In computer science, recursion is a method of problem-solving in which a function repeatedly calls upon itself to solve increasingly complex solutions.
In the show’s finale, Cameron describes her inner software as run by recursion. It’s an apt realization for someone who has spent much of her professional life building her ideas into reality, only to find herself back in the same place still searching for an answer. It’s also a way to read the show as a whole.
Halt and Catch Fire is a show dedicated to its own reinvention. Across four seasons spanning 10 years, there are two time lapses, a change in location and the rise and fall of numerous companies. It’s a testament to the writers that this constant reinvention never feels choppy or stale.
Nevertheless, despite all these variables, the characters always find their way back to one another. The deep connection they all share is a sort of gravitational force, pulling them back into orbit across time and space. By the finale, it’s heartbreaking to have to see them go.
In its beginning, Halt and Catch Fire was ostensibly about characters trying to pioneer the next big tech breakthrough. As exciting as it is to watch people work toward the technological future we live in today, the show is wired in such a way that the narrative is defined by process, not by results. Rarely do characters ever succeed in their original goal. Yet, in the work and in the moments they have with one another, something greater is forged.
Products come and go; the technological industry, which is built on constant advancement, makes sure of it. This show isn’t interested in the disposability of things, but rather what endures. And the desire for human connection is one of those things that never really goes away.
It seems fitting that the last line of the series features, not a goodbye, but an offer. Even in its final moments, the show looks toward the future. Life isn’t episodic; it’s cyclical, and the show is adamant that saying goodbye doesn’t signal an end. Instead, with every goodbye comes a chance to start anew. It’s life in recursion: We watch these characters innovate and fail over and over again. But each time, they learn from their past mistakes. The hope is that, someday, it’ll be enough. Even if it isn’t, all it takes is one idea to reboot and start again.
Halt and Catch Fire is currently streaming on Netflix.