Board 8 > Rate the Black Mirror Episode: S2E2 - White Bear

(+) Yeah! (+)

Screen buzzes, cracks.

Now this is the first episode that I think really got a big twist for the audience. Let's see how people like it.
The episode follows Victoria (Lenora Crichlow), a woman who does not remember who she is, and wakes up in a place where almost everybody is controlled by a television signal. Along with some of the few other unaffected people (Michael Smiley and Tuppence Middleton), she must stop the "White Bear" transmitter while surviving merciless pursuers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Bear_(Black_Mirror)

Guidelines:

• Rate the episode from 1 to 10
• Feel free to share your reasoning
• You can rate previous days

Previous ratings:
9.04 - S1E2 - Fifteen Million Merits
8.49 - S2E1 - Be Right Back
8.06 - S1E3 - The Entire History of You
6.15 - S1E1 - The National Anthem

9/10. One of the very best, pure Twilight Zone with tech in a good way. Loved the twist and the style of it all.

Entire History of You: 9.5
Be Right Back: 9
White Bear: 8

7/10

I think I remember a lot of people not liking this one but I thought it was pretty good with the twist at the end. Definitely one of the more cruel ones for sure.

4.5/10

I like the concept far more than the execution, and on rewatch the whole idea just comes across as incredibly mean-spirited. Yes, Victoria is an awful person that deserves to be punished for her part in the crime, but to make her endure the same torture endlessly when she can't even remember the reason is a bridge too far. I did like the poetic justice of the "zombified masses" following her around and watching or recording on their cellphone cameras though. That felt deserved, but only once.

9 out of 10

I get that some people don't like stories that don't have a good guy to root for, or don't like having the rug pulled out from underneath them by a reveal that a protagonist is actually a villain, but that's the entire point of this episode and it pulls it off pretty well. It's an interesting peek on an unforgiving world where they set out to have the punishment fit the crime; and yes, whilst Victoria is undoubtedly influenced by her partner, she is still very much guilty of going along with their crimes, it's just up to you how fitting it is.

8.2/10

GenesisSaga posted...

4.5/10

I like the concept far more than the execution, and on rewatch the whole idea just comes across as incredibly mean-spirited. Yes, Victoria is an awful person that deserves to be punished for her part in the crime, but to make her endure the same torture endlessly when she can't even remember the reason is a bridge too far. I did like the poetic justice of the "zombified masses" following her around and watching or recording on their cellphone cameras though. That felt deserved, but only once.

This argument is actually kind of compelling and articulates many of my thoughts on the episode, but I'm not sure it's a worse episode for it. One of my favorite episodes is coming up soon and it isn't too entirely different. I'm thinking of White Christmas and the way the suspect was treated in that episode and what is Victoria at this point if not a copy of herself that is being reset each day?

But is it worse that she is being treated this way because she is an actual person? Or is it meant to be the same? We certainly apply the emotions of 'actual personhood' to the crew of the U.S.S. Callister and view what is happening to them as crimes.

But back to this episode, don't you think we are meant to recognize how terrible what they are doing to her is? Or are we meant to think she deserves it? I think once I realized it was sort of an amusement park or attraction of some kind I saw it as the barbaric process that it is.

6

7.8

3/10

I remember being bored on this and figuring out the twist pretty early. Really not a lot of compelling stuff once you know what's going to happen, which isn't true for most Black Mirror episodes.

8/10

GenesisSaga posted...

I like the concept far more than the execution, and on rewatch the whole idea just comes across as incredibly mean-spirited. Yes, Victoria is an awful person that deserves to be punished for her part in the crime, but to make her endure the same torture endlessly when she can't even remember the reason is a bridge too far.

But isn't that the point of the story? Obviously anyone who would support such a cruel form of punishment isn't any better than the criminal being punished. Plenty of people believe that "criminals deserve to suffer as much as possible", but taking that idea to such an extreme level makes the hypocrisy much easier to see.

GenesisSaga posted...

4.5/10

I like the concept far more than the execution, and on rewatch the whole idea just comes across as incredibly mean-spirited. Yes, Victoria is an awful person that deserves to be punished for her part in the crime, but to make her endure the same torture endlessly when she can't even remember the reason is a bridge too far. I did like the poetic justice of the "zombified masses" following her around and watching or recording on their cellphone cameras though. That felt deserved, but only once.

GET EM

Agreed 3/10

6/10

As for me, I enjoyed the reveal and the worldbuilding and philosophical question it brings. But for most of the episode, it's a bit boring and nonsensical, especially because she can't really have personal stakes since her memory has been wiped out.

7/10

6/10

It had a great mystery and some great moments, but I thought the ending revelation really soured most of it.