User Reviews

A lot of people going on in their reviews about how this episode is about phones/social media 'taking over our lives,' which makes me feel like they've missed the point.

The point is that we've invested an hour, as viewers, into watching this dramatic situation unfold. Someone's life at the end has been horribly ended - it really doesn't matter which character. It's world breaking news.

And yet this tragedy, for most everyone of the 7 billion of us roaming the Earth, gets boiled down to nothing more than a 3 second glance at a screen.

All those people at the end get their little device alerts, and look down at their phone briefly, and then dismiss it and never think about it again.

That's the point. That our lives are little more to each other than a blip on a screen, and then forgotten. That we've substituted real human connections, actually caring about one another, with a blipping notification.

Much like several other "Black Mirror" episodes, it's the button presented in those last moments in the credits that really sew up the point.

I really enjoyed this episode. Took me some time to get the ending and I almost missed it. The key scene is the last scene where all the people glance at the phone for just a few seconds and then move on. They weren't really interested in the fact someone had died. We no longer notice what is really going on around us.... And that is actually quite worrying when you sit and think about it.

I think the director never wanted to give out the ending that is who died because he wants to show that it is irrelevant to the people. There is a scene in the credit rolling where everyone in the city gets a notification regarding the situation's ending but everyone ignores it and chooses kept indulged in their day to day nuances. That's exactly what the director wants to show, that it doesn't matter to anyone who got killed in the end so why even show it to the audience. Audience will also ignore and forget it like other people did and hence holds no significance who dies. It's oddly beautiful.

Emotional investment is forced to be lost at the end. The point of the episode. This was one of the most intense performances I've seen. And at the end, you never know who was killed... it doesn't matter because ot takes 2 seconds to check the notification and dismiss it. The Black Mirror was actually us the viewers.

Even me rushing here after watching the episode to check other reviews and write my own... something I experienced but will be read for 2 minutes or scrolled down and skipped... mmmm... makes me feel sad about myself hahaha.

10/10 for the gripping performance.

I've never reviewed a tv episode before but since I enjoyed this so much I felt the need to put my thoughts out there. As of writing this review the reception of this episode is mixed to say the least, it's one of those episodes you either love or absolutely loathe.

Black Mirror is a series which has opened the minds of an entire generation as it showcases the more frightening and disturbing aspects of technology. With each stand alone story it manages to freak you out or even if it doesn't it touches into very real subject matter that Hollywood wouldn't even dare touch.

Many who hated this episode highlighted how the story was predictable or how there was a message which wasn't all that profound as some other episodes. I can see where people are coming from and I must stress it's not an episode that's going to freak you out with anything extremely mind blowing. What really makes this episode work and left such an impact on me was how it explored a very real subject matter that easily could have come across as exploitative but through the drama of the characters really makes it touching especially if one has experienced trauma or extreme depression.

It's sad to say but younger people have become more depressed nowadays throughout the world for a variety reasons but more often than not its due to the distractions and pressures of websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. This fact forms the basis of this episode and really makes scenes that much more tragic whether it's the protagonist accidentally running into a car killing his fiance and another driver because he was distracted by a notification on a fake social media network called Persona or a mother grieving over her daughter's suicide which may or may not have been caused by something on social media.

The episode isn't trying to suggest that social media is evil and you shouldn't use it whatsoever, but instead like all the cautionary tales in Black Mirror, showcases how it can devastate lives when it is used poorly, in this case when it's an addiction.

The acting is absolutely phenomenal and it was great seeing Topher Grace who I thought was absolutely phenomenal as Billy Bouer, the head of Persona. I could see a lot of people making parallels between his character and Mark Zuckerberg in addition to criticising the fact that he's portrayed as an understanding guy which in Zuckerberg's case is probably far from the truth. Again this is fiction and even though there is that parallel, the episode I feel needed that heart because if everyone for instance wanted him to kill himself it may be a bit too pessimistic, even for Black Mirror standards.

This might be the most important Black Mirror episode yet, a close second being Shut Up and Dance. I can see Black Mirror in the future been seen as a cultural reflection of this decade's obsession with social media, our reliance on technology and how downright paranoid a generation it was... If you hate this episode I'm not going to change your mind but if you liked it I'm sure you liked it for the same reasons I did.

I just can't believe the sniper. The show is cool etc etc...but "I can't get a shot is so dumb when you set up in the only position you can't get a shot. Ruined it for me. Ahhhhhh

The most important fact was actually presented right in the beginning - that it's the year 2018. It's not a decade in the future, but a few months in the past. For the first time Black Mirror deviates from its futuristic tone and comes up with a far more horrifying reality - The Robots have already taken over. The premise and social message is fairly cliched (social media sucks, they trick us into using those apps, we are the product etc), but it's essence has perhaps never been portrayed so well on a TV show. Andrew Scott is seriously at the top of his game. He carries the whole one hour show on his shoulders all the while being inside a car most of the time. That also speaks volumes about the writing of this episode. Dystopian and poignant. Must watch.

Me and my husband were so curious about whether they got killed together by sniper and focuced on the hostage like is he alive?? So on...and while we were thinking about it, the point hit us. This episode tells us that we are obsessed with curiosity.everyone who is watching this episode wondering who is killed.but this is what they want us to feel..curiosity..most people addicted to social media.and they are using it against us.making us addicted to notifications..This episode causing curiosity at the end like notifications coming to our phones and we keep seeing what is going on..we miss living and even causing damage to our lifes somehow..we love this episode so smart end..

Judging by many of the reviews, we viewers gave the main character 60 minutes of our attention and by the end we cared about him. The hostage spent 40 minutes with this character and then he cared. The Smithereens CEO was on the phone with him for just 10 minutes. And he cared.

But as the end of the episode shows, our lives now are built around notifications and two second glances... and that's not enough to care.

Somewhere between lives full of ten minute interactions and two second clips we crossed the threshold. The threshold between meaningful lives full of caring people and now lonely, empty ones. I think the mother who solves the riddle of her daughter's suicide will find that ultimately, this emptiness was the cause. Nobody looks at the sky anymore.

Instead of building human connections with people, our relationships have been reduced to two-second swaps of dog photos, blown into smithereens.

Im struggling to give this anything higher than a 5 and to be honest I think that's a generous score to begin with. This episode does enough to keep your attention for the most part but doesn't really have any deeper level to it. What you see is what you get here and some of what you get is just nonsense unfortunately.

There seems to be a growing trend amongst fans of the show to just denounce people that don't like the new season as "haters". As if the only reason people don't like the newer episodes as much is because they just wanted to dislike it before they even watched it. Im sure I'll be looked upon in the same light for giving this an average score. The whole notion that you're supposed to like this series simply because its Black Mirror and if you didn't like it you just "didn't get it" is as hypocritical and moronic as it gets. Giving something a 10/10 simply because you enjoyed the plot is very far removed from the episode/film being a 10/10. People debate whether films like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now are worthy of such a high rating and in comparison this episode lacks any amount of depth that would warrant such a score. It would be unfair to compare this episode to films of that calibre however so lets take a look at some of the fundamental elements of this episode and figure out just how good it is by its own merit.

General plot : guy loses fiancé in car crash due to his irresponsible driving (using his phone and not paying attention to the road) and then blames the phone for this... Kidnaps someone who works at the company of the app he was looking at and demands to speak to the head of the company so he can give a touching monologue before killing himself.

It doesn't get any deeper than that, thats it. Thats what happens and you're just expected to go along with it. They try to tie it to the idea that society has been ruined by social media (never seen that idea explored before.....) and its real life that's really important. Wow such a strong concept how am I ever going to get my head around this concept wow. Maybe I'll just be like 99% of the population and understand that social media can be as addictive as literally any other activity designed for public consumption. Thats how products work, thats how corporations market things, it's up to us to be responsible and treat these things in a way that they don't negatively impact our lives. I mean if his fiancé got really fat and died due to obesity would he kidnap a staff member at KFC and demand to speak to the Colonel? Ridiculous premise to hang the entire episode on. I can believe that someone would make the connection and blame the social media instead of facing up to the reality of the situation given the main characters circumstances. People do make irrational decisions, especially in highly stressful situations. But it tries to convince you that he actually has a point!, like the social media really was to blame for his fiancé's death and we as an audience are supposed to sit back and reevaluate what's important in our lives....really?

The ineffectiveness of the the police is just hilarious, they literally accomplish nothing. Sure, they ramp up the tension a bit but as far as actually doing something that could prevent the situation...nothing. The sniper constantly reminding us that he "can't get a clean shot" despite the fact that he chose to stand in a position that wouldn't give him a clean shot was also hilarious. He's in a wide open field....maybe go around? Nope can't do that because that would be logical and then this episode would be over in about 10 minutes. There is literally 0% chance ever that the FBI would get involved in a situation like this taking place in England and 0% chance of the guy actually talking to the head of this social media company. 0% chance. The head of this company being a down to earth good guy who hates social media just as much as our "protagonist" by the way. Wow they have stuff in common what a contrast of our expectations this is genius....

Damson Idris did a good job playing the hostage...until the end which is mainly down to bad writing more than anything. And Andrew Scott did play his character very well for the most part and you do get a good sense of the desperation he feels however over acted some of his scenes were. Some of the scenes where he was freaking out and becoming overwhelmed by the severity of everything were some of the funniest parts of this episode and in don't think that was intentional...

Theres not a lot more to say really, plot was dumb, cinematography was...there...I guess, score was average, editing was average, dialogue was average at best and the acting was okay. I could go into every plot point and break down why this just didn't work quite as well as expected but I fear I'd be here all day.

If this is the highlight of this new series of episodes, as I've heard a lot of people say then I feel as if I'm going to be disappointed. The subject matter just feels forced at this point which is why I think people are saying that Black Mirror has lost its spark. Which is a fair point to make I'd say. This started off as something special with real meaning behind each episode, each with a different message surrounding a common theme, technology. Now it just seems like a series thats being made for the sake of it due to its popularity.

It won't be long before it starts to become a parody of itself and with that in mind don't even get me started on episode 1 of this season....don't even get me started.

Black Mirror exposes pitfalls and effects of using and abusing technology. And this episode is about that, yet not within a hypothetical sci-fi future but nowadays.

There is more complexity to the story than the so-called predictable ending. For instance the CEO going back to its seclusion at the end, the image with his eyes closing, this is powerful. And the fact that company knows more than police, or FBI being just a messenger, or the attacker finding useful info from the media in real time, or the dehumanizing layers of corporate involvement having checklists to anything and doing their part in managing a monster they create but no longer control. All this is not groundbreaking original, but they were all put together very well, supported by the great performance of the lead, in a thrilling hour of quality entertainment, with also engaging the mind and awareness.

This is not the most original Black Mirror episode, nor the most engaging about the future. But it's the most effective in raising awareness, and for that, my all time favorite.

First, the acting was superb, Scott killed it! But I can't get over the subtext: the woman who wants to know why her daughter killed herself mirrors how the viewers and the final characters checking their phones want to know who got shot. SM addiction is very real and has caused some highly regrettable incidents, but like the characters checking their phones & immediately moving on, so do we the viewers, it matters to each individual as much as they let it. Like the mother to her daughter (very much) & the strangers getting updates on their phones (very little).

No video game sex in this episode, but one that gets back to the origins of Black Mirror. There's nothing futuristic about this because it's now, or ever since the dawn of social media. This episode is a slow burn that keeps you guessing until the very end.

The episode makes you think about Facebook, Twitter, et al.

Straight off the bad, I want to say that it may not be classic Black Mirror, but the show likes to do different things; sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. Here, I'd say it worked.

Andrew Scott portrayed the character well and the story had me interested the whole way through. It was a very self contained story where there wasn't some fancy technology threatening to change our way of life forever, but like I said, they tried something different. It's simple, but effective.

The problem came with the ending. The writers seemingly love leaving the viewer with an ambiguous ending. Thinking that having the viewer have their own interpretation makes them really smart, but here, I wasn't personally a fan.

*Spoiler Warning*

The episode ends with a shot fired and the audience unsure who the victim was. After this, random people check the story and are unaffected, moving on with their day. That part is fine, showing that people are so desensitised to it that it plays little to no part in their life, but we the audience should have been allowed to know the outcome.

The reason is, either character dying can leave Scott's character misunderstood. We saw him as a man who has nothing else and just wanted someone important - who had some kind of hand - in shaping his life to hear his story. But, social media will never know this story and that could work in the episode's favour. On Smithereen, he may instead just be a criminal who died due to his crime or got a poor intern killed. I just feel that this would work better in this different quote of episode.

Feel free to agree or disagree with my rant/review, in the end we'll all take away something different from this.

It didn't feel like Black Mirror which even if they never stated it was about dark twists of futuristic technology. It was even placed in the past! I get the message of "we have to be careful with online addictions" but that's not original and it's rather predictable. We're in 2019! we hear and read articles about this topic all day. The show is going a different direction now and I honestly fell asleep during the whole episode.