Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Black Mirror season 3 review



Black Mirror season 3 is its best season yet, primarily for the ideas. It does a good job of telling cohesive stories and being philosophical; it's better than Westworld season 1, in that regard. Arguably, the season gets better with each episode.

Specific episode thoughts below, in the order in which I enjoyed them...

1. Nation of Hate - I enjoyed the detective story, liked both leads and enjoyed the commentary on social media and government surveillance, as well as consequences of speech and actions. The general conceit of the bees was kinda dumb, though, and it was probably a bit on the long side.

2. Men Against Fire - Perception is reality and everyone is being lied to! Enjoyed the commentary on the military and how soldiers aren't treated well (they're commodities). The eugenics element and commentary on humans was also good. Was it lacking a bit something? Yes, but I liked the topics and ideas.

3. San Junipero - Really enjoyed the commentary on the afterlife and digitization of personalities. Didn't really buy into the love story (both are in love after one or two encounters? ok... I could understand with Yorkie, but not Kelly). The acting from both was rather good, though Yorkie was a bit annoying initially, along with some stilted dialogue earlier on. It was fun to watch how it played with the tropes from different eras. Would have been nice if there was something more to the guy who was interested in Yorkie (maybe he was a shell digital representation or dead). Was a loose thread, but not really the focus.

4. Shut Up and Dance - This was fine. That the focus was on trolling was interesting, but it lots steam for me rather quickly - it seemed rather apparent they were screwed no matter what. Also, reminded me of the movie Nerve, despite not seeing it. Little twist at the end was interesting. The kid's acting was also interesting, in that it wasn't a typical kid.

5. Playtest - Also OK. Some of the ideas were interesting (evolution of gaming, tapping into the brain, calling parents while we can), but the general gist of a horror story made it too apparent that reality was going to be messed with. The specific ways in which it occurred were certainly interesting, and the final reveal of the length of time was interesting, but... wasn't as good as it could have been.

6. Nosedive - Fun idea about heightening social rankings, but the general "tragedy" of the story was so on-the-nose and trite. BDH's big speech was cringe-worthy to watch, but entertaining. It does make me want to disconnect from social media more. Basically, felt rather by-the-numbers.

No comments:

Post a Comment