In Netflix's Atypical, Sam (Keir Gilchrist) isn't the easiest person to get along with. The 18-year-old is on the autism spectrum, and everything from his routine, to idiosyncrasies, to his love for Antarctica and penguins, sometimes annoys his family. It resulted in the impatient Sam not having that many friends, although Paige (Jenna Boyd) took a genuine liking to him at Newton and made him her high school sweetheart. Unfortunately, Sam smashed Paige's heart to pieces in Season 1, but thankfully, come the end of the Season 2, he redeemed himself in the most shocking manner.
Sam grew obsessed with the typical things teenage high schoolers go through, such as sex, but one person who constantly distracted him was his therapist, Julia. As much as Sam liked Paige, it was more for companionship, benefits and convenience, with the insensitive teen then dumping Paige at Olive Garden in front her entire family.
It ruined Paige's year, but Sam, insensitive as ever, didn't care as he rushed off to profess his love for Julia, wanting someone mature. That led to a meltdown, severing their doctor-patient relationship, with Season 2 finding Sam readjusting big time. He and Paige casually hooked up, while Sam struggled to find a new therapist, despite patching things up with Julia. Still, his parents and Paige were annoyed that he hinged on Julia's every word before making most decisions.
Come the finale, though, Sam proved he was his own man -- and more so, he could be selfless. When Paige had to give her valedictorian speech before heading off to college at Bowdoin, Sam was stunned that she lost her voice. She dreamt of giving this speech all of her life and was now breaking down.
It turns out, the day before, when bullies wrote bad messages in Sam's yearbook ridiculing him, Paige cussed out a vast portion of the class. Sadly, her shrill actions cost her her voice, but without even knowing all this background, Sam made sure Paige's big dream didn't fail.
Sam took Paige's speech and went up in front the entire class, stunning his family, friends and even the invited Julia. They all knew he was scared of public speaking but Sam delivered Paige's speech, working in his own two cents and critiques, to basically turn it into a comedy routine.
It left everyone impressed and made Sam realize he was in love with Paige. After this, she no longer held reservations about Sam as this topped the prom when he tried to make up for the breakup by jumping into a pool to find her lost penguin chain. Sam's a germaphobe so it counted for a lot, but Paige still couldn't trust him. This act, though, proved to everyone that Sam was ready for the world, and more so, a committed relationship.
Created by Robia Rashid, Atypical stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Keir Gilchrist, Brigette Lundy-Paine and Michael Rapaport. All three seasons are available on Netflix with Season 4 premiering July 9.