Maniac | We're lost without connection

"Once you begin to appreciate the structure of the mind - its modularity on a molecular scale, there's no reason to believe that anything about us can't be changed. The mind can be solved." 

- Dr. Mantleray

What if there are drugs that can help you hypothetically overcome and move on from your trauma permanently, however big it may be, will you try them? Maniac, named after the Norwegian series it was loosely based on, focused on two strangers, Owen Milgrim played by Jonah Hill and Annie Landsberg played by Emma Stone, who consented to a pharmaceutical trial and experienced an extraordinary connection in the process.

The limited series took place in a high-tech world with a retro vibe - retro-futurist as some reviews call it. The computers and other technologies looked different but the fashion and structures looked the same with what we have and actually likeable. The Japanese influence in the overall aesthetic gives a mood similar to Blade Runner - only not as chaotic, at least to me. The montage in the first episode with Dr. Mantleray's (played by Justin Theroux) voice-over generally explains the theme of the show.

Hypothesis: All souls are on a quest to connect.

Corollary: Our minds have no awareness of this quest.

Hypothesis: All the worlds that almost were, matter just as much the world we're in.

Corollary: These hidden worlds cause us great pain.

If you have seen the teaser, you might have thought that this limited series was really trippy because the characters were wearing gray overalls with changing flashing lights in a room. Once you start watching the episodes, you will find that the characters are participating in a pharmaceutical trial which aims to help them with their pain.

The concept is not difficult to grasp. The theme is about loneliness and the need to connect with people. It is about moving on and that the process can be as painful as facing the trauma all over again, because it's an essential part of the process.This series requires your attention because there are little details that are easy to miss - like the first time they almost met.

 Owen picked up the Rubik's cube which Annie threw

The trial organized by Neberdine Pharmaceutical and Biotech, included three steps where participants needed to take pills A, B, and C consecutively, while being analyzed by a smart computer called GRTA. These pills allowed them to see visions and scenarios of their lives while asleep, or reflections as Dr. Mantleray would call them. On the other hand, GRTA was designed using Dr. Mantleray's mother - Greta's early works as a therapist and programmed with empathy and emotions, and therefore was hoped to replace multiple therapies. Each pill had different effect. Pill A, which stands for Agonia, forced the participants to relive moments of great pain of their lives. The backstories of Annie and Owen carefully unfolded upon taking this pill and we finally discovered what's wrong with them - what they were trying to hide from others and from their own self. The traumas revealed in this stage was pertinent for the subsequent stages.

 Owen and Annie in the pharma trial

Pill B, which stands for Behavioral, showed the participants their self-defense mechanisms and blind spots to protect themselves from pain. Annie and Owen's reflections took us to the 1930s and 1980s, where their stories were entangled - they were married in both reflections. It was later revealed that the pill was not supposed to bring them together in their reflections.

Linda and Bruce, planning to steal Wendy, the lemur 

 Ollie and Arlie stealing the lost final chapter of Don Quixote

Pill C, which stands for Confrexia, forced them to confront and accept their pain, of course with the aid of GRTA. But then, problems began to show prior to administering the last pill. GRTA was depressed due to Dr. Robert Muramoto's death, thus interfering with the reflections of the participants. In this stage, the reflections of Annie and Owen involved elves, mobs, and spies.

Dr. Mantleray and Dr. Fujita finding a way to help GRTA

Owen and his father

Ellia and Annia, as elves

 Annie and Owen (Snorri) as spies

Annie said goodbye to her dead sister, and faced the pain behind the reality of it. Owen let go of Grimsson, a better  alternate version of his brother Jed he wished he had. Glimpses from other participants' confrontations were shown, and theirs were as strange as our central characters'.

Despite GRTA messing up with the reflections of the participants, they all woke up, relieved and somehow better. The experiment was considered a failure because of the malfunctioning of the smart computer, though the participants left with less baggage and maybe emotionally stronger to face their truth.

Owen testifying against his brother, Jed

Annie confronting his father about how she feels

It took some time for Annie and Owen to reconnect with each other after the drug trial, since Owen was admitted in a psychiatric hospital after testifying against his brother. Annie talked Owen out about escaping from the hospital to come with her, and he did. They drove off, finally acknowledging that they were both longing for a connection, and somehow not so lost.

"I had a plan. We were gonna somewhere together. We were in a car. We were driving really fast.
Someone was chasing us, I don't know who. It felt like an escape.
 I was just laughing. And I had this huge smile on my face. It hurt it was so big.
We were just two people looking out for each other. It's stupid."
- Owen to Annie in Larger Structural Issues episode

There are a couple of theories about the ending - whether they really woke up or it was just another vision - another multi-reality brain sh*t. If you can't tell the difference between arborized realities, does it matter? Maybe, they were already in San Junipero after all. 

Here are more lines that I like from the series:

"There is no plan or pattern to the universe, it's just chaos." - Annie to Owen

"None of this is real, none of this is real. None of this is real." - Owen to Annie

"Every mistake I've ever made started with it's too good to be true." - Owen to GRTA 

"What's wrong isn't that I'm sick. It's that I don't matter." - Owen to Dr. Mantleray 

"You won't. You're always gonna feel this way. You're just gonna have to figure out how to adjust around it." - Annie to GRTA

"Sometimes people leave and we don't know why." - Annie to Ellie

Maniac may be listed under the Sci-Fi genre, but I think it is simply about letting go, finding courage to face painful realities, and accepting meaningful human connection. After all, as Dr. Mantleray would put it: we're lost without connection.