Crocodile

Season 4 started off ok with USS Calliper. It didn't feel like Black Mirror as much as it did just another sci-fi flick though unfortunately. Episode two was a definite step in the right direction, and was overall fantastic. Crocodile, however, hurt to watch towards the end. I literally found myself sitting up in my chair and saying , "No. Please, they can't do this." It made me physically uneasy afterwards. And that, right there, is what I wanted from this show. We see a woman slowly throw out all morality in an effort to keep her name clean. What made this harder to watch was the fact that her actions are more than likely not too far off from what could actually happen in real life. This is one of my favorite episodes of Black Mirror so far, and I hope they put out more content like this, as terrible as that sounds.

The first two from series four have been very good, quality episodes, but this one puts Black Mirror firmly back at the top of the drama genre, this particular episode is unlike anything else I've ever seen. The story is mind blowing, and the delivery is sublime. Massive plaudits for every cast member, in particular Andrea Risborough, she is nothing else but spellbinding, an incredible performance from her. The ending was almost unwatchable, tragic and harrowing, delivered in a way that ties all parts of the plot together, all the minor incidents fit together nicely. Incredible, 10/10

The third episode in the fourth season of Black Mirror was Crocodile; it is an episode that shows the budget and scale that the show now has in its locations. Throughout the episode the selection and use of locations is impressive in the beauty of the Nordic landscape and even the use of interiors and specific places. Read any professional and amateur review and you'll find they all praise this. Part of the reason for that is that it is true, but the other reason is that the episode is unfortunately sufficiently lacking that this single aspect stands head and shoulders above the others.

In terms of technology and darkness, the episode has both - which is usually the core of these episodes working. In this case though, the technology is used to setup the scenario but there isn't really a feedback loop onto the technology as it is in the episode, and as it connects to us now. This lack of connection to the device weakens the episode, but what makes it not work is that the darkness is so pointlessly bleak, and the lead character seems single-minded without any hook for the viewer to try to connect to her actions or feelings. Instead we see characters murdered without involvement - only watching. It is surprisingly dull in this regard, and is pretty disappointing in all ways apart from the scenery.

An insurance agent is investigating a minor car accident, using a device that reads the witness's memory. But one of the witnesses inadvertently reveals to her a dark secret from the past, which she must now cover up at all costs.

I have a lot to say about this "Black Mirror" episode, but a deeper analysis requires specific details that would spoil the story, and for a full experience, it is best to enter this adventure with as little prior knowledge as possible. For the most part, it is predictable enough that the additional information I would present here would completely ruin it.

Many resent its unconvincingness, in the sense that it is not in human nature to choose the path that the protagonist took, and that on that path she could not physically perform everything she does in the episode, and on top of all that she does it so nonchalantly and still no one caught her in the act.

True, the story has holes and illogicalities, but it is not so naive, because this is not about the average person, but about someone driven into psychopathy by fifteen years of guilty conscience combined with the urge to protect the family. The drama of a mentally unstable mother, who struggles with a guilty conscience and tries to keep the family together, sinking deeper into madness and eventually turning into a monster, is shown strong and impressively enough to distract you from the holes and illogicalities.

Many also blame it for not being in the spirit of the "Black Mirror" series. And I agree with this too. While "Black Mirror" deals with the positive and negative impacts of technology on the individual and humanity as a whole, basing plots on specific examples of (mis)use of technological advances, this episode is based on the characterization of the protagonist, while the Sci-Fi element is there just to push the story in the desired direction and provide the final plot twist.

If not a particularly representative episode for "Black Mirror", viewed outside the context of the series, "Crocodile" is a great psychological drama-thriller. With a well-balanced pace and duration, a great choice of scenography, a tense atmosphere, and a story that gradually transforms from a drama into a thriller and pushes further to the edge of horror, it held my undivided attention until the final twist, which serves as both a shocker and a comic relief.

All this, along with the fact that the protagonist is so skillfully brought close to the audience that I sympathized with her all the way, and even at times cheered for the monster to get away with her crimes, is reason enough for me to disregard all the clichés, holes and illogicalities in the story.

8,5/10.

Really solid Episode. Even though this is one of the longer episodes of season 4 at 59 minutes, the pacing was so well done that every moment feels as tense as the last. This is classic black mirror, giving you a glimpse into the not so distant future, leaving you with that feeling afterward like only Black Mirror can. 8/10