Board 8 > Black Mirror Season 4 (Spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Just wondered if anyone else was crazy like me and already watched it. Really enjoyed this season, though this season was much... happier than the others. In order of what I liked best:

Crocodile
USS Callister
Hang the DJ
Black Museum
Metalhead
Arkangel (The only one I didn't really like.)
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I've watched Arkangel. I liked the message but I didn't really enjoy watching it. Glad to see it might just be the worst of the bunch
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Yeah I felt much the same, like I get what they were going for but it was just uninteresting.
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Just finished the first episode. Really great overall, my only issue is how arbitrary daly only having control over the crew when he was on the ship was? Like, it's his universe, why cant he do what he wants with it wherever he is?

But over all, great. I loved the Aaron Paul cameo at the end
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Just finished Hang the DJ and... it was really damn good. The bulk of the story was enjoyable enough, but it had the same weak tech justifications and unrealistic personal reactions that makes other Black Mirror episodes pretty lame. However the ending really nailed it and brought the whole thing together (even though it didn't really make sense but that's ok).

Are the rest of the S4 episodes on that level? Or more like previous seasons?
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Wait I just read a clarification of the ending and it DOES make sense now and it's even better than I thought
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I have now watched them all. I'll probably have more comments later but it's late so here's a ranking for now

Black Museum > Hang the DJ > USS Callister > Arkangel > Crocodile > Metalhead
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I'd say my ranking is something like:

USS Callister > Black Museum > Crocodile > Hang the DJ > Arkangel > Metalhead

Might elaborate later.
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Black Museum>USS Callister>Hang the DJ>Crocodile>Arkangel>Metalhead
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Watched USS Callister. Felt a little simpler compared to previous Black Mirror episodes and also a bit of a retread but I enjoyed the tone and the way it both appreciates and criticizes intense fandom.
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Holy shit Black Museum was dumb as hell
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Arkangel was meh. I feel like they could've gone so much farther with the concept but they went with the most obvious ending and message.
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So far seen the first three

USS Callister was pretty great. Definitely went in a different direction than I was expecting, and while it's not necessarily as deep as some of the best episodes it's definitely one of the most enjoyable to watch

Arkangel was a decent premise that was sort of wasted on a predictable plot and unremarkable characters

Crocodile I'm torn on. I loved the idea of creating live feed of memories, and liked even more that the immediate use we see of it is for insurance claims. Mia was interesting, and it was bizarre (almost unbelievable) how quickly she devolved into pure evil, but it was thrilling nonetheless.

so far:
USS Callister > Crocodile > Arkangel
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And just finished Hang the DJ

probably my favorite so far this season. Definitely had one of Black Mirror's best twists to date

Next is Metalhead, and I'm admittedly a little wary going in, because I've frequently heard people call it the worst of the season
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Just finished Crocodile and I did not think it was good.

At all.

The moral is that murder is bad?

The tech was used completely innocently, I guess the latter murders only occurred because Mia was worried about it, but that's... a reach.

Grim and depressing, but not good.
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My roommates just watched the black/white episode and what I caught was extremely bad

I guess I gave the season too much credit due to Hang the DJ
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Really not impressed with Crocodile, I echo what everyone else said about it already. The biggest problem was Mia is just such a one-dimensional character.
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USS Callister > Hang the DJ > Black Museum > Metalhead >= Arkangel >>> Crocodile

Was surprised to see Crocodile being called "dark" or "grim", when it has nothing going for it.
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Hang the DJ felt alittle like San Junipero in a way, and that's probably why I loved it so much.

1. Hang the DJ
2. USS Callister
3. Black Museum
4. Crocodile
5. Metalhead
6. Arkangel
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I didn't think Metalhead was particularly bad. It's just generic zombie theme only it's killer robots instead. The fact that the woman apparently left such a neat blood trail the entire time even after spending a night in a tree was bad though.

Crocodile was worse, because the technology aspect was really tame, but also she went murdery too quickly I thought. Like it'd be one thing if the first guy died on accident when he hit his head, but that wasn't enough and she had to keep strangling him or something on top of that.

USS Calister was good, and I still have it as my favorite of the season, but in hindsight the writing and logic in places were really kind of a mess. That poor girl is absolutely going to blame herself somehow for what happens to him.
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SwiftyDC posted...

Hang the DJ felt alittle like San Junipero in a way, and that's probably why I loved it so much.

Because those are like the only 2 positive episodes in the whole series
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Also, Hang the DJ tugs on the theory that the world that we live in could be a simulation and gives a reason why it would be a simulation.
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I dunno, I think it's success is that it doesn't try to hide that the world you're watching is a simulation and different from the real world, especially after the halfway point. It's such a cliche twist that it's just eye-rolling right now. But the reason for the simulation is brilliant and totally believable, which is why it works and breaks the cliche.
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I'll have to watch Metalhead again but after the first viewing I don't understand the punchline. What was up with the Teddy Bears?
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I took it to mean the person they were getting the Bear for was a kid. The kid was going to die and it wanted it's stuffed bear but something happened to it, so the survivors went after one because they promised to try.
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bryans7 posted...

I took it to mean the person they were getting the Bear for was a kid. The kid was going to die and it wanted it's stuffed bear but something happened to it, so the survivors went after one because they promised to try.

I figured it was for her son
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yeah, unFORtunately during this season it feels like most of the episodes could have been way, way shorter

hang the dj, crocodile, and arkangel in particular all could've been cut by 50% or more. it basically feels like each of those episodes has a setup, then a bunch of super predictable filler, then a binary switch at the end that determines which way the twist goes/reality is
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Just finished Metalhead

I agree with mnk, there's literally no reason she still should've been dripping blood that long after getting the cut. I mean, I assume maybe there were other ways to find her, so that felt a little lazy

Overall not bad though. Direction was great, but the simplicity is weird for a Black Mirror episode

Right now probably
Hang the DJ > USS Callister > Crocodile > Metalhead > Arkangel
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Also I'm not a fan of the fact that Metalhead was one of the only episodes where the technology isn't presented as a neutral force being misused by people, but was instead just objectively evil, serving no other purpose but hunting and killing.

What would've even been the purpose for that technology? Security? That seemed to be the initial reason, but it definitely wasn't making an effort to "secure" anything while running after the main girl for days.
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My guess is it was military technology gone awry. Security would make sense too, like tech marketed as a guard dog or something, just again with a virus or deliberate programming that made them go haywire.
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banananor posted...

yeah, unFORtunately during this season it feels like most of the episodes could have been way, way shorter

This is every single black mirror episode
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Hang the DJ > Arkangel > Crocodile > USS Callister

I'll probably watch the final 2 episodes tonight
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