Sunny episode 2 recap: the investigation into Imatech

Sunny episode 2
(Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

Apple's latest sci-fi show Sunny debuted on Wednesday, July 10 with two episodes, and while the first sets up the world of the show, Sunny episode 2 shows the main character's investigation beginning.

The second episode of this Apple TV Plus original is called 'Don't Blame the Machine',  and there are lots of machines to blame in Sunny given that the show takes place in a world full of robotic helpers.

In this world, Sunny is about a woman investigating the disappearance of her husband and son, with the help of a robotic assistant that the former created . 

To ensure you didn't miss a beat or a detail in what's promising to be a twisty series, this Sunny episode 2 recap will remind you of everything that happened throughout "Don't Blame the Machine". Spoilers ensue.

Suzie and Sunny become friends

At the beginning of the episode we see a room full of office workers. An alert indicates that they need to put on some visors and do some stretches, but as this happens one gets a call which alarms them. He runs out to deal with a security alert in 'Division 5'.

After the introductory credits, Suzie Sakamoto (Rashida Jones) is drinking whisky outside her home. We get a flashback to her first meeting future husband Masa (Hidetoshi Nishijima) who helps her with the vending machine at a silent restaurant and. Later at the same restaurant she repeatedly texts someone the phrase 'I'm sorry', which is when Masa approaches her again and asks her out for a drink.

Sunny episode 2

(Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

Back in the modern day, Suzie looks up at her house to see the robot Sunny staring at her from a window. We see that someone at a computer somewhere is watching the feed.

Suzie returns to the home and asks Sunny what Masa was doing in his lab; Sunny is cagey and eventually admits that she doesn't know.

Suzie takes Sunny to an underground roboticist who studies the robot, and notes that Sunny is constantly getting new software updates. Suzie asks the elderly man about the guide to hacking homebots that Mixxy mentioned, but he makes excuses and leaves.

At the same time, Sunny gets hynotized by a video feedback loop on a nearby screen. As the robot and owner leave later, another of the workers chase them down. She tells Suzie about the Dark Manual, the guide she looks for, with information indicated by a logo of looping wolves. This image shocks Suzie.

Finding the fox

Suzie (Rashida Jones) live in Kyoto, Japan.

(Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

Suzie visits Masa's mother Noriko (Judy Ongg) who's hosting a party with friends, playing video games and eating fast food, with her flippant attitude upsetting Suzie. The latter asks Noriko for a picture Masa made, of a wolf, but she'd already thrown it away. Suzie also asks Noriko if she knew that Masa actually worked in robotics, not refrigerators. Norkio didn't but doesn't seem to care.

We see a flashback to Masa and Suzie's first date, at the bar Mixxy works at (though at that time, she didn't work there). He has a notebook of doodles but he doesn't let Suzie see.

We learn that Suzie used to work in finance but moved to Japan to start anew, trying to be a 'hikikomori' (a Japanese name for a form of social withdrawal). Masa said that he used to be one, until a friend helped him work through it and helped him get better.

In the modern day, Suzie returns home and tears apart Masa's office to find something, presumably linked to the tattoo. Sunny enters and asks Suzie what Masa was like, and after Suzie lists her favorite traits, Sunny agrees to help Masa look for clues. They decide to start at Imatech, the company Masa worked for.

The break-in

Sunny is an Apple TV+ comedy thriller with Rashida Jones.

(Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

The next morning they go to the lab but Sunny's programming stops, preventing her from getting near. Suzie has to abandon the robot, and manages to sneak into the lab by coercing the drunk man she met at the party a few days prior. 

As Suzie breaks into the lab, we see the security lab as before. The security worker chases Suzie but she manages to evade him, with help from Sunny who begins another alert so the office workers return to their stretching. Sunny seems to recognize the security man.

At home, Suzie decides Sunny needs a drink, so they relax to some of the trippy video feedback loop footage that has some kind of effect on Sunny. Then the door rings... and it's a robot bringing Masa's shoes, which were found at the wreckage of the plane crash. This brings home that Masa is really dead.

We see another flashback to Suzie and Masa in bed at the end of their first date. She doesn't seem to want a relationship but he convinces her into one.

After this we see the robot which discovered the shoes. It's not actually from the airline, and the creepy-looking man watching Suzie through the monitors sent it to trick her into thinking Masa was dead.

In bed, Suzie calls someone called Dee, but they don't answer. So Suzie asks Sunny to get into bed with her.

We end the episode with a flashback to the scene that began the first episode: Masa had used the Dark Manual on a homebot which pushed it to kill. This had been covered up, but Sunny remembers it.

Tom Bedford
Streaming and Ecommerce Writer

Tom is the streaming and ecommerce writer at What to Watch, covering streaming services in the US and UK. His goal is to help you navigate the busy and confusing online video market, to help you find the TV, movies and sports that you're looking for without having to spend too much money.