Black Mirror Episodes 4-7 Reviews: Are We In Control Of Technology Or Is It In Control Of Us?

"Black Mirror" has had seven episodes total thus far-- 3 in season 1 (2011), three in season 2 (2013) and a Christmas special in 2014. See my previous reviews here: Black Mirror Season 1 It was just announced this week that NetFlix has picked up the show for a third season. With that in mind, I wanted to examine the remaining episodes.

"Black Mirror" explorers the effects of technology (especially media), politics and pop culture. Each episode have a separate story and cast. Some have compared it to "The Twilight Zone".

We also see some prominent actors before they made it big. There's Hayley Atwell, Tuppence Middeton, Janet Montgomery and Jon Hamm (although it was already famous when he did did his role).

Better Than The Real Ash?

Season 2 Episode 1: "Be Right Back" stars Hayley Atwell (of "Agent Carter" fame) as Martha. She and her boyfriend move in together. Ash goes off to return the van and never returns. Martha is obviously having a hard time coping (and she finds out she's pregnant). Her friend Sarah signs Martha up for a service where she can "speak" to Ash. His responses are a compilation of his social media content. Martha becomes obsessed with "Ash" and starts ignoring her "live" support system including her sister. The program's creator suggest she try something that in is beta and is very expensive. They ship a robot/android/something that looks exactly like Ash. At the beginning, life couldnt be better. Apparently Fake Ash is very good in bed. Gradually thing's change. This is not a clone of Ash. It has no references to pull from that weren't online. I wont give away the ending. You'll just have to watch it to see the rest.

What The Hell Is Going On Here?

Season 2 Episode 2: "White Bear" features a woman with amnesia (Victoria) who awakens only to find people are either 1. Trying to kill her; 2. Trying to take video of her on their phones. She runs here and there. Luckily she finds one person who will help her. It's Tuppence Middleton (Riley from "Sense8"). It has a surprise twist at the end. What exactly should qualify as entertainment?

Could Waldo Really Be Any Worse Than The Other Candidates?

Season 2 Episode 3: "The Waldo Moment" features a guy (Jamie) who voices a blue cartoon bear named Waldo. He heckles politicians. The disenfranchised like him so much, Waldo runs for office. He continually blasts the other candidates with jokes and profanity (but is short on substance). Things dont quite work out the way he had planned in the end.

The 2014 Christmas Special "White Christmas" stars Jon Hamm (Don Draper from "Mad Men"). On a side note, this episode is not available on NetFlix or Amazon. I found it on YouTube instead.

When we originally meet Matthew, he and another guy (I think his name is Joe) are stuck in a cabin in the snow. They apparently have been there for five years and are celebrating Christmas. Matthew talks about what his life used to be like.

His hobby was offering "romantic services"-- ie he coached needy guys on how to pick up women. He helps a guy at a holiday party. Matthew provides intel in his ear while looking through social media. He can see everything the guy sees through an Eyelink implant.

The girl invites the guy home when she sees him talking to himself. But everything is not as it appears. The girl hears voices and thinks she has found a kindred spirit. She poisons him and then kills herself to stop the voices. Matthew's wife found out about his involvement in the deaths. She "blocks" him (which means he just appears as a blur to her). She leaves and takes their daughter.

Next, we see Matthew in another flashback. He's taking to a "cookie". Its a copy of a client's entire life experience in what looks like an egg. The replica is obviously not happy about the situation. However Matt forces her to stay in solitary confinement until she complies. The replica acts as the servant to the original. She makes coffee and toast and keeps track of her appointments. All of this is at the original's request. Nothing like torturing yourself.

Joe then confides about his past. His wife (hey that's Janet Montgomery from "Salem") was pregnant but she didn't want the baby. They have a fight and Beth blocks him. He is desperate to make contact. Turns off she kept the baby and was staying with her father. Joe becomes a serious stalker.

Beth dies in a bus accident. This means the block is lifted on both she and her daughter. He goes to see his daughter-- who turns out to be Asian. Her father is apparently one of her coworkers. Joe kills the grandfather and the child.

Matthew was sent to extract the truth from Joe's cookie. The mission is accomplished. He and Joe havent been together for five years. It's really something like 17 minutes. Matt did so in exchange for getting his sentence reduced for his earlier mentioned crime-- but it doesnt work. He is blocked from interaction with everyone in society.

Meanwhile Joe's cookie is also forced for a millenia in the same cabin listening to the same song over and over again. For anyone that thinks Christmas with their family is torture, try doing this instead.

Grade: 4 3/4 Monsters (of of 5). I especially enjoyed "Be Right Back". Hayley was excellent as Martha. You could really feel her pain at the loss of Ash. "White Bear" was also very thought provoking. "White Christmas" was interesting-- although it was a bit harder to follow then the other episodes. Jon Hamm was (as always) compelling in the role as Matt.