After learning about a new service that lets people stay in touch with the deceased, a lonely, grieving Martha reconnects with her late lover.After learning about a new service that lets people stay in touch with the deceased, a lonely, grieving Martha reconnects with her late lover.After learning about a new service that lets people stay in touch with the deceased, a lonely, grieving Martha reconnects with her late lover.
- Mourner
- (uncredited)
- Christopher
- (uncredited)
- Sarah's Man
- (uncredited)
- Onlooker
- (uncredited)
- Paramedic
- (uncredited)
Featured reviews
This episode is so engrossing. The acting and the scenes are convincing enough in relaying the grief and misery Martha is going through. You can relate to her feelings and actions as she takes several steps in the wrong direction. The episode succeeds in conveying the addicting power of such a tech, and how it may adversely affect the terrified human psyche, that with every ounce of its being opposes the idea of death. It wants to cling on to happy memories and is so fearful of moving past.
A few plot instruments might seem inconceivable, but we are not far from the possibility of a virtual avatar with your voice, personality and behavior based on all the digital storage we have of us. But we need to recognize that there is another side to the veil as well.
In this episode, what technology takes away from us when we are living: our concentration and focus on the here and now, it attempts to reinstate when we are dead, all those lost opportunities and moments spent in the virtual world are returned, with interest.
Only what comes back is merely a simulacrum, a reflection of what once was, and when the grief is over and one opens one's eyes again, one realises the shallowness of that before them and any previous feeling of intimacy and thankfulness is quickly soured into resentment and anger.
IS there a difference between life itself and a simulation, thereof? And if a simulation were of sufficient complexity and sophistication, would it become indistinguishable from life itself?
Yes, the idea of being connected even after death was very touching and I am sure it pulled in the audience, because only at the moment you lose someone you want them all the much more, you understand their importance in your life. But at the same time i felt really bad for Martha, she was stuck with a robot for life whom she cannot get rid of out of the respect for Ash memories but that will never ever let her move on with life as well. She will keep clinging to the memories and never be able to make new ones.
Also, the part where she yells at the robot to hit her brings out a very interesting aspect of human psychology. As much as we all want perfect and serving people in our lives, what makes them real and lovable is their imperfections. The imperfections in humans is what makes them different from algorithmically programmed robots; by the time we realize this difference it shouldn't be too late that we are living our lives more in control of the robots than ourselves.
Don't get me wrong, it is a good episode that realistically toys with a very chilling concept that, in part, may be somewhere in our future (Scary thought!)
I think the first two thirds of this story played out better than the final third, maybe it went a little too far and became less scary when it could have become terrifying!
As much as I enjoyed this, I was left wanting a little more.
8/10.
"Black Mirror" Episodes Ranked by IMDb Users
"Black Mirror" Episodes Ranked by IMDb Users
Did you know
- TriviaA service called 'That can be my next tweet!' has existed since 2013 that analyzes a person's Twitter stream and attempts to create a Tweet that they could have written.
- GoofsAt 8.45, The lights of a police car can be seen. It wasn't a emergency so the lights would not have been on.
- Quotes
Ash: Just sharing that.
[he holds the photo of Ash as a boy]
Ash: Thought people might find it funny.
Martha: It's not funny; It's sweet.
Ash: Trust me; that day wasn't sweet... first family outing after Jack died... When I came down the next morning all Jack's photos were gone... she put them in the attic. It's how she dealt with stuff. And then when dad died, up went his photos to the attic. She just left this one here. Her only boy giving her a fake smile
Martha: She didn't know it was fake.
Ash: Maybe that makes it worse.
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojoUK: Top 10 Actors Who Have Appeared in Black Mirror (2018)
- SoundtracksIf I Can't Have You
(uncredited)
Written by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb
Performed by Yvonne Elliman
Details
- Runtime
- 48m
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD