Arkangel

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.

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.

The initial premise of this episode had me filled with great anticipation for another thought provoking gem. However as the story rolled on it became as predictable as spinning a 50 pence piece on a table. It never quite got to the edge and inevitability spun to a flat and foreseen ending.

Very decent episode showing that you can't save your childs from whole dangers in life.

Why cast someone who's clearly 20+, as a 15-year-old? I couldn't suspend my disbelief on that one.

Other than that, decent episode that, while failing to stick the landing, should provide an adequate cautionary tale.