A Thank You Letter To Brit Marling

Thank you, Brit Marling, for giving us The OA. 

The OA is an original series on Netflix. The short, official synopsis is, “seven years after vanishing from her home, a young woman returns with mysterious new abilities and recruits five strangers for a secret mission.”

But it’s so much more than a secret mission. The OA is a show about science fiction, and faith, and friendship, and love, and science, and mystery, and humanity all rolled into one.

Thank you for writing a story that makes us think beyond our own world and beyond our own selves.

Thank you for writing a story that shows us that true friendship knows no age or no gender. That sometimes, your friends are found in the most unexpected places, and that those unexpected moments can also be the start of something bigger than you ever imagined.

Thank you for writing a story that shows the complexities of believing in something bigger than ourselves. I’m so glad Homer didn’t believe the OA right way – faith is often a journey, as is love.

Thank you for writing characters that are flawed, but fighting for the good that is inside them.

Thank you for your portrayal of high school. As a former high school teacher, I can say it’s raw, it’s real, it’s true.

Thank you for crafting a world that is new and is from scratch. As an audience member, it’s exciting to see where it will unfold. As a writer, it is inspiring to watch, and learn, from your storytelling skills.

Thank you for acting in the story that you have written, and for producing it, too. As an artist, I am both awestruck and inspired. It makes me want to write more stories. You’ve become a light that shows others the way.

Thank you for leaving audiences confused and perplexed and something else that the English language doesn’t quite have the word for yet at the end of Season 2. It’s refreshing to not be able to figure out a show earlier than we’re supposed to. It’s exciting to be able to question what just played across our screens.

Thank you for The OA.