Black Mirror Season 3 Episodes 1-6 Reviews: A Frightening Look At The Future

"Black Mirror" is a British sci fi show. The first three episodes aired in 2011 and the next three in 2013. There was also a holiday special in 2014. See my previous reviews here: Black Mirror  NetFlix is currently offering six new episodes. Each has a different story/cast. All deal with the future effects of technology on mankind (most with less than positive consequences).  

If I had to rank the season 3 episodes from most to least favorite, they would be:  #1 "San Junipero", #2 Nosedive, #3 "Hatred In The Nation", #4 "Men Against Fire", #5 Playtest and #6 "Shut Up and Dance". Does this mean the lower rated episodes are duds? Definitely not. Each is worth a watch.  

In "San Junipero" two women participate in a virtual reality Second Life type experience. The episode title comes from a seaside 1980s town. Players have no idea of each others true identities. The women share a night together and fall in love. When one visits the other IRL, we learn the truth. Kelly is an older woman who will soon die. She is mourning her husband. Yorkie has been in a coma for years. She came out to her parents decades earlier. They rejected her. She then crashed her car and never recovered. Yorkie is scheduled to marry her caregiver so she can terminate her life. Her conscience will then live permanently in San Junipero. Will Kelly join her or will she head into the great unknown as her husband did? He wanted no part of this version of the afterlife since their long dead daughter would not be with them. 

"San Junipero" has a refreshingly happy ending (which is MOST surprising given the number of LGBTQ folks killed on TV this year). The love story is beautiful and sweet and made me cry like a baby. Kudos to you NetFlix! The episode also raises many philosophical questions. If we had such a VR option after death, would we take it? What if our loved ones did not? Who would still opt for a chance at heaven? This episode will leave you thinking about it for some time to come.   

"Nosedive" scared the bejesus out of me because it's too close to home. Users appear to lead perfect lives in this pastel world where everyone smiles and is overly complementary. That's because each social interaction is immediately rated online on a scale from one to five stars. Being rude brings down your social media score which, as we see later, has dire consequences. To make matters worse, everyone has corneal implants which display scores immediately upon contact. There's no escaping your ranking. Bryce Dallas Howard does an excellent job of making viewers feel her pain. She is so eager to be liked. Due to circumstances beyond her control, her score plummets. She cant get on a plane or rent a car. She is rejected by everyone around her and her bestie from summer camp (Naomi) uninvites Lacie to her wedding (after initially asking her to serve as maid of honor). Lacie ends up in prison but may be well on her way to living a more authentic life (should she ever get out). Perhaps Susan (the always wonderful Cherry Jones) can show her the way.   

"Hated In The Nation" is a police procedural. Detective Karin Parke and her new colleague techie Blue investigate a number of mysterious deaths. The first is a much hated writer who happily skewered a disabled woman after she killed herself. Next is a rap star who makes fun of a small child on national TV. We later we learn the cause of their deaths. Users play an online Game of Consequences and tweet using the #DeathTo hashtag. Whoever receives the most responses each day is killed by bee drones. Yes, you read that correctly-- mechanical bees. If killing jerks wasnt bad enough, the hacker then leaves a surprise for the police. They think they are stopping the carnage but instead accidentally send the bees to kill everyone who used the #DeathTo hashtag. Many thousands die. 

This episode is frightening for several reasons: 1. The number of bees IS seriously declining; 2. Certain members of the public are instantly vilified by both social media and sometimes the mainstream press; 3. Cyberbullying is still very much alive. In fact just last week a teenage girl killed herself as a result; 4. Celebrities are no longer viewed as human. Their problems have become sources of entertainment. The more of a train wreck they are, the bigger the media coverage. Pretty scary stuff if you're on the receiving end of such online hatred.  

Grade: 4 3/4 Monsters (out of 5). Overall an excellent season. I just wish there were more episodes. Luckily NetFlix has another six in the works (which I hope will air in 2017). If this is the future though, I'm scared for us all. My plan is to settle in San Junipero. I think I would like it there.  

Photo Credits:
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/10/07/black-mirror-season-3-trailer
http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/black-mirror/feature/a785440/black-mirror-season-3-online-tv-series-netflix-charlie-brooker-episodes/
http://todoseries.com/review-black-mirror-hated-in-the-nation/
https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/black-mirror-hated-in-the-nation-recap-bee-robots
http://moviepilot.com/p/top-wtf-moments-of-black-mirror-season-3/4130638

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TV:  Heavy On Sci Fi, Horror & Adventure; Light On Reality

December 4, 2016

8:25 PM