TV Show review
December 16, 2016 · TV-MA
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The OA is a Netflix mystery drama series about a young woman who returns home after seven years missing, now able to see despite prior blindness. She tells five strangers a story of captivity, near-death experiences, and special dance-like movements that can open portals to other dimensions, recruiting them for a shared mission. The narrative centers on belief, trauma, connection, and spirituality, with only minor visible elements around one character's gender transition and a creator-noted contrast between feminine ritual and male violence in the finale.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The OA.
Woke representation / casting
Includes a transgender character played by a transgender actor and a visibly mixed group of ages and ethnicities among the recruits; fits the misfit-ensemble premise without clear mismatch to the modern suburban setting.
Woke political dialogue
Very little explicit politics; occasional creator-linked comments frame feminine ritual against male aggression in the finale, but on-screen talk stays personal and story-driven.
Identity-driven story themes
One recruit's gender transition forms a small personal arc amid broader themes of trauma and belonging; the main plot follows mystical experiences and group purpose rather than identity as the core driver.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The ending contrasts dance movements (tied by creators to feminine energy) with a school shooting linked to male isolation and rage; offers a subtle narrative observation on gender and violence without systemic or anti-conservative analysis.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. Original story with no reinterpreted legacy characters or historical events.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Almost no reports of viewers or critics calling it woke, agenda-driven, or guilty of forced representation; debates stayed on cancellation and the shooting scene.
Creator track record context
Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij previously made The East with clear environmental-activist themes; their gender-dynamics comments appear in OA interviews but do not define the project's marketing or content.
Production
