Be Right Back

Black Mirror touches upon the edges of what is possible and where we are heading. It also raises some warning alarms that might seem esoteric and far fetched at first but they ring so true if we just consider the already psychopathic exchange we have with the available technology. New diseases are now being coined as a result of our obsession with the internet and social media; we do not hesitate at all at denouncing someone at chats and obstinately sticking to our opinion without considering every angle; we are slowly but surely moving away from reality to a contrived virtual reality. More powerful technology is certainly going to cause more egregious side-effects.

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.

At what point do we step over the "uncanny valley" and into a simulation of something so real that, even for a brief moment, we convince ourself that it is real?

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?

Hayley Atwell shines through in this thoroughly moving, heart wrenching tale of love and grief. Brooker proves that he can tug at the heart strings as well as entertain, as he takes you on a journey of tragedy and longing. The scary thing about this episode is I believe one day they'll have the technology to have something similar to the voice activated thoughts and conversations of someone deceased.

I love the futuristic touches, such as the desktop and the car, really nice glimpses into a possible future.

It's not an episode I'd be inclined to watch over, like San Junipero or Hang the DJ, but it serves as a really engaging, moving piece.

As someone that has lost a husband unexpectedly, this hits the heart. I sobbed through most of this episode and kept asking "why would you do this thing". To retain a tiny part of who they are and were to you is understandable, but to have a small piece reincarnated is a form of torture. To be unable to move on and reconcile such a tragedy in your life is something I'm glad I never had to do. Time heals, it does, but it takes years. I'm almost 20 years from it and remarried, but you never get over it or forget your previous spouse. To have a physical representation of what you have lost would be absolutely unthinkable.

Hope this is not our future. Insane. Mindblowing. Intense emotions. I love it.