Showrunners: Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones
Episodes: 3
So, it seems as if we have been graced with a few more episodes of Black Mirror sooner than we thought we would. The last instalment of the anthology series was something truly different: the choose-your-own adventure Bandersnatch (which we reviewed here) was progressing technological innovation as well as discussing it. It was an interesting premise with intriguing, if not a little inconsistent, execution. The pure scope of the project meant that I, for one, did not expect new content for a while. However, in true Black Mirror fashion, three new episodes were dropped with almost no notice. Interestingly, this trio of episodes have proved surprisingly fun and shockingly contemporary.
Striking Vipers
Video games are not a new topic for Black Mirror. Season 3’s ‘Playtest’ was, in my opinion, one of the series’ weakest entries, attempting to provide commentary about virtual reality and fear but never really sticking the landing. In contrast, Season 4’s ‘USS Callister’ was one of the, if not THE, strongest episodes of the entire project. ‘Striking Vipers’ is more along the lines of the latter, even showcasing the same technology throughout the episode, just presenting different themes.
The lead performances in the episode are stellar, with Anthony Mackie, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Nikki Beharie truly selling the emotional, if not off-the-wall, material. When seeing the trailer for this entry, I was afraid we were about to be force-fed the ‘video games can be addictive’ narrative that has found its home on weekday afternoon news shows (Fortnite is ruining our children, indeed). However, we instead got a surprisingly mature and engaging tale of sexuality, expression, and adult fantasy. This episode challenges both masculinity and monogamy, spending the time to truly show the complex nature of these topics. Topped off by a surprisingly uplifting ending, I can’t say this episode quite captures the magic of ‘Callister’, but the quality comes close.
Smithereens
Can we just take a moment to appreciate Andrew Scott? Known for his stint on BBC’s Sherlock, Scott has proven himself an incredibly talented actor in the last five or so years. Really, the plot of ‘Smithereens’ could have come across as generic and a little uninspired if it was not for Scott’s central performance—constantly sitting on the knife’s edge between psychosis and sympathy.
In this episode, a ride-share driver kidnaps an intern who works for a social media giant, asking to speak to the creator of the company. While the premise can read as a little dull, the execution of the subject matter is stellar. Through clever writing, the script always seems to skirt around being ‘cheap’, and solid commentary on social media throughout makes the episode feel a lot more meaty than it otherwise would have been. Topher Grace also provides a fantastic performance as social media founder Billy Bauer, very quickly becoming a highlight of the episode. This, paired with an unexpectedly powerful ending, contributes to the overall success of this episode.
Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too
With what will forever be known as ‘the Miley Cyrus episode,’ the third entry into season 5 is just a fun, small story that attempts to send-up uplifting teenage comedies while also abiding by its rules. This episode was surprisingly…. tame for Black Mirror. Sure, there were some dark ideas mixed into the narrative, however, we were left with a fun adventure involving a pop singer, two sisters, and a foul-mouthed robot.
People who expect sharp edges and a bleak outlook in their Black Mirror episodes will be very disappointed by this one, but on my part, I actually quite enjoyed the change of pace. While this episode didn’t really challenge me, I enjoyed the ride enough to make it worthwhile. Miley Cyrus as Ashley O, the poster-child of this current season, is fine enough; however, I would say the heart of this episode rests in both Rachel (Angourie Rice) and Jack (Madison Davenport). Really, this is a fun episode, even if it doesn’t warrant an essay of analysis after viewing.
Overall, this season of Black Mirror is softer than previous entries, but this change of pace isn’t wholly unwelcome. It’s nice to see that Brooker isn’t obsessed with making his content ‘edgy for edges’ sake, as I feel like too many bleak, hopeless endings would begin to feel cheap.
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