San Junipero (and season 3) Spoilers

At first watch, season three didn't seem on par with the first two seasons. I thought there was something missing, it was too light-hearted, cheery, something I couldn't quite pin down. After watching it again, I realized the brilliance that I first missed. Seasons one and two weren't subtle in their message; brilliant and on point yet dark and unsettling from the beginning. Season three seems more thought provoking with subtle nuances with each viewing. A main difference seems to be the duality in each episodes message; meaning the "black and white" nature of seasons one and two has become more "grey" (with the exception of a few obvious episodes yet the punishment fitting the crime seems to be one of the many messages in those examples).

San Junipero is a perfect example of this concept. A young woman's family rejects her after learning of her sexual orientation, presumably in the late 80's. As her family's religious, they most likely keep her on life support for decades leading to the "Singularity" (a whole other discussion). The ending was brilliantly bittersweet. She never lived her life yet meets someone from her last remembered time while "alive" and falls in love. Yet the other woman lived a full life, having lost her daughter and husband, and can't imagine living forever. The irony and duality of their fate, resulting in a decision that is incomprehensible to modern day humanity, learning the truth of their lives outside this system yet wanting a happy ending for someone who never had the chance to live - it's a gut wrenching examination of reality and life, what is real and what isn't, whether or not those concepts matter, and whether our current lives aren't simply carbon based forms of the universe experiencing itself through us or if free will is an illusion no different than the lives stored in a server farm.

There's no true right or wrong, correct or incorrect resolution to that proposed reality. That is what makes a story impactful.