Netflix's Atypical Review: 4 Ups & 1 Down

Ups...

4. It Features Likeable Characters

There's not one character in this story that is not flawed. Elsa, Sam's mother, may be on the spectrum herself, as she needs to have everything timed and organized, otherwise she's subject to such questionable behaviors as infidelity and drug use. Doug, her husband, left the family for some months after Sam was diagnosed with autism, because he couldn't handle having an "atypical" child. Zahid, Sam's best (human) friend, constantly forgets about his disorder and takes him to brightly-lit places or uses wordplay, both of which Sam clearly doesn't enjoy.

And yet, it's easy to like these characters and relate to their problems. Having a child/sibling/friend with autism requires a lot of patience and understanding, which they all clearly exhibit. It's not that they are likeable solely because of the sacrifices they make for Sam, however they are part of the reason why it's hard to criticize them for bad decisions.

The characters are warm, funny and normal. They don't strive to be better, but they develop, become more complex in spite of the short duration of the first season.