Reviewing the fifth season of Black Mirror on Netflix
In Season 5, it feels like Black Mirror has lost its edge
Something’s missing in Black Mirror Season 5. It’s hard to know exactly what has gone wrong, but the tech anthology show on Netflix just feels lacking, the stories are a little more tired and a little less surprising. It’s got star power in Anthony Mackie, Miley Cyrus and Andrew Scott, but it’s not the actors that ever made Black Mirror a success, it’s the episodic tales of the difficult decisions technology forces the characters to make, and how that technology defines and controls their lives. Black Mirror needs to be complex and thought-provoking, and this newest season just doesn’t get you thinking. It’s hard to have much more than a lukewarm reaction to these three new episodes overall, but there are still highlights and lowlights within the season. In this blog post, I’m just going to take a look at each instalment of the season for a quick mini review.
‘Striking Vipers’
Obviously, Black Mirror seasons don’t need to be watched in order, but this one is the first in the run of episodes to watch on Netflix. ‘Striking Vipers’ is yet another episode that tells a story through a video game environment, as this show has done multiple times. It tells the tale of family man Danny (Anthony Mackie) and his old friend Karl (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). When they reunite years after last seeing each other, Karl gives Danny the virtual reality video game Striking Vipers X for his birthday. But things take a surprising turn when Danny and Karl begin using the characters they play in the game to have mind-blowing virtual reality sex with each other.
The episode attempts to explore how real this connection is between the two friends, whether there’s a romantic componentent, and the extent to which Danny is cheating on his wife Theo (Nicole Beharie). The concept seems like it might be worthwhile thematic ground for Black Mirror, but the show has visited the virtual reality tale a few too many times and there’s less here to keep you interested. It’s take on marriage has a lot of complexity, but it never feels like the episode digs into these issues in the way it needs to. It’s not the least engaging episode of the season, but it’s unlikely to be memorable.
‘Smithereens’
This is the strongest episode of the three. ‘Smithereens’ takes a simple concept, places a great actor at the centre of it, and then escalates everything and leads to a challenging final few scenes. I like Black Mirror episodes where the technology involved is either real or close to what’s real, and this is definitely one of those. All that we need to do to buy into the episode’s story is believe in a social network that tracks you and knows everything about you. It’s hardly science fiction. In the episode, rideshare driver Chris (Andrew Scott) kidnaps an employee of a social network called Smithereen at gunpoint and demands to talk to the creator of the company on the phone. The mystery of the episode is what exactly he wants to talk about.
The answer to that mystery is fairly straightforward and simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s unsatisfying. This is an episode of television that deals with human issues in relatable and effective ways. Scott delivers a magnificent performance, and so do Damson Idris and Topher Grace. ‘Smithereens’ is an episode that has a good amount of tension and keeps you hooked, but it could’ve done with being a little more concise and not being the longest of the season’s three episodes. It’s well-paced, compelling and presents more than enough ideas to keep you interested.
‘Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too’
The third and final episode in the fifth series of Black Mirror may be the one that, unfortunately, has the least interesting stuff to say. ‘Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too’ follows the life and career of music megastar Ashley O (Miley Cyrus), a pop singer who has had her creativity and music completely controlled by her management. The episode also follows one of her diehard teenage fans Rachel (Angourie Rice) and her sister Jack (Madison Davenport). The story sees Ashley drugged and put into a coma by her management, so that they can harness her brainwaves to write new material. It’s all a little much. This is Black Mirror at its least subtle.
It’s a divisive episode that has received some mixed reviews, and is currently the lowest rated episode of Black Mirror so far on Rotten Tomatoes. There are a few ideas here that would make it worthwhile and compelling, but it ends up being more fun and forgettable than it does being fascinating. The actors are all good, and there are some decent moments. But ultimately this just feels overlong and lacking consistent themes. On the one hand, it wants to explore the controlling and domineering role of the music industry over artists, and on the other it tries to be a more personal drama about the death of Rachel and Jack’s mother. It’s all over the place, and doesn’t have themes or ideas that feel topical or all that important.
Verdict
Black Mirror lacks a bit of its edge and relevance in Season 5, and it struggles to deliver stories that are as interesting and thought-provoking. There are good moments here, but the show has been much better than this.
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