Black Mirror: Some Thoughts

My cousin Heather asked me to watch Black Mirror and perhaps write about it. She wanted my opinion on the episode “White Christmas”; which stars Jon Hamm. I was only vaguely familiar with Black Mirror and did not want to start a new show. Then I saw that it was an anthology series and I could just watch the episode she suggested. Needless to say, I watch the episode and was completely hooked and have now been watching the rest of the series. Here are my random thoughts about some of the episodes…

-“White Christmas” was very good. Although, I did see the ending coming. I assumed that Hamm would be a cop, not that he was working for the cops (and that he too would be blocked by everyone at the end was a huge shock). Anyways, I knew something was up when Hamm said that they had been in the cabin for years and hardly spoken, and it all made sense when he explained his other job setting up the home assistant and he tortured the Greta-cookie.

Sadly, I can imagine a world where social media controls our lives to the point that legal matters fall under the realm of social media. Think about how horrible it had to be for that guy to never get the chance to hear that the kid was not his at all. He spent years trying to see someone that he believed was his daughter. Then it turns out that this ex-girlfriend had been cheating on him. That was a kick in the nuts and everything after that definitely sucked.

-I have read that “Shut Up and Dance” is one of the most divisive episodes. People either hate the ending or love it. We go through the entire episode feeling bad for Kenny. He is being blackmailed by some mysterious group into doing weird jobs. They used his computer against him and made a video of him jerking off. The next thing you know, he is robbing a bank and at the end he has to fight to the death. The hackers end up releasing everything about him anyways (and all of their “victims”). Turns out, he was not just jerking off, he was doing it to pictures of kids. And when you think back to events at the beginning of the episode, you realize there were signs: the way he smiled at the little kids at the restaurant, how mad he got about his sister having his computer, and even when he went to his room to rub one out…you think it was the girl on TV, but he gave his sister a weird look while she was sitting on the couch, and that is when he runs to his room. Ewww, creepy. Also, did anyone else feel bad for Bronn? He didn’t even cheat on his wife, he was just planning it and then got caught. Not saying he wasn’t a dickbag, but he did helping rob a bank fit his crime?

-Did the synthetic Ash (from “Be Right Back”) find enough of real Ash’s online persona to give him a point of reference to start begging OR did the synthetic Ash actually not want to jump to his death? I have been wrestling with that one for a few days now. I cannot decide.

-The end of “Playtest” actually made me cry. Or at least brought a tear to my eye. When Cooper wakes up and returns home to America, I honestly thought that was real. His mother not remembering him actually seemed like such a sad way to end it. Like he avoided talking to her the whole time and then it turns out that she is suffering just like his dad. But then we learn that was his biggest fear all along! And the actual test was only like one second and the phone call from his mom triggered the episode that ends up killing him.

Anyone else watch this show? Thoughts? What other episodes do you like? How did you feel about the first episode? The Prime Minister banging a pig? I bet that was a mind-blowing thing for a first episode.