought). This was a next level move for me and Utopia. It made me realize the show is willing to sacrifice important characters. Much like Ned Stark getting the sword, this is an always important benchmark for any quality TV show in my mind.
However, it needs to be done correctly and with reason. In this case, one too many leaders. Probably was a nightmare for the writers so they sent Jessica Hyde to do their bidding.
5. John Cusak likes Fake Meat: Simpro
When we finally “meat” (get it?) the antagonist of the show, Dr. Christie, he’s introduced as a creepy family man who’s into serving his children lab grown meat. Simpro to be exact.
It was pretty obvious from the jump that Dr. Christie was plotting some nefarious shit. Although slanging meat grown in a Petri dish would seem heinous enough, come to find out his plans are much more devious, but not less nauseating.
6. Raisin Boy Turns on Dr. Christie
After all the free raisins and the dank basement dwelling, who would have thought that the murderous bowl-cut would turn on his master. Upon finding Utopia, he ends up giving it to Jessica Hyde. Ungrateful bastard!
7. The Twins
This is a crazy scene where Christie Labs sinister plot begins to get revealed. Is he growing children to serve his needs? How many “twins” are there? Do they get raisins too?
A lot more questions than answers in this scene but a head scratcher nonetheless.
8. Dwight Shrutes’ Wife
Dr. Michael Stearns is an important character in this show. He is like the “good-guy” scientist. A ying to Dr. Christie’s yang. But he’s sometimes entirely dense for such a smart mind.
Finding out that he’s been married for years to one of Christie’s secret agents of plague must have been heartbreaking for him. He seems to bounce back ok, but those memories of the honeymoon at Disney World will be forever marred.
9. Rad Wilson Sells Out
After Christie murders his entire planet, Wilson overcomes his grief and seemingly partners up with Christie. He doesn’t mind that his family was wiped out. As long as it was for a valid reason that makes him seem smarter than everyone else around him.
Being down with depopulation is the right thing to do? Too many days in the bunker for good ole Wilson. Personally, I find him entertaining but also a little bit of a know it all. I mean, the guy talked all this shit about how to handle torture and still got his eye spooned out by Raisin Boy.
10. Jessica Hyde’s Father is Alive
Surprise! Not surprised! The ending of season 1 left me asking why are there only 8 episodes in Season 1. My guess is Jeff Bezos ran an algorithm on all your data to calculate the optimal season length for Amazon Prime shows. Utopia season 1 is perfectly calibrated to make you want to renew your Amazon Prime subscriptions.
Also, what is Detective Kima Greggs from Baltimore PD doing involved in this depopulation scheme?
Bonus: Who is Artemis?
Besides being a fierce fighter and activist in freeing Jessica and her father in the Dystopia comic, little is known about who Artemis is. She appears in one episode, gets killed by Jessica, and that’s it. Did I miss something?
