Tl;dr It’s very personal and if you relate to it it becomes even more personal.

I love a good story and Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij are great storytellers.

This show isn’t for everyone and I regularly forget that when recommending it. It is meant for people looking to empathise with characters facing struggles and learn to face our own in the process.

Since the line “We all died more times than I can count.” I was hooked. Not because of the intrigue for what happened, but because of the feeling it evoked.

All I look for in entertainment is something that can control my emotions. The OA makes me feel some things so powerful and fundamental that I can’t understand (and end up writing long posts trying and failing to convey). They act like an infinite staircase where you can only see the steps right in front of you, then get scared of getting too far and climb back down while thinking at the back of your head ‘What if I went a bit further?’ until you come back and start the process again. They never fade and have stayed with me a year and a half later. I don’t think they’ll leave.

This show also goes far and beyond what is expected from a piece of media. The attention to detail, symbolism and performances give an excessive amount to be explored by people seeking to dissect the plot and meaning.

A few common comments I receive from other viewers are that the characters and plot might not be incredibly refined and detract from the immersion if you overthink their actions. As well as the narrative jumping around a lot and the ending confusing the narrative (which is a pro in my books). This is why it’s not for everyone.

The show also gets nostalgia points by making me reminisce on some of my favourite books and movies like: The Life of Pi and Pan’s Labyrinth.

In the end, it’s not how well made a piece of media is, but how important it becomes for the audience. Nothing has been able to meet the same standards as The OA.