Metalhead

Honestly, I'd recommend ignoring anyone giving this below a three or above an 8. I think most of the reviews are people exaggerating in one direction or the other. This episode does have a number of issues, and ultimately the entire premise doesn't work at a fundamental level (without going into spoiler details). But the episode is beautifully shot and expertly acted. It definitely takes a lot of inspiration from The Road, and does very well at setting mood and creating suspense. I don't really consider it a good or bad thing that it's not like the rest of the series. If the creators want to do something different once in a while, go big.

I don't feel like I wasted my time watching it, and it did a number of things well (big shout out to the lead). But I also think it's a weaker entry that could have been even shorter than it was. Spend the 40 minutes to watch it, think about it for a minute, and carry on with your day.

Not really sure what to make of the negative reviews of this episode. For me this was the first episode of season 4 that got my attention, it was different for sure but definitely in the right way. I appreciate any film/episode that prompts me to think about what is happening and why, rather than spoon feed me every detail of the plot and over explaining the technology presented.

This episode was gritty, gripping, and well paced. It gave just enough pieces of the story to get me thinking about how things came to be and where things had evolved to. I like this type of storytelling, where just enough of it takes place in your head.

Very different than other episodes, and I for one appreciated the presentation of the genre in a completely different and terrifying way.

Even tho the plot lacks context, this was pretty interesting. Even better than other episodes that are rated higher on this site.

Negative reviews about "lack of exposition", "no dialogs" and "no context" prove that the viewers nowadays completely lost the imagination and need to be spoonfed with worldbuilding, just to understand what could possibly go wrong in a world where deadly metal robots were created as warehouse sentries.

Almost at the end of a lesser season of episodes from Black Mirror, Metalhead is probably one of the stronger episodes. The 40 minutes is stripped down to base elements. It is in black/white, only has a handful of characters, and is basically one extended chase sequence. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, a small group of survivors seek out a package in a warehouse, only to disturb a 'dog' - one of the robot drones that we assume has led to the slaughter of most of mankind. From here the drone hunts down the only character to make it far enough to be considered a chase. In essence it is The Terminator but without any plot or backstory to slow it down.

As such it delivers quite a thrilling and tight episode. Technology is in there, with examples of sleep functions, adaptable apps etc, but it is not really making a point on any of these so much as it is just grounding the episode in the recognizable. In the same way the warehouse could be taken to be an extension of the warehouses today where drone pickers are already starting to be used - but again it doesn't labor this point. The stripped down basic essence of it works well, and the special effects are effective - I assume a mix of physical work and CGI in some way. The ending is perhaps a bit corny but brings in a bit of humanity into what is otherwise a technological horror.

Not the best the series has to offer, but an strong episode in the season and effective at what it does.