I kinda came up with a more depressing ending to Common People
It's established in the episode that people who cannot pay for premium services inevitably get reduced to walking ads.
Mike and Amanda, struggling as always to maintain the basic subscription, are presented with an "opportunity" for Amanda, sleep 12 hrs and work 8 hrs for the company as a full-time "advertisement specialist" without recollection of her time as a walking advert. They get talked into it because most people only get 4-5 hrs in the evening to be with their significant other anyway, it's "work, without the worries of coworker drama, bosses breathing down your neck, etc etc." They agree and Mike doesn't have to do DumDummies. Amanda is a mix of a carnival barker and a signspinner (without a sign) in public places telling people at their location to try <insert hyperlocalized ad here>.
And it's decent...for a while.
Her location gets changed up everyday so the public at a location doesnt learn to ignore the same person they see everyday. The commute time starts to cut into her 4 hrs of cognizant time and her aging firmware causes missed opportunities to advertise, resulting in the Rivermind getting their full contactual 8 hrs of work being turned into 9 hours "on the clock" and then 10.
Mike, meanwhile, still at his blue collar job is at the center of a freak accident which hits him under his hard hat and damages his brain. Amanda agrees to allow Rivermind to save him because he chose to save her, and she gets assurances from a lawyer that they have a case and will be taken care of, able to live 24/7 in Rivermind Lux. Time passes and his employer and insurance determines Mike is at fault and his company is legally unwilling to cover his medical expenses, and he has no legal recourse or disability benefits. Mike is unable to return to his old work or find any new work due to damages to his body.
And then the screen goes black.
9 months later
Mike and Amanda are both full-time ad barkers in public. Their shifts are 12 hrs and they return home...to Rivermind for their sleep and sustenance to keep their organic bodies alive so they can continue to be 100% walking ad drones for Rivermind. And you see a housing center for hundreds of living ad drones.
Cut to black..."Common People" appears.
It's established in the episode that people who cannot pay for premium services inevitably get reduced to walking ads.
Mike and Amanda, struggling as always to maintain the basic subscription, are presented with an "opportunity" for Amanda, sleep 12 hrs and work 8 hrs for the company as a full-time "advertisement specialist" without recollection of her time as a walking advert. They get talked into it because most people only get 4-5 hrs in the evening to be with their significant other anyway, it's "work, without the worries of coworker drama, bosses breathing down your neck, etc etc." They agree and Mike doesn't have to do DumDummies. Amanda is a mix of a carnival barker and a signspinner (without a sign) in public places telling people at their location to try <insert hyperlocalized ad here>.
And it's decent...for a while.
Her location gets changed up everyday so the public at a location doesnt learn to ignore the same person they see everyday. The commute time starts to cut into her 4 hrs of cognizant time and her aging firmware causes missed opportunities to advertise, resulting in the Rivermind getting their full contactual 8 hrs of work being turned into 9 hours "on the clock" and then 10.
Mike, meanwhile, still at his blue collar job is at the center of a freak accident which hits him under his hard hat and damages his brain. Amanda agrees to allow Rivermind to save him because he chose to save her, and she gets assurances from a lawyer that they have a case and will be taken care of, able to live 24/7 in Rivermind Lux. Time passes and his employer and insurance determines Mike is at fault and his company is legally unwilling to cover his medical expenses, and he has no legal recourse or disability benefits. Mike is unable to return to his old work or find any new work due to damages to his body.
And then the screen goes black.
9 months later
Mike and Amanda are both full-time ad barkers in public. Their shifts are 12 hrs and they return home...to Rivermind for their sleep and sustenance to keep their organic bodies alive so they can continue to be 100% walking ad drones for Rivermind. And you see a housing center for hundreds of living ad drones.
Cut to black..."Common People" appears.