Undone review: A visually compelling look into mental health issues and mundane life

You’ve likely heard of Undone, Amazon’s first adult animation original. Is it worth watching? If you want a beautiful look at mental health then yes!

The hype around Undone was immense from the start. This Amazon Original had a lot riding on it, being the first adult animation on the streamer. But has it been worth all the hype?

I’ll say now that I’m only onto the fifth episode of the series. However, from the very first episode, I was hooked. It’s not a conventional TV series by any means, giving us a look at mental health, disabilities, and family.

A depressing, mundane life

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From the first episode, we get this look at depression. Well, it’s never mentioned that Alma is suffering from depression but there are plenty of symptoms on show. One of those is how bored and down she is about her mundane adult life. The idea of waking up next the same person forever gets to her mentally.

There isn’t too much time to focus on this as Alma is in a near-fatal car accident, where she opens an ability to change her relationship with time. She sees her dad, who needs her help to figure out who killed him and why. That quickly changes her relationship with others around her, as she is able to manipulate and bend time.

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Within the mind-bending, time-traveling aspects, there’s a story of disability. Alma lost her hearing when she was three, and that led to her requiring a cochlear implant. We get to see her journey learning sign language, getting used to her implant, and finding her place in an able-bodied world.

While we never see her disability preventing her from living a life and sometimes she finds a way to use it to her advantage, such as when she doesn’t want to hear anyone, it clearly affects her. It’s affected her relationships with her mother and sister.

Her disability has prevented her from connecting to some people, and there are signs that it could have even affected some of her mental state. After all, being different does make it difficult to feel like you fit in.

Alma isn’t a character you’ll necessarily like at first. She’s flawed, and that’s not about her disability. Her view of the world and some of her selfish actions make her unlikable. But at the same time, she’s human. More TV shows are putting flawed women front and center, something shows have gotten away with when it comes to men for a long time. As the story continues, Alma develops and sees how her actions affect others, which makes her someone to like.

Learning more about herself and the world

As the episodes continue, Alma learns more about her ability to bend time at will. With her father as her guide, she learns just how powerful she is, and this gives her the ability to learn more about others around her. This is especially the case about her relationship with Sam, her boyfriend.

By Episode 5, she gets details of Sam that she’s clearly never learned before. She starts to see him in a different light and is more willing to open up about herself. But does that mean she’s willing to open up about the truth and can she do it in a way that doesn’t make her sound crazy?

I’m not sure if she learns to connect to other members of her family at all. Alma’s mother isn’t the warmest, and through flashbacks you can see why Alma doesn’t really want to spend too much time with her mother, but there is clearly a backstory to this attitude and this relationship. It could come in later episodes or it could be for a second season, should the show (and it deserves it) be renewed.

Beautifully filmed

One of the most compelling elements of Undone is the filming. Unlike other animation, this was filmed in video and then the animators drew over the top of it. There’s a more realistic feeling to the story, giving us more expression and more emotion than animation can usually offer.

I’m not usually one for animation partially because of the lack or realism. Seeing the way it was animated immediately drew me in. The colors are vibrant to match the storylines, and we get to see the time-bending and confused state from Alma’s point of view. It makes the whole situation relatable as we learn everything she’s learning.

One thing I worried about was having 30-minute episodes. It’s certainly binge-watchable but does it delve into the story in enough detail? I can certainly confirm it does. The fluff is cut out. The focus is on the important information and character development.

This is a series that I’ll be watching a second time once I’m through it the first time. There’s no doubt that a rewatch is necessary viewing. This is like nothing you’ve seen before, and I want to see Amazon continue to offer these shows.

What did you think of Undone? What’s jumped out at you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Undone Season 1 is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video as part of your Prime membership.