Bête Noire

This is the tragic season episode I honestly regret watching. The episode begins with a promising build-up, giving the illusion of depth and intrigue. But just when it seems like the story is going somewhere meaningful, it collapses under the weight of its own concept. The sci-fi angle feels forced and ultimately breaks apart, leaving little to reflect on. I can imagine some viewers finding value in its ambition, but it's definitely not for me. What I love about Black Mirror is its ability to make you question society, ethics, and technology. This felt like a throwaway idea with a flat, uninspired ending. Easily one of the worst episodes of the series, right alongside episode 4, "Plaything." Very disappointing.

There was a real sense of anticipation as I watched this episode-it builds nicely, with believable characters set in a competitive work environment that feels grounded and relatable. While it does lack a bit of subtlety in how the antagonist is introduced, and the plot moves at a rapid pace, there are still enough "ooh" moments to keep you engaged along the way.

Unfortunately, the final act completely unravels. The ending feels rushed, undercooked, and veers dangerously into something almost Benny Hill-esque-if that's even a thing! It was such a jarring tonal shift after the promising set-up.

That said, the acting throughout is solid, and the performances deserved a more thoughtful resolution. It's hard not to wonder if the whole thing was hurried out to meet a deadline, because the climax feels like it skipped a few drafts. A strong start, but ultimately a frustrating finish that left me disappointed.

Bête Noire could have been a really great episode, and it might actually be better on the second watch. You were conscious that something was happening but it was a bit hard to pin-point definitively what that was until about 3/4 of the way through the episode.

Unfortunately both the antagonist and protagonist in the episode had quite jarringly annoying personalities which made the 'plodding' pace of the episode rather painful. Most of the side-characters were thankfully quite reasonable and therefore likeable.

Sadly, amongst some interesting themes and messaging the ending to this was so insanely unbelievable for the escalation period it offers, that it left you feeling very underwhelmed at the end.

Black mirrors first few seasons had many episodes that made you walk away thinking about the depth of the message, so well intertwined, for a long time post viewing. This one had that potential but the story and meaning took too long to get to the point, the ending was therefore quite out of place.

Probably a 6, but the ending knocks it down a star for me. Not the worst but definitely far from the best.

I'm gonna go a bit clairvoyant here and say that you rewound or will rewind back to near the beginning once you hit roughly sixteen minutes and forty five seconds..

Am I correct? Then be sure to hit the thumbs up lol.

A good episode, and seemed so much like real life in parts, for someone who suffers from a severe condition. I genuinely think you need to be in an extremely happy mood before you start this season, only 2 episode in and it's a bit depressing or is it? Lol.

Really had 'Inside No 9' vibes, so obviously that made me like it even more.

Amazing as always, I don't know how Charlie Brooker keeps being so consistent with each series. Brilliant plot, acting and premise. Again adding to the masterpiece that is Black Mirror!!

The episode does have a slower start but once it picks up the pace the plot starts to unfold brilliantly. Siena Kelly's dynamite performance of a person fighting for her sanity is just so good and its so fun to watch the pure hatred Rosy McEwen character has for her every time they share the scene together.

Sometimes it seemed like I was watching a real life workplace drama and the tension was high in every scene, every moment of despair, jealousy and malice just superbly acted.

Giving a title to each day of the week in the episode and then complementing it with a bizarre, horror movie like sound piece really solidified the main characters rapid descent into madness and was a nice touch.

The twist in the episode was really well done, felt fresh and unique, I really enjoyed this and hopefully more episodes in this season are like the first two.