Black Mirror: Season 7#

I decided to write "Black Mirror's" season 7's notes episode by episode. It's only fair.

S07E01#

"Common People" tells a story of a woman who has a brain tumor and is "cured" with an implant that requires constant connection to the network. The surgery is free, but at cost of a subscription, whose price begins to grow and be polluted with ads. I am surprised that Netflix allowed such an episode. :D It is also a solid burn on a private healthcare and medical start-ups which go belly up, leaving their clients dangling alone in the dark. Plus gig economy/webcams as bonus.

S07E02#

"Bête Noire" brings fond memories of Philip K. Dick and plots where the reality itself cannot be trusted. I liked the explanation, even if the main character didn't understand it. It's also an interesting take on the Internet which is supposed to be this ultimate source of truth, albeit it might not have been the creator's goal.

S07E03#

"Hotel Reverie" is a story of remaking of an old classic, which seems like "Casablanca" expy, with an AI tool that allows to insert a modern actor into a generated world based on a movie. All starts nice, but it's "Black Mirror," so things go awry. There's a lot of technological commentary here, but to me, it's a time-travel story where even a small difference changes the whole timeline. It reminded me also of "Tales From the Loop" episode with a couple stuck out of time.

S07E04#

"Plaything" tells a story of a reclusive former game reviewer who developed a relationship with a game ("Creatures"/"The Sims" mix). Today I stumbled upon an article about people who believed too much into ChatGPT nonsense. So, this is real. In secondary roles, there are two characters from "Bandersnatch," the interactive episode (which I still want to do again). Contrary to others, I saw this episode as quite positive because I guess my sympathy went to the main character.

Thronglets#

After the episode, there was a QR code, which led me to Play Store where I could download the game from the episode. Extra points for HIMEM test as a part of loading screen. It's a resource management strategy with an added layer that reminds me of "The Talos Principle." It sucked me in so much that I depleted the battery in my phone. An interesting fact is that the game was created in parallel to the episode, and they influenced each other's creation.

The game turned out to be a quick one, albeit satisfying. At some point the resource management suddenly became a philosophical game. Like I said, "The Talos Principle." I think I went with the most ethical path.

S07E05#

"Eulogy" is surprisingly intimate story without the end of the world, which is notable in the context of "Black Mirror." The technology here merely plays an auxiliary role. A story of a man who revisits past events from his life with a little help with a device which reminded me a bit the one of "Hotel Reverie." Very touching.