Black Mirror (Season 3) Review

This is my second time through Black Mirror and this time I'm documenting my thoughts for each episode here on Steemit, it's not quite a review, more just reaction thoughts. You can read my review for season 1 here, season 2 here and the Christmas special here. Without further ado, let's just jump into this thing, enjoy!

Episode 1 ''Nosedive''

This was a great episode, I love the premise, I love the message and I love the escalation throughout the episode with Lacie's attempt to raise her score backfiring and spiralling completely out of control. There's a more comedic tone than usual but it works outside a few moments when it felt a little forced, Lacie's laugh for example, but for the most part it works well and it suits the story. Does this episode strike any one else as very close to what we have here on Steemit?

With Bryce Dallas Howard starring in the episode am I right to assume that the shot near the end when she's just outside the wall is a reference to Jurassic Park? They reference Mad Men in White Christmas with that line about Matt being in advertising! Bryce Dallas Howard's great but I definitely felt like she was overacting a few times, that seemed to be the direction though. The bit with the truck driver felt a little abrupt, I liked it but at the same time, we get it! 7.5/10.

Episode 2 ''Playtest''

This episode felt a little messy and the conclusion didn't seem justified, it felt like a bit of a reach, the whole haunted house portion was just an excuse to create some forced tension and kill some time. If Cooper died the moment Katie put him in the chair then how would he be able to perfectly create Shou in his mind, having never met him. Maybe he would imagine some sort of haunted house scenario but it all just felt a little too convenient, I still enjoyed it though!

I thought Wyatt Russell delivered an enjoyable performance with lots of little comedic moments and then he screams for about ten minutes, I had to turn the TV down! The whole if he'd called his mum back he'd be alive thing was a little weak conclusion-wise, maybe I'm missing something, there could be a deeper meaning here but it just didn't connect as well as I think it should have, it just felt like an elaborate way to get us into a haunted house for some cheap scares. 6/10.

Episode 3 ''Shut Up and Dance''

This was a really good episode, I was expecting it to lose some of it's impact upon a second viewing but it doesn't! There's a scene earlier on with Kenny watching a kid that I didn't clock on to the first time through which was definitely more creepy this time! I don't know if that fight to death at the end was completely necessary though and I didn't see Kenny winning to be honest, it's a little anti climatic and I'm not sure what or if there was sort of deeper meaning to it.

It's like a rollercoaster ride of an episode and both Alex Lawther and Jerome Flynn delivered great performances! I didn't like the two bullies at the restaurant though they felt like they belonged in Harry Potter or something, they were a little too animated to take seriously and it just stood out to me. It's not the best Black Mirror episode but it's a good episode all the same, it's somewhere in the mid-tier I suppose, it's a fun ride but lacks the lasting impact of say, 15 Million Merits. 7/10.

Episode 4 ''San Junipero''

This was a great episode, it's heartfelt, it's emotionally impactful and I'm pretty sure it's the only Black Mirror story with a happy ending. Both Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mackenzie Davis deliver great performances and I was invested in their relationship, especially on Kelly's part given that she'd spent her entire life having to hide the fact that she was a lesbian. It's a really sweet story and a great idea, the idea of San Junipero that is, I would like to just go there now please.

If I'm nitpicking which I am I'd say the episode could have been trimmed down by about five minutes, these Netflix episodes seem to have to adhere to the 50 minutes or more rule but sometimes the story's done in 40! I love all the shots of them driving, hair blowing in the wind Thelma and Louise style and I loved that last shot of them in their digital form with the dancing lights among all the other digitcal copies of the dead. I enjoyed this episode but it wasn't depressing enough! 7.5/10.

Episode 5 ''Men Against Fire''

This was a great episode and I loved the idea, it's very apt, but they kind of ruined it at the end there when Agent Goddard from The Sopranos turns up to deliver completely unnecessary ex-position over explaining everything we'd already worked out. It was very unrealistic and didn't really make any sense motive-wise, why would he feel the need to threaten Stripe with some sort of eternal torture? I'm pretty sure they wouldn't need any further consent at that point in re-setting his chip or whatever.

There's also a little moment when we see Stripe enrolling and agreeing to everything and he seems to be an idiot which I thought was unecessary, I'm not sure what the purpose of that was supposed to be. Other than the whole final act I really enjoyed the episode and I loved the message, it deserved a much more impactful and profound ending than it got! There are people being treated like ''roaches'' now, hopefully the obvious message here isn't lost on those who need it! 6.5/10.

Episode 6 ''Hated the Nation''

This was an all round great episode, I loved it! It's the longest episode of the series sitting at a running time of an hour and a half which was a little daunting but it never drags. The characters are great, I love all the investigatory stuff and I love the idea of these eco-friendly mechanical bees being used to murder people and the idea of this hashtag death game. This could have easily been an episode of The X-Files! It's interesting, it's tense and it's engaging from start to finish.

I love the use of music in the episode, especially at the end when we realise almost 400,000 people are about to die horrifically, it was very sinister. I also love the ending with Blue having found the guy and the episode just ending there. It's definitely the best episode in this season, it's the most well rounded and complete episode in my opinion, it has an excellent build and despite being the longest episode it didn't feel it. It's always nice to see Errol from 15 Storeys High in stuff as well! 8/10.

Summary

All in all this was a good season, not quite as good as the first season but about equal or slightly better than the second, Nosedive, San Junipero and Hated the Nation are all stand out episodes! I'll have my review for the fourth season up soon so I'll see you for that, I'm gonna give the third season of Black Mirror 7.7/10.

What did you think of Black Mirror - Season 3?