Arkangel

So, wow. I don't get how this is getting so much hate. I really have no idea.

This is a very down to earth episode about the human mind and helicopter-parents pushed to a Black Mirror standard. I can get behind everything unfolding in this episode and at all times am mesmerised at how interesting it all is.

I loved it from beginning to end. Fun to analyse, but I'll do that for myself at some point when rewatching. I'm sure there'll be a lot of videos online doing just that. I hope this doesn't become more hated on than it already is. I mean wow, it's a touchy subject for sure but ... give it a chance. Some of the flaws in here some see I just don't. Heads off to all the people involved and to Jodie Foster.

One of my favourite episodes of this whole series. Also, the age thing with Sara - I do not think it is an issue. But that'll be a spoiler if I elaboreted on it further. I think there are theorys that could clear that up or she just looks four years older. That is life, that happens, nothing bad or flawed about that.

The topic is civil, if somewhat predictable and boring. There's really nothing interesting or beyond average in this episode. It's not bad, just average. However, in terms of real-life it's very disturbing because the things displayed in the episode (overprotection, developmental issues as a result of overusing digital technolgoies) are already happening today.

In this episode, a mom gets the power she thinks she wants. A chip embedded in her daughter's head allows her -- mom -- to see everything her child sees, and even pixilate out anything disturbing her daughter might encounter, like blood, or an argument.

This is the kind of power tech is actually close to giving parents today. Already there are apps that let you watch on a map where your child is walking, see what they're looking at online, read their texts, scan their photos and even tell their temperature and blood pressure from afar. A new app being developed by a company called Kiddo promises to compare the food your child eats with the exercise their Fitbit shows them getting. If calories consumed are greater than calories burned, the app then lets the parent prescribe a certain amount of extra exertion: "That sundae means you have to do 23 more jumping jacks, Olivia!" We are told we can and must control everything our children do/see/think/worry about and, apparently, eat.

Parents are just starting to understand that with great power -- in fact, with superpowers never before afforded to human beings -- comes great angst. After all, if we CAN watch everything our kids do -- must we? What about our relationship to the child? What about trust? Privacy? Our own happy memories of time we spent far beyond our parents' eyes and ears? Are our kids our prisoners, to be constantly supervised? Our patients, to be constantly monitored? Or are they our pets -- beloved, but wholly dependent on us? That all feels bad. And yet: What if something "bad" happens and we could have prevented it with more vigilance?

That's the push the marketers are giving parents: Now that you CAN see all and prevent all -- why wouldn't you?

Kudos to Arkangel for showing us, in Gothic detail, exactly where that could lead.

And let's hear it for trust.

I'll admit to being initially underwhelmed by this one, but as it went on it got better and better, with the story becoming more and more compelling and the agenda of Sara's overbearing mum Maria becoming more controlling. With all the enhancements in technology and society's craving for more and more technical integration the real scare here is this felt like something that could perhaps be a reality one day. The arguments for and against the implant device are well balanced, you see things from viewpoints of Sara and Maria. Superb performances from Rosemarie DeWitt and Brenna Harding, and wonderfully directed, bravo Jodie Foster. Another sizzling episode. 9/10

The second episode in the fourth run of Black Mirror was already known to me on the strength of Jodie Foster directing it; quite something for a British guy I knew from his scathing takedowns of Big Brother episodes in The Guardian all those years ago. Putting the gender milestone (first episode directed by a woman) to one side, Arkangel is surprisingly run-of-the-mill, even though it has a lot of potential. The concept is easily within reach in many ways, and as a parent my first feeling is to protect my child from anything that might upset them, and to want to know where they are at all times. At the same time though, I see that stopping them being exposed to anything in the real world will probably do more harm than good in most situations.

As a result, most of us should be easily hooked into the dilemma posed by this technology and the extended version we see here. The episode though, doesn't really make the viewer feel that conflict; it is very clear wat is felt and it plays out in a way that is far too on the nose for the most part, and doesn't really cause conflict, or the shivers - in fact it does just what you know it will. This in itself is a weakness since, we know overprotection will go bad, but yet I didn't connect to that challenge from it - it let me off the hook with the way it is straightforward in its narrative. The production standards, ideas, cast, etc are all of high quality, but in the end it is too simplistic in what it does and the message it is delivering.

A surprisingly disappointing episode considering the potential in the material, and the talent behind it.