Cassandra lost her humanity and her family in the ’70s, and now that she has reincarnated as a home assistant decades later, she will do whatever it takes to have a family of her own again.

“Cassandra,” a German show released on Netflix on Feb. 6, follows a family that recently moved to a smart home from the ’70s after a tragic family incident. During their first night in their new home, Cassandra, a robot and the system that runs the smart home, awakens, ready to serve her home’s new inhabitants.

The plot was generally predictable. It’s clear what Cassandra’s intentions are. However, there were many moments in which the show left a few jaws dropped and eyes widened as viewers watched her slow yet sinister reign of terror.

“Cassandra” is categorized as a science fiction thriller. Unlike other media in the genre, the thriller aspect comes from the constant sense of unease created within the audience.

For a show that is only six episodes long, the pacing isn’t too awkward. It might’ve been expected that the story would progress at too quick of a pace, but the show’s events flowed smoothly and didn’t feel too rushed or drawn out. Cassandra’s unsettling forms of manipulation, some ending in violence, added to the escalating sense of suspense and trepidation over what the family would have to encounter once the show reached its climax.

The family is composed of the father, David, the mother, Samira, their teenage son, Fynn, and their elementary school-aged daughter, Juno. Being an average family, they have never faced the likes of Cassandra before. As Cassandra gets closer to Juno and focuses on manipulating her the most, viewers can’t help but feel worried about what’s to come next.

Despite the evil things that Cassandra does, the show does an excellent job of portraying her as a multilayered character, especially through flashbacks into her human life. Cassandra was once a mother and a wife who had to deal with her husband’s betrayal, her son’s increasing number of struggles, and eventually faced death. Her story is a tragedy; she was never meant to become a heartless computer program left alone to collect dust in an empty home.

Where other sci-fi shows and films may have emotionless robots gone rogue or robots becoming sentient and discovering their own sense of humanity, Cassandra already lived that life before she was reduced to her metallic body. Seeing how she loved, lost, and fought to gain a sense of humanity through Samira’s family was heart-wrenching. The show’s writing did a fantastic job of portraying the sorrow that overtook her life.

The show was overall entertaining to watch, but, in true horror movie fashion, some of the characters’ decisions were exceedingly frustrating, especially the husband’s. It wouldn’t be a thriller without making its viewers yell at the screen for a character or two to wake up to what’s happening around them. It was aggravating to watch David invalidate Samira and her fears about Cassandra until it was too late to turn back. But of course, if he had believed her, there likely wouldn’t have been as many scenes leaving viewers on the edge of their seats.

“Cassandra” is a show that combines retro-futuristic elements with a chilling narrative driven by obsession and regret. Despite a few predictable and frustrating aspects, it is still a worthwhile show to watch.