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    Black Mirror S05 Review – Doesn’t say much…

    By Salome G
    | June 11, 2019
    TV Blogs

    In a departure from its seasons on Netflix, but a return to its first two seasons, this season of Black Mirror has only three episodes. You can look at this a few ways. On one hand, maybe they’re opting for quality over quantity. On the other, maybe they’ve run out of ideas.

    Black Mirror S5 Poster

    Unfortunately, over the course of watching this season, it becomes clear which one of those options is more likely. We begin with “Striking Vipers,” which finds Danny (Anthony Mackie) in kind of a rut. He and wife Theo (Nicole Beharie) have been together since college, but it’s evident that the thrill is a little gone. They haven’t fallen out of love, but there’s a feeling like something is missing. Enter Karl (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), Danny’s old college friend.

    Karl gives Danny an updated version of their old favorite fighting game Striking Vipers. While the version they played in college was a basic two-player fighting game like Street Fighter, the new edition adds a virtual reality component. Like many a Black Mirror character before them, they submit to the technology, affixing a whatzit to their foreheads that allows them to feel everything their characters do. And this will take them and their friendship in directions they, at least, never expected.

    Black Mirror S05 Striking Vipers Anthony Mackie Yahya Abdul Mateen Ii

    While it’s possible to read a lot into the episode–The Root had a take I found interesting–for me, that’s the problem. You have to read these things into it. The episode never delves into them in a meaningful way. The topics it brings up, like sexuality within a virtual environment, are handled superficially. It may remind some viewers of the stand-out episode “San Junipero,” but it has only an echo of that episode’s depth.

    The same issue persists in the second episode “Smithereens.” While this one, about Chris (Andrew Scott), a grief-stricken rideshare driver, is buoyed by great performances, including by Scott, Damson Idris, and Topher Grace, there’s no there there. Chris puts forth all this effort to get in touch with tech mogul Billy Bauer (Grace), but the end result is kind of like the quip from The Dark Knight’s Joker: “I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it.”

    Black Mirror S5 Smithereens Andrew Scott Damson Idris

    As with “Striking Vipers,” there are interesting ideas here–I thought the “God mode” was going to go somewhere else, especially with Grace depicted as a Christ-looking figure in the desert–but they’re never fully explored. How much responsibility does Bauer have? How much does Chris? The show raises these questions but doesn’t care to look further. And when it comes to an ending, the show flinches rather than commit.

    By the time the season got to its final episode, “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too,” I was running out of ways to say the same thing, so I just surrendered. Featuring Miley Cyrus as Ashley O, a pop star whose aggressively positive image masks her desperate unhappiness–AHEM–this episode plays like a demented Disney movie. And you know what? Fine. Yeah, plot details borrow from “Be Right Back.” Fine.

    Black Mirror S5 Rachel Jack Ashley Too Miley Cyrus

    There are still clever elements to be found here–Ashley’s biggest hit is a poppy reworking of Nine Inch Nails’s “Head Like a Hole,” for example–and the future Ashley’s auntager (Susan Pourfar) envisions for the young singer’s career isn’t really that far off. And sure, if you look closer, some things won’t add up. If you’ve ever waded into “stan” culture, for instance, 15-year-old Ashley superfan Rachel (Angourie Rice)’s devotion won’t seem surprising. A girl her age wanting a doll-like Ashley Too might, though. But in the overall picture, looking at these episodes as a whole, it’s trifling stuff.

    On that note, looking over the episodes as a whole, it strikes me that they all have happy or happyish endings. Maybe that’s one of the reasons this season feels unbalanced. It wouldn’t too bad to look toward hope, though. Black Mirror has overwhelmingly been the show that depicted the worst-case-scenario outcomes of our lives with technology. But in a world where technology has already affected in terrifying ways, how much scarier can it get?

    6/10 – What is the point of these episodes? What is it they’re trying to say? They offer up fun ideas but fail to really examine them every time. Whether it’s lack of inspiration or just Bandersnatch-related fatigue, this abbreviated (for Netflix) season isn’t as impressive as past ones. 

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    14 Comments
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    Silver
    Silver
    3 years ago

    I’m glad you linked that Roots article. Reading it helped me enjoy the first episode more. I have to agree with the writer that this episode might have been purposely set up to premiere during Pride Week.

    0
    Reply
    Salome G
    Salome G
    3 years ago
    Reply to  Silver

    No prob! I usually read a lot of takes to help me get my thoughts together and I like to share different POVs.

    0
    Reply
    Arabella
    Arabella
    3 years ago

    I still enjoy the programme for the most part. I feel like they do something unique each time and they take on hard topics without flinching. I would like another interactive episode like “Bandersnatch” though.

    0
    Reply
    KeeperofUnicorns
    KeeperofUnicorns
    3 years ago
    Reply to  Arabella

    I still like it too, but many of my friends quit watching last season. I found Miley’s episode the best out of this season, but none were terrible. I think it says something about a TV franchise when you’re bummed that a few episodes aren’t as spectacular as usual. The show has earned its reputation.

    0
    Reply
    GabbaHey
    GabbaHey
    3 years ago
    Reply to  KeeperofUnicorns

    Yeah, it’s the worst season. I’ll keep watching, though. I liked the choice to have just three episodes this time. I wouldn’t mind fewer episodes but shorter times between seasons.

    0
    Reply
    Bridget
    Bridget
    3 years ago

    I kind of liked the one with Miley Cyrus. I think she did a good job in her role. The other two episodes were pretty lackluster. Bandersnatch was so good. Hopefully they didn’t use up the last of their good ideas on that episode.

    0
    Reply
    Gavin the Binge-Watcher
    Gavin the Binge-Watcher
    3 years ago
    Reply to  Bridget

    I always forget that Miley Cyrus is more than a silly brat until I see her perform again. The girl is gifted and she gave one of the best performances we’ve seen from a star on this programme.

    0
    Reply
    Salome G
    Salome G
    3 years ago
    Reply to  Gavin the Binge-Watcher

    She’s got a really lovely voice. I’m not too into her new song, but I did like “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” quite a bit. And I’m not embarrassed to admit that I’ve been blasting Ashley O’s “On a Roll” from the Black Mirror episode.

    0
    Reply
    murasaki
    murasaki
    3 years ago
    Reply to  Salome G

    This episode was my favorite. Cyrus is interesting. Lovely voice, as you said, and she stayed successful beyond child acting while growing up publicly and making out-there choices and comments.

    0
    Reply
    Natasha Yves
    Natasha Yves
    3 years ago

    It is inevitable that the show would run out of AAA ideas at some point. The real question here is why this season degraded SO far below even a C grade. That is the odd part. Most shows go through a mundane period but this was off (or under?) the charts terrible. I’m more than a little curious if this reaction was crafted to some degree. It almost seems like they went out of their way to release these few bad episodes.

    0
    Reply
    Zoey
    Zoey
    3 years ago

    I rate this season 0/10. The drop in quality is an amazing feat in itself. The worst episode was “Striking Vipers”. Completely boring, no character development, terrible ending. I’m sad that my once-favourite show is now in the dumps.

    0
    Reply
    Salome G
    Salome G
    3 years ago
    Reply to  Zoey

    Lmao, wow. I was trying to be (very) generous!

    0
    Reply
    Rob Duggat
    Rob Duggat
    3 years ago

    I agree that this season was very lack luster to say the least. They’ve had such a great track record up until now so I’m willing to cut them some slack, but I really hope we see some A+ material from them again in the future. These episodes were so anti-climactic it feels like the kind of thing that would end a show and I sincerely hope that is NOT the case.

    0
    Reply
    Salome G
    Salome G
    3 years ago
    Reply to  Rob Duggat

    Oh, me too!

    0
    Reply

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