Remember when Black Mirror was so dark you felt as if your soul was ripped out of your body at the end of the episode? I do. Maybe I was less experienced back then (doubtful seeing the things I've seen... "my eyes... my eyes are bleeding") but you can't call this even the lightest shade of dark anymore.
In fact... This episode was Rainbow Mirror?
I don't see what was so dark and gloomy about this. So guys do porn and porn is bad and they like to play games with other guys and be all like "no homo bro" sitting on their cough like pathetic little wimps while the ladies in marriage train said guys to do their bidding and get them pregnant and make a fuss about not being able to succeed in bed right after what must have been a very expensive dinner only to eventually admit that they're fucking around in real life.
A fun fact btw I didn't realise until the scene after even though my viewing compagnion (of the female kind) told me when she took of her ring. See, I just thought she was taking of her ring to go to bed or something but nah...
So the moral of the story is?
Right now I feel like my soul is being pressed down in my groin. What the hell was that?
Long linguistic opinion about other reviews:
I've got to say that this episode can be disappointing if you expect your typical BM (you know, dark twist and all). In German the word ist "enttäuschend" with literally means that you realize that you were fooled (by your own expectations or by someone else) and that you realized that. And this is what happened to most negative reviewers (as far as I read or scanned their comments): They expected something else and didn't get it. Instead they got what the not as tragic and dark side of BM that started to show up around season 3. I get the Enttäuschung and the anger (and anger about a TV show is a topic I don't even want to touch in VR so close to GoT's finale).
My own opinion about the actual episode:
I enjoyed this particular episode. I'm not sure about the ending, but [spoiler]the whole relationship chaos, the boring daily life suddenly spiced up, the dilemma,[/spoiler] it's all very real. And it's not flashy or twisty or morbid. Just realistic. And maybe, just maybe, that's why it's really scary. And hits close to home. Maybe too close for some.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of the season!
Post Scriptum:
I don't think the "[spoiler]gay[/spoiler] stuff" (to quote other reviewers was the real point of the episode. It's about [spoiler]relationships[/spoilers].
It seems like every three year, director Owen Harris returns to one more Charlie Brooker script so he can add to his "Love in the Time of Black Mirror" entries. This one might not be as good or fully fleshed out as "Be Right Back" or "San Junipero", but it's still gratifyingly character-focused, in no hurry to rush into cynicism, and full of gentle nuances as in his previous works. The degree of difficulty may be even higher, as its complex issues and story threads require a tricky balancing act and really depend on the outcome, where so many things can go wrong in the process. But the full characterization and autonomy granted to all characters here make the conclusion it arrives at all the more beautiful. Genuine, generous curiosity in the fluidity of human experience is already apparent in Harris' first two outings, but it's even more pronounced and profound here, especially regarding sexuality and love. Would love to read a longer piece from those who know more about these topics than me, but I love that this story is throughout about the flexibility of sexuality and monogamy/polygamy, then arrives at a conclusion that acknowleges the complex fluidity of both, while placing autonomy, consent, compromise, and equally shared happiness above all.
Review by IHateBadMovies.comVIP 8BlockedParent2019-06-20T12:11:25Z— updated 2019-06-24T00:35:37Z
The reviews on this episode are depressing.
"It was too political" says the people that try to bring politics into everything
"It wasn't sci-fi enough" says the people that watching it on that level
"There weren't enough twists" says the people who watch this show on a superficial level.
"It was brokeback mountain for tv" said the homophobic people
"They've covered some of this stuff before" says the people that think that every story has to not resemble any other story in any way.
"They wrapped it up too quickly" says the people who value the destination more than the journey (shoot me now)
I don't know what more people want from this series. The series is meant to discuss the human condition in our quickly-changing world. It is meant to provoke thought and conversation and make us think about where we are going and the challenges we will face. In that regard it very much reminded me of San Junipero - probably my favorite episode of the entire series. While not being as uplifting as that episode (which is irrelevant as I don't watch media to be uplifted) it was actually interesting that the leads in the show had actually found what seemed to be a balance where they could co-exist.
There were so many layers and things to think about - I can't believe that others didn't see it the same way. While so many of their episodes are cautionary tales I thought this did a fantastic job portraying the complexities that we are now starting to do deal with in our relationships.
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