This show has been a very surprisingly little nugget of gold just hanging out on Netflix that just happened to pop up on my profile. I don't even remember what was suggested because of but that algorithm was correct. I did enjoy the show.
Typically I don't do spoilers reviews but there's a reason why I want to discuss specific parts of the episodes in the seasons. Let's get the basics out there first.
Black Mirror is a British show of which each episode is a stand alone drama reminiscent of The Twilight Show. While the show plays with dark themes, there is a fascinating progression of human behavior, particularly from the observer point of view. Getting on with the spoilers STOP READING NOW FOR NO SPOILERS.
Season 1
Episode 1 "national anthem": Wasn't much on its own. It only kind of memorized me. I wasn't totally pulled in or committed but I was interested in seeing the "indecent act" actually being performed by the actual politician as requested by the princess's captors. This episode was just about the end game for me. I didn't want to see him do it, I just wanted the satisfaction of it playing through and I was pleasantly surprised at the first twist. As the captors were basically anonymous (as we in the real world know them) it is assumed they had ways of making sure no cheating was involved and that their demands were delivered exactly as ordered. Letting the princess go 1/2 hour before the act was to be preformed was interesting but not surprising; I didn't have any connection to her character. The 'aftermath' bits were interesting. But honestly I thought it was a bit much making the wife hate the husband politician because he had to have sex with a pig. She knew what was at stake. It's not like he was cheating on her behind his back. Now, here, exactly At this point is where an argument could spark. Would I or the "audience" or the "citizens" felt any different if he had to fuck another human being? I mean, it would defeat the purpose of "Anyone" was making referring to politics, but is his a lesser offense because it's an animal? Animal activists would be outraged but a normal citizen probably doesn't think about these things or just says "gross" because they've not done research or encountered it with any other reaction before. I am not an advocate for bestiality, please know that. I'm just interested in the iconic thinking and human opinion when a factor is changed. I can imagine for now but it is an interesting subject so I decided to watch another.
Episode 2 "Fifteen Million Merits": This was the episode that pulled me in. At first I was neutral to the main chapter as he hum drummed his task of slavery, each day the same as the one before it. The story left a few split ends though. In the beginning they built up the longing of the Asian girl a few bikes over from the main male character. Just one observation tangent, British TV seems more cultured than american tv, all "races" are mixed as if it didn't matter what they looked like, go figure. Anyway they had this love thing of her for him and then they introduced a new female character of which the main make character fell in love with. There's no triangle. No reciprocation with the Asian girl. I don't even know why that was a part of the plot. Moving on. This life is futuristic, everyone rides stationary bikes all day to "provide power" and they have the chance to move on to the "better place" of entertainment that is recycled back to the slave bicyclers. After the male character establishes relationship with female character he fancies things spring off and he gives her enough "points" to buy a ticket to preform for the judges who OKed the performer to move on to the entertainment sector. Like american idol. Everyone gets to watch so I presume they only do a few every so often of daily. The amount of "points" needed for a ticket take a very long time and discipline to obtain. When the female character performers her song....I can never get it out of my head (funny enough I watched a movies with the same actress in it the day before and then again the following day). They made her pretty average looking so she was going off her voice. It was spot on but they were saturated with singers. Instead she was offered a porn star position which she eventually was bullied into accepting. It broke his heart to see her thrown away, talent ignored. Main make character then amounts the exact amount of points to buy his own ticket to the very point so he would have none left. He rouses the talent show from dancing to putting a share of glass to his neck forcing the judges to come to terms with reality of this world. Unfortunately it didn't matter. The judges droned on about liking his passion and offered him a spot to do "motivational talks" twice a week. He accepts but finds out that it's not better on the outside. You're just more isolated and things like food don't cost money anymore (from what I can tell).
Episode 3 "The Entire History of You": Set in possibly the same future setting, every one has a "grain" installed in their heads allowing them to replay anything they've seen, storing memorys (which are also delete-able). This episode was kind of boring. Just watching the decline of a guy who becomes paranoid about his wife's old friend. As it turns out they did have a fling while the husband and wife where "on a break." Surprise, surprise. The scene where the wife is forced to delete all the memories of her ex/old friend was kind of intense but generally this episode was predicable. Decent of a man having found out his wife cheated.
Season 2
Episode 1 "Be right back": This episode was interesting and pulled at the heart strings. Having moved to her boyfriend's secluded childhood home she learns of a terrible accident of her boyfriend shortly after the move. Falling apart, at the wake, a friend signs her up for a "beta" program that helps grieving people by simulating them based on all their internet interactions. Martha resists at first but finds herself obsessed with chatting with her dead boyfriend online. She takes it to the next level and the simulator creates a voice, his voice, saying the same things he would have said himself as if he really was talking to her. Her pain is soothed but she becomes more engulfed by her simulated boyfriend. The next level is a android? robot? version of her boyfriend which she brews in the tub. It's crazy to think about how the writers thought this sort of thing up. Of course, Martha has to hide him so she pushes all others away while she falls in love with her simulated boyfriend. His flaws begin to show through and she starts falling apart again, realizing he is not her boyfriend. He's just a copy with missing psyche. Eventually she realizes she's pregnant from the very last time they made love. Flash forward to the little girl's birthday. She is eager to go to the attic with two slices of birthday cake. Up she goes and talks to her simulated father. Martha takes a deep breath and steps up the attic ladder before fading to black. Personally if this service existed, I'm not sure I would use it. I think I would also resist because I'd know it's not real but at the same time the pain would be too much to bare. I could though, see myself doing the exact same thing as her if I wasn't forced to be around a lot of people.
Episode 2 "White Bear": (Forgive me my memory is fading as I have to keep coming back to this post every few days) So this episode is very reminiscent of the twilight zone. A woman wakes up with a splitting headache in a house with amnesia. She stumbles out an open door finding herself being recorded on cell phones by everyone in her line of sight. She goes through a lot of traumatizing events (details irreverent). She eventually ends up strapped to a chair and the set turns around to a live audience. Completely confused at this point she is faced with the truth. She is reliving this hellish act over and over again, with the same actors because she killed a young girl she kidnapped with her husband to hide the evidence of having held the little girl in their capture. White bear is symbolic of a white bear someone found that belonged to the little, raising suspicion around the kidnappers. This repeat of wiping her memory and making her through the same motions over and over again acts as her punishment of killing the little girl by fire and recording it on her cell phone. Her suicidal husband was blamed, claiming she was forced by him to kill her. The only thing that doesn't make sense to make about this one is why "they," the audience, do t get bored of seeing the same performance over and over again. Is it a weekly live showing for new audiences? Is she held captive when not starring her he'll show? I like that you are left wondering how long the to tire would continue and how the audience plays into it. It also stirs up the thought that what if she takes different actions? Wouldn't the show we ruined or at the very least turned into improve? Who knows.
Episode 3 "The Waldo Moment": This episode was very political and really a downer. The main character is a droopy comedian who voices a raunchy animated bear who loves to stir up controversy. As the political campaigns reigns on, "Waldo," the animated bear, "decides" to join the race. The comedian establishes a relationship with one of the candidates in running outside of Waldo's influence. Waldo's running opened up a chance for one of the tortured candidates to rag "on the man behind the bear" which enrages the comedian. After his public embarrassment Waldo lashes out the the easy target of the women candidate he learned that she was only running for publicity and foreseen herself not a true candidate. He eventually comes out from behind the bear and denounces "Waldo" publicly, as his coworkers scrabble to reanimate Waldo. Eventually you see the comedian as a homeless man, bitter upon seeing an animated ad of his previous job.
Special "White Christmas": This episode was another perk up. Connected to the previous episodes in the same futuristic world where people can see throough others' eyes. A socially enepted young man crashes a Christmas party with the help of a man watching his every move and giving advice on how to act. The young man chooses a particularly hard girl o engage but eventually gets her to talk to him. Later, in a quieter place, after they talkecd for a while she goes to the bathroom. The young man pleads with the man on the other side to stop coaching him as he feels he can take it on from where he left off. The girl accidenly overhears the young man pleading with "the voices in his head" and maks hr assuption that he has voices in his head. She takes him back to her place with the prejected intent of some adult "time." However she force feeds him a drink that looks like lemonade. The man starts to gasp for breath and the girl confesses she also heard voices in her head. She's decided to kill herself and "free" him in the process by posioning him along side her. The man behind the scnenes witnesses all this and tries to destory all evidence of his involvement.
A second story begins as a woman goes through a surgery where her conciousness is taken right out of her head and inserted into a device called a Cookie. The same man from the last episode appears on screen while she wanders aimlessly and keeps asking where she is. The man explains she is not acutally woman's conciousness, she is a carbon copy made of code compiled from data collected over a few weeks of the preferences of the woman. As she still doesn't understand inside the Cookie the man coaxes her to "do work" for the human version of herself. She refuses, and continues to demand where she is. The man adjusts the "time" for the agumented woman inside the cookies, eventually driving her into madness and she begs for something to do. The episode ends with the agumented version of the woman mindlessly adjusting all aspects of the human version of the woman to her comfort. A slave to her "needs" and wants to provide maximum comfort.
The last episodes opens in a cabin where the same man who was behind the scenes for the murder and the woman's virtual slave has spent 5 years with a speechless man. After some coaxing, alcohol and opening up "himself" to the speechless man, he begins to talk. He remembers how, the in same futuristic world, his life was with his beautiful wife. In the course of their relationship the man finds out his wife is pregnant and expresses his joy for the chance at having a child, however, his wife decides she is set on having an abortion. After fighting ensues, the wife uses the technology installed in their heads to block her image and sound from the man. This "mute" feature blurs out the blocked person from seeing themselves or hearing clearly what they are saying. In turn the blocker doesn't see or hear the blocked person either. The wife leaves and the man is driven wild, unable to get in contact with his wife due to her block never being lifted. He secerately spys on his blocked wife at her father's place during Christmas because he knew she'd always be there. Eventually he sees a blocked child (as offspring are also blocked) and follows her growing up by continuing to spy on them each Christmas. Suddenly one day, while watching the news, the man finally sees his wife unblocked on the TV screen. She died in an accident which lifted the block for both her and his offspring. The man rushes to the father's house the next Chstimas, very eager to see his child. Only she isn't his child, she's one of his old asian buddy's instead. Floored, he is spotted by the father who asks what he is doing there. He pushes himself into the cottage, in disblief over the child. In anger he strikes the father over the head with a present he had prepared for his daughter. Then he leaves. After a few days, finally understanding her grandfather will not wake up she prepares herself to leave the cabin for help. Then the story focuses back on the two men in the cottage, the same cottage as the father's. He is forced into the confession of killing the grandfather and inevertently killing the child (as she did not make it far from the cabin, having died from the assumed cold by a tree not far for the cabin. The scene then pans to man from the first two episodes claiming he did his job and should now be released from the police (preasmably due to getting found out about coverin gup the murder from the first epsiode). What felt like 5 years was only 40 minutes, the man boasts about breaking the other man in the agmented reality into confession. He is eventally is released but is blocked from EVERYONE. He is also marked as a bad man, showing as red to everyone else, This episode ends on a surprising twist. I had actulaly thought the man would get the freedom her desired by cooperating with the police to get the confession. But upon leaving the police station, everyone is gray to him and he only hears muffled voices all around him. I can imagine he eventually would be driven into madness or go back to being incarserated so he can communicate with humans again.
So what's next? There is a planned 12 episode season to be released exclusively to Netflix. I am extemely excited to see where they go with the new season (if they build off the previous seasons or follow up on some of the better characters of the previous seasons). There are no details on the planned episodes and one source predicts more information to come in mid to late 2016.
