The second season of Black Mirror is a huge step forward in the series…at least for two episodes. Be Right Back and White Christmas are some of the best stories the series has ever told, but The Waldo Moment and White Bear are two of the worst.
Once again, the show does its best when it keeps it simple, like the simple but powerful premise of Be Right Back. Even White Christmas, with its three intertwining stories, keeps its focus clear. White Bear builds up an interesting world only to destroy it with an overcomplicated twist, losing focus on the point of its story. On the other hand, The Waldo Moment lacks any charm in its satire of toxic politics.
Two steps forward, two steps back…
Be Right Back
What would you do if you could speak to a lost loved one? It’s a question science fiction (And almost every other genre) has asked for ages, and Be Right Back confronts the question in a mature way. When Martha (Hayley Atwell) uses a new service to bring a copy of her deceased husband Ash (Domhnall Gleeson), she is overjoyed at first. But then something is off with the clone of her husband and she begins to question herself. If technology can really reconnect us to those we have lost, should we do it? Charlie Brooker’s script doesn’t give us easy answers and that is fitting. Grief is one of the most powerful human emotions and it is never easy to deal with.
Much of the reason the episode works is the romantic chemistry between Atwell and Gleeson. The episode gives us just enough time to get to know the couple, their charmingly cute relationship, and their personalities. This makes Atwell’s emotional roller coaster of a performance all the more powerful…you feel her loss. Gleeson’s role is trickier…we meet the charming joker Ash and his clone. The clone is almost childlike, human in some cases and disturbingly off in others. It’s a tough dual role to pull off, but Gleeson does it.
Be Right Back’s ending packs an emotional punch as well, possibly one of the more powerful conclusions the show has to offer. It’s quiet and subtle (Something Black Mirror struggles with occassionally), and once again, offers no easy answers to the questions the episode asks. This is Black Mirror at its best.
SCORE: 10 OUT OF 10
White Bear
White Bear starts out strong enough. Victoria (Lenora Crichlow) wakes up in a strange world, where people follow her with phones, capturing every horrifying moment as masked villains try to gruesomely kill her. No one answers her pleas for help until Jem (Tuppence Middleton), seemingly the only other sane person in this world, offers her safety. With no memory of her life except for some flashes of a little girl in her head, Victoria accompanies Jem to the White Bear power plant, where she hopes to find answers and an end to the crazed masked killers.
So far so good right?
Well, the third act ruins this compelling world building. The reveal at the end of the episode is original for sure…but it is also needlessly complicated, sadistic, and ultimately, makes very little sense. You will walk away from the conclusion wondering, “Why go through all the trouble for this?” I won’t ruin the twist for those of you interested in seeing the episode, but it is truly maddening.
We are introduced to a compelling world in the first two acts. Who are these masked killers? Why are there people recording these events on their phones? These questions will keep you interested only to have the rug pulled out from under you. It’s sadism for the sake of sadism. Over complication for the sake of trying to make a muddled point.
It feels like the first two acts and the third are separate episodes. On their own, they could be interesting science fiction/horror stories. But together, we end up with a narrative mess. It’s too bad because Lenora Crichlow is excellent in the lead role.
This is a massive misfire…but not nearly as bad as the next one.
SCORE: 5 OUT OF 10
The Waldo Moment
Season two’s worst episode (And quite frankly one of the worst in the series) has an interesting enough premise. Down on his luck comedian Jamie (Daniel Rigby) finds himself in a strange position. His crass, animated blue bear Waldo’s takedown of a politician leads him into the realm of politics where he finds unlikely support. Even as Jamie becomes increasingly uncomfortable as a revolutionary for the cynical masses who see politics as a joke, he can’t stop the momentum he unintentionally started.
While The Waldo Moment has a relevent satirical story, the episode lacks the usual charm, intelligence and subtlety that the best of Black Mirror has to offer. Even the technological tie is tenuous…Jamie is able to control Waldo through an elaborate rig and social media is once again roasted. The episode is a heavy handed mess and the idea that an animated bear could somehow gain popularity in an election stretches reality, even in today’s crazy political arena.
Especially since Waldo is not funny at all.
This is a satire…where is the comedy? Every attempt at even the darkest comedy falls flat here, making you wonder, “What is the point?” A political rival complains that all Waldo does is complain and doesn’t offer a solution. Strangely enough, The Waldo Moment does the same.
SCORE: 3 OUT OF 10
White Christmas
Season two finishes strong with another one of the strongest episodes Black Mirror has to offer. Three stories are linked by one man: Matt (Jon Hamm). Exiled in a cabin somewhere in a frigid wasteland, Matt tells fellow worker Potter (Rafe Spall) about his troubling life. Everything from aiding an awkward young man “score” with a mysterious girl with disastrous results to enslaving copies of people’s minds in small devices, Matt has seemingly done it all. But Potter has a dark secret, one that Matt is determined to pry out of his head.
Everything comes together perfectly in White Christmas. The stories are interlinked perfectly and come together beautifully in a twisted but ultimately fitting conclusion. It’s like all the puzzle pieces come together at just the right moment, and you can’t help but smile at Carl Tibbitts direction and Brooker’s script. There isn’t a wasted moment in the episode.
Jon Hamm is excellent as Matt, a charming scoundrel. This is a type of character we will see often in Black Mirror. Quite frankly, his character is a terrible person…and yet Hamm plays him with such charm and confidence, you find him utterly compelling. Spall’s Potter is great as well. Like Matt, he has done something terrible, but the reasons behind it are logical if not sympathetic.
White Christmas also features one of the more frightening uses of technology yet. We see the ability to literally block someone out of your life through optic implants. All of us have at least heard of doing this on social media, with little consequence other than social embarrassment. The episode shows us the very real and sometimes heartbreaking results of blocking someone completely out of your life.
Scary, powerful and emotional…White Christmas is a wonderful science fiction story that every fan of the genre should see.
SCORE: 10 OUT OF 10
A Season of Highs and Lows
Both White Bear and The Waldo Moment have noble intentions, but are lacking in quality. They are prime examples of science fiction gone wrong, where intriguing ideas are either ruined by bad twists or heavy handed execution. On the other hand, Be Right Back and White Christmas show how simple ideas can say so much.
It’s a good thing you can skip around in each season.
SEASON SCORE: 7 OUT OF 10