Beyond the Sea

Black Mirror Season 6's third episode, "Beyond the Sea," deserves a solid 9/10 rating in my book. Let me break it down for you!

First off, the direction in this episode is masterful. They excel at building tension and creating an eerie atmosphere that had me on the edge of my seat. Throughout the entire episode, there was a lingering feeling of impending doom that added to the overall suspense.

The ending is downright terrifying. I won't spoil it, but it left me with goosebumps. The situation they set up is incredibly messed up and will make you question everything. It's classic Black Mirror at its finest.

The acting is absolutely amazing, particularly Aaron Paul's performance. He brings a level of emotion and intensity to his character that is captivating. He deserves recognition for his outstanding work in this episode.

One thing that stood out to me was the constant sense that something bad was about to happen. Even in moments of apparent peace, there was an underlying uneasiness that added to the overall tension. The storytelling and narrative setup were top-notch.

Overall, "Beyond the Sea" is a knockout episode of Black Mirror. The direction is masterful, the ending is chilling, the acting is phenomenal (shoutout to Aaron Paul), and the constant anticipation of something going wrong keeps you on the edge of your seat. It's a must-watch for any Black Mirror fan. Don't miss out on this one!

The acting is great, especially by Aaron Paul.

The overall plot is interesting and could have been great, but I feel that the writers wanted a final twist so bad that they wrote this ending despite the fact that it's absolutely unsatisfying and makes no sense for David's character.

Very disappointing, something more predictable but more in line with what we had seen of David's character up until the ending would have been better.

Sometimes predictability is good, so long as it's not 100% obvious. But this really looks like they went out of their way *only* for the sake of making it end in a way that most wouldn't expect up until a minute before it happened.

And why would most not expect it?

Because it does not make much sense.

It's like having a "whodunnit" end with the culprit being a character that only comes up at the very end of the story: disappointing.

What an episode. It has some problems that will probably hurt it's ratings hard. Such as the mission and it's importance not properly explained, including why the humans needed to be the ones in the ship and not their replicas. Maybe they should have invested in that more and a little less in the middle drama.

I have to be honest I came here to write a horrible review. The shock of the ending leaves you wanting to insult the writers for their "lazy" work. But after the realization of how everything revolved around the mission's importance, how it seems to be above everything else; I now understand it actually finished with a climax and not with a disappointment.

Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett play two astronauts on a mission in space. But fortunately for them, they get to still see their families, well sort of, with the use of doppelgangers. One of the two experiences a horrific tragedy with his family which leads to decisions the other astronaut would regret. Once you see what's going on, you'll probably agree it's a bit predictable. However the very ending there's a little curve ball twist moment which caps the episode off nicely.

If you're a Twilight Zone fan, you may notice (as I did) one astronaut is named Stanfield and the other is named Ross. In the TZ episode "The Long Morrow", the astronaut who ages by pulling himself out of hibernation is named Commander Stansfield. And lead astronaut in the episode "Death Ship" from season 4 is named Captain Ross. Maybe just maybe Black Mirror was paying homage to The Twilight Zone.

If, in this future, they are able to make replicants that feel, smell, see, hear and act like their real counterparts, why wouldn't they send the replicants into space instead and keep the real humans on the ground? That wouldn't trigger weird cults either. Nobody thought of this?

This weak premise makes it hard to swallow this story. Some things need to be thought through and covered for, even if it's just a SCI-FI show.

The acting is great. The direction is equally wonderful. The story is predictable but still good. I just hope that writers spend a little bit more time covering for core issues like these.