fatlouiethecat

You would think with as many prolific actors as this, this episode would be so much stronger but it fails to remember what makes this show so good, the chemistry of their leading trio.

In terms of plot, I understand this writing choice. Explain and explore three different plot routes without having to over dedicate time to each. But separating the trio and pairing them up with other completely unknown, in the context of OMITB characters anyway, actors.

Unfortunately, I think this is the weakest episodes of OMITB to date. The most compelling part of the episode is the final five minutes where we get our leading trio in a scene together without any other people. A show can't run by solely relying on the core trio, but when your other characters clash so badly with them, it just doesn't make an enjoyable episode for your audience.

Spin-offs are going to happen. When you have a successful franchise, the next question is "how can we further monetise this?" I have to imagine that's what happened here and truthfully, I'm not upset or surprised by it's existence. What I have an issue with is it's execution.

The script feels very American. If I didn't know any better, I would assume this was written for one of it's American series and had dialogue changed to make Australian references. It doesn't feel like it was catered to it's audience and I personally feel, if you want to make a spin-off of a show internationally, you need to take your audience into account. This show doesn't feel like NCIS in Sydney. It feels like NCIS with some Australians present. Culturally, Australia and America are very different countries. What works story wise over there may not make as much sense over here. If you want your spin-off to be successful, you have to take your audience and it's culture into account, you can't just assume it will be the same as yours.

Of course, this is just the first episode of the show and it has room to grow and improve but it's disappointing to see a show completely disregard it's audience in this way.

You know that one drawing of a horse and the front half is super detailed and the other half is a very basic outline? That's what this episode feels like.

In theory, this could have been a really interesting episode. Considering the morals or paparazzi, what responsibility do they have towards the people they are exploiting, what can you get with in the name of 'journalism'?

Instead, this episode takes a folklore gothic horror turn that is not only unexpected but extremely poorly executed. The way it's written, it feels like one writer left the script to another writer midway through without showing them the first half.

We get no closure on the characters, whilst yes, that is a recurring theme in Black Mirror, this is different, and worse.

Easily the weakest episode of Season 6 so far and definitely one of the weakest in the show althogether.