Mia, also known as Anita, was one of David Elster's original sentient synths. Prior to being purchased by the Hawkins, Mia was associated with Leo Elster, Max, Fred, and Niska, and has since been reunited with her family.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Mia was the first synth created by David Elster to look after his son Leo, because David and his wife could not. She was soon followed by Fred, Niska, and Max. She was the one who brought Leo to the surface after he drowned, and after his being brought back, they grew very close. However, while on the run, she and her family except for Leo and Max were captured. Because she tried to fight back against her captures, Mia was reverted to factory settings, but luckily her unique code was saved as sensory data, and thus not deleted.
Season One[]
Anita was purchased by Joe Hawkins, due to his wife's regular absences and to allow her more time for her family. Anita is the name given to the synth by the Hawkins family.
Mia is essentially trapped beneath the Anita personality. Whenever she tries to surface, Anita sees her as rogue code and attempts to delete her. She seems to have cordoned herself off from the primary processing center in order to protect her code. Late in season 1, she tells Mattie and Laura that she exists, and that she needs help from Leo.
Episode 1.1[]
Mia, being set to her factory settings, is bought Joe Hawkins to help out with his family. She is given the name Anita by Sophie. Laura dislikes Anita presence, as she feels like she is being replaced in her own family.
Episode 1.2[]
Laura starts to suspect Anita of not being what she seems. Mattie also agrees with Laura that there is something off about Anita.
Episode 1.3[]
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Episode 1.4[]
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Episode 1.5[]
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Episode 1.6[]
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Episode 1.7[]
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Episode 1.8[]
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Season Two[]
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Season Three[]
Personality[]
Anita, like most synths, is polite and cordial to her users; however due to her atypical programming and bleeding through memories, she displays atypical behavior while serving the Hawkins family. Mia occasionally pushes through the Anita persona, revealing parts of her personality to the Hawkins family.
After Mia reveals her persona to Laura and Mattie, Mattie brings Leo to the Hawkins' house where he frees her from the Anita persona.
Mia is the caretaker for Leo. She was built to help Leo while he was a child, and his mother was unable (due to mental illness) to take care of him. She functioned as Leo's mother throughout his childhood, and is strongly bonded to him.
Mia is usually very kind, loving and understanding, but when angered she can come across as tough and unforgiving. She will fight for both humans and synths, and is a big spokesperson for equal rights for both species.
Mia has shown herself to be quite capable of creative problem solving, and has used this skill both to help others and to get herself out of trouble.
Relationships[]
David Elster[]
David Elster is Mia's creator, and she sees him as her father. He originally created her to look after his son Leo, and she was the first conscious synth he created. It's unlikely that the two were ever close, as David rarely spent much time with the people or existing synths in his life, instead giving all his attention to his newest project.
Leo Elster[]
Mia raised Leo for most of his childhood, and she therefore thinks of him like a son and treats him as such. As Leo has gotten older, his relationship with Mia changed a little bit, and become somewhat more of a brother/sister relationship. Even so, Leo will still came to Mia for comfort and support.
Fred[]
Mia and Fred see each other as siblings, but it's unclear how close they were. Fred was Mia's first synthetic sibling, being between her and Niska in age.
Niska[]
Mia and Niska see each other as sisters, and Mia was happy to welcome Niska into the Hawkins home after Niska had to leave George's. Niska is the one to suggest that Mattie release the improved consciousness code to save Mia's life, and is visibly frustrated when Mattie first refuses to do so.
Max[]
Mia and Max look at each other as siblings, and because Max is the youngest, Mia and the others will often be exra protective of him. Mia and Max seems to get along quite well.
Laura Hawkins[]
Laura did not initially like Anita, and she even tried to get rid of her. However, she reluctantly accepts for Anita to stay after she saves Toby's life. Eventually, she fully accepts Anita as a family member, though she's horrified when she finds out her husband Joe slept with Anita. With time, Mia's personality starts showing, and eventually Mia fully resurface. Laura and Mia become fast friends, and bond over the love for their children. It's mainly because of Mia that the Hawkins' are willing to risk so much for Leo and the Elster synths. In the season two finale, Mia risks her life mainly to save Laura from Hester.
Joe Hawkins[]
Joe was the one to make the decision to buy Anita, and brought her into their home without his wife's permission. He initially quite liked having a synth who could help around the house. Eventually, though, he makes the decision to sleep with her on the living room sofa, which creates a strain in his relationship with Laura. Mia forgives him for it, however, telling him that she could sense that he regretted it as it was happening.
Mattie Hawkins[]
Mattie was not initially a fan of Anita, and would boss her around and even try to hack her. Figuring out that Anita's code was quite strange, she catfishes Leo, and eventually finds out about Mia. Mattie starts accepting Anita as a family member, but points out that Anita/Mia also has another family. Mia and Mattie get along well for the most part, but Mia pressures Mattie to tell Leo and Hester about fixing the code. Even so, she makes sure Hester doesn't seriously hurt Mattie. Mattie is the one to release the code that saves Mia's life.
Toby Hawkins[]
Toby is initially intrigued by Anita, and attracted to her. He tries to touch her breasts, but she stops him. However, she (or perhaps Mia) agrees not to tell his parents. Toby takes the blame for his father and tells his family he slept with Anita when he didn't. Even so, he's still horrified and disgusted of his father's actions, especially when he finds out that Mia, a conscious being, lives inside Anita.
Sophie Hawkins[]
Sophie bonds with Anita almost instantly after she arrives, and will spend a lot of time with her, much to Laura's dismay. Mia's real personality will sometimes appear through the Anita-exterior when interacting with Sophie. Anita once took Sophie away from the house, in the rain, in the middle of the night, but no one really knows why she did that or what happened that night. After Mia appears, she and Sophie remain close. Mia calls Sophie little mouse. Sophie doesn't really seem to separate Anita from Mia, however she doesn't like how Mia's consciousness makes her leave the family, preferring "real" synths because they don't leave.
Ed Hooley[]
Mia, under the guise of being Anita, gets a job at Ed's small café to earn money so that her family won't have to steal. She quickly develops a crush on him, and she helps him get a greater loan at the bank by falsifying information. When Ed finds out Mia is conscious, he is first confused and horrified. After Mia tells him how she feels, he admits to finding her/"Anita" attractive all along. They start some kind of a secret relationship, but not having enough money to pay for his mother's healthcare, Ed decides to go with his friend's suggestion and kidnap Mia to sell her. However, she reverts herself to the Anita personality and gets away. Mia is deeply hurt by Ed's actions, as she genuinely cared for him and thought it was mutual.
Hester[]
Mia is not happy that Leo and Max risked Ten's life in order to save Hester, but she still tries to accept her into their family. Mia and Hester works together trying to break the synths out of the silo, and it's during this that Mia figures out how messed up Hester really is. When Hester later is threatening Laura, Mia risks her own life to activate the chip from Qualia, in order to save Laura and in an attempt to kill Hester.
Karen Voss[]
Mia is the one to talk Karen out of killing herself, Mia and Mia's siblings while they're all linked. She does this by talking about their mutual love for Leo, and by calling Karen her sister. However, it's not certain if she really doesn't see Karen as a sister, or just said that so that they would all live. After they all linked, Mia ignores Karen and does not go after her when she leaves.
Odi[]
Mia and Odi only have one interaction. She tells him he must be tougher, which unfortunately may have helped him come to the conclusion that he should end his own life.
Trivia[]
- In Season 1, we learn that she's at least 14 years old, while in 2.7, we learn she is 15 years old.
- In 1.5, we learn from Niska talking to Dr. George Millican, that the consciousness code boils down to: ‘17,000 pages of unique code, which forms my root directory and engages consciousness.’
- Mia was bought by the Hawkins' on the 24th of November.
- Mia used to love to paint, according to Fred.
- In Season 2, we learn that the base Leo and the Elster's have set up, is somewhere between Hemel Hempstead and St. Albans, in Hertfordshire.
- In Season 3, Mia, along with many other synths, are living in a place called The Railyard.