The series is nothing less than an artistic examination of what it means to be human. Sometimes it succeeds. Sometimes the series is a bit ham-handed in its attempts. It is an attempt worth watching. It is one of about four series that I go out of my way to catch every episode.
It conducts its examination through the eyes of the title character. Part of the confusion comes from the nature of Violet (the character) who is somewhere on the cyborg to full robot scale. She may be mostly human with a set of sophisticated prosthetic arms or she may be a robot. That she is relatively emotionless indicates she is further toward the fully robotic end of the scale. The technology that the character embodies is well wildly ahead with the mid 1800's - early 1900's Europe in which the story happens so it is possible that the character isn't even from the story's place and time. But that is irrelevant. What does matter is that Violet (the character) doesn't understand what it means to be human at all.
The fictional character that most reminds me of Violet, is Data from Star Trek the Next Generation. Data and Violet both want to be human. Neither fully understands what that means. And the audience gets to explore what it means through the experiences of these two innocents.
This is not to say that it isn't entertaining. The humor stems from the ineptness of the character and the slightly warped view of society. There is enough eye-candy for anyone interested in that.
Where will it all go? Will Violet fall in love as she comes to better understand what it means? Will we see more of what she actually is and where she comes from? I look forward to finding out.
