A person’s traumatic experience can trigger multiple emotions at once. “Unprisoned” is a 2023 series on Hulu that revolves around the strained relationship between Edwin and his daughter Paige. Sometimes you can relate to your favorite characters, and there’s a reason why they’re our favorites. We can identify with them in a lot of ways, which in turn gives us a varied perspective. The name “Unprisoned” describes the characters of Paige and Edwin. Although they pretend to love each other, they have to free themselves from the painful thoughts that are floating around in their heads. During her childhood, Paige spent her life in foster care because she hadn’t seen her father for a very long time. Even so, Edwin didn’t let that stop him from committing crimes, and he spent 17 years in federal prison. This time, Edwin was determined to find a job, and he would do anything to mend his broken relationship with Paige. But Paige wasn’t interested because she couldn’t trust her father at all. Paige is a successful therapist who specializes in marriage and relationship counseling, but in reality, she struggles with her personal life and can’t manage to reconcile her relationship with her son Finneas (Finn).
Throughout the series, the show constantly switches back and forth between Paige’s childhood and her adulthood. She constantly seeks validation from her younger self and refuses to forgive anyone who has hurt her in the past. Even though Paige doesn’t hate Edwin, she does carry resentment in her heart. Paige cannot accept that she was abandoned by her father when she needed him the most. Still, Paige overthinks every decision and suffers from strong fears when it comes to trusting someone.
Paige always shares her insights through her social media, and every topic has to do with her childhood traumas. Although she steers her patients in the right direction, Paige can’t let go of her past, which spoils the best moments of her life. Edwin realizes his mistake and accepts his irresponsibility toward Paige. At first glance, Edwin seems to be a very open-minded and fun-loving person, but deep in his heart; he’s struggling with all the pain he experienced when he had to pay for his crimes. Also, Edwin had decided to leave his eight-year-old daughter with his estranged girlfriend Nadine, who seems like a cool mom, but Paige never liked being with her. She tries to impose her parenting methods on Paige because she doesn’t know how to handle a child. Still, Paige thanks Nadine for everything she has done. Paige has a hard time trusting anyone, and this aspect of her personality is reflected in her decision-making. Moreover, Paige’s relationship with a married man, Bill, was painful for her because he gave her material affirmation but refused to support her emotionally. At one point, Edwin tried to convince her to break up with him because Bill was taking advantage of Paige because he had no intention of divorcing his wife.
Sooner or later, Paige realizes this and decides to end the relationship with him. She still thinks that raising a child plays a very important role in determining their future relationships. Somewhere, it’s pretty clear that Paige does not understand her self-worth and constantly doubts herself. Things get worse when Edwin loses his job at a restaurant called Parmesan Garden because of his past. He decides to hide this from Paige, as she would quickly freak out if she found out about it. With the help of Finn, he soon finds a job and decides to tell Paige everything. But Paige does not believe him and accuses him of lying. Meanwhile, Finn is annoyed by his mother’s behavior, which makes life difficult for Edwin. Although he tried hard, Paige immediately neglected him. Paige did not understand that Finn got used to the negativity and hatred. Edwin does not like his new job because the employers are inconsiderate, but he decides to stick to it, but he spends his free time with Nadine, who constantly tries to fix her relationship with Paige, but they constantly argue about everything while Edwin tries to settle their disputes.
Edwin knew that if he quit his current job, he would get in big trouble with Paige because she would not allow him to live with her. Besides, Edwin wants to be with Finn, and this job is his only chance to convince Paige. Soon, Paige finds a new boyfriend, Mal, who seems to be the one. He is kind to her and respects her choices, but again, Paige has a hard time trusting him because she has never really experienced the love and care that Mal gives her. Mal and Finn know that she misunderstood her father because she needed to give him a chance to make up for everything he’d lost. Paige listens to no one and believes she is making the right decisions. Finally, Paige realizes her mistake and apologizes to Edwin for not letting him back into her life. Edwin decides to quit his job and pursue his plans for a food truck business. With the help of Finn, Edwin starts selling ice cream in the neighborhood, and things are going well for him! Edwin makes the news for rescuing a dog that was trapped in a car, which helps him introduce a new version of himself.
But his ice cream truck is stolen, and now he has no choice but to travel to Alabama to find his birth certificate because he needs it to get a driver’s license. Here, Paige learns another side of her father and understands that Edwin has suffered from racist people in the past. Although he struggles with his painful feelings, Edwin knows he no longer has to run from his past. But things start to falter again when Edwin is arrested once more. Paige refuses to bail him out, but Finn tries everything to convince his mother because it was he who wanted Edwin to drive the car. Edwin didn’t have a driver’s license, and that got him into a lot of trouble. Finn decides to visit Edwin with Nadine. During the whole situation, Paige stays out of the drama and enjoys her current fame with the Ted Talk show. Paige became instantly famous on the internet when she shared her story about Edwin’s life. But Paige can’t cope with all the sudden changes and cheats on Mal with her ex-boyfriend Bill. Mal doesn’t put up with it and ends the relationship because Paige has to sort out her own feelings first. In the midst of this process, Paige has given up on herself, and this time she has to reach out to her estranged childhood version desperate for her attention. Edwin is bailed out with the help of his connections and decides to move out, but their relationship is still not solidified.
Paige and Edwin will have to work harder to improve their relationship, as they still have a long way to go. Things between Finn and his mother have been bad since Edwin decided to leave her, but Paige has had to realize that her past no longer defines her, as she has to decide who she wants to be. Now everything depends on the future, as Edwin may have to find a job and work to convince his daughter that his past can’t lure him back, but it will be his final decision to fix the things he couldn’t fix in the past.
